Zahira Kelly-Cabrera’s keynote address was provoking, unapologetic, and inspiring. It was everything that our students were hoping for when they proposed Zahira to be our guest speaker during a culminating event of their academic careers—the research symposium where they presented their undergraduate theses projects. Zahira’s intervention challenged the heteronormative and white supremacist ethos that pervades life in predominantly white institutions such as Columbia University, resonating with students’ political concerns regarding the university, intellectual life, and activism. It was clear that students felt a profound synergy with Zahira’s words ...