Adrian Walker Receives the Open Door Award

Adrian Walker at Old South Church in Boston on May 5, 2018 on having received the Open Door Award for his part in the Boston Globe’s Spotlight Special: Boston. Racism. Image. Reality.

"What a great honor and privilege to be with you this morning. Thank you for that very kind introduction. 

I must say, being named a recipient of the Open Door Award was a blessing that fell from the sky. It’s one thing to be honored by my colleagues in journalism, but this feels like it falls into a different category. I’m glad I wasn’t honored the same year as Elizabeth Warren or Deval Patrick, because I’ve seen them speak many times and I wouldn’t have wanted to follow them. 

I’ve had a number of roles at the Globe over the years, but to me they’ve all boiled down to the same thing - just trying to tell this city’s story, one piece at a time. As we all know, Boston is endlessly stimulating, dynamic, and ever-changing. One of my mentors, the great Marty Nolan, used to say that the building of a great city is never complete, and I’ve certainly found that to be the case. So the story is constantly changing, as we change along with it.

Last year, I spent six months with my colleagues on the Spotlight Team exploring how race plays out in the life of the city. We produced a seven-part series that appeared in mid-December. We looked at race in the context of Boston’s halls of power, its hospitals, its colleges and universities, in the realm of sports.  Much of what of we found was disturbing. 

As someone who has written a lot about this subject, I thought I knew what we would find. In some ways I did. But the aftermath of the series has taken me by surprise. Collectively, we’ve been invited to appear at roughly 50 forums to discuss our finding - at colleges, law firms, ad agencies, you name it. We’ve found a city that wants to have a conversation  - which I was not at all certain would be the case. We’ve found a city that wants to get better at living together. I don’t think that’s a small thing. 

I’m often asked what people can do next. The last day of the project was devoted to “solutions” - from changing the city charter to allow for more shared power, to renaming Yawkey Way (done!), to having courageous, uncomfortable conversations with friends and neighbors. 

Having had a little more time to think about it, I’ll add one. One thing I was struck by in reporting the series was how unconscious discrimination can often be. Whether we were reporting on the lack of diversity in the Seaport of the shortage of black partners in major law firms, so often the answer to the question “How did we get here?” was a completely sincere, “Well, we never thought about it.” So I’ve become a great believer in the power of noticing. Yes, we should talk, and talk some more. But maybe the first step is simply to be more intentional in daily life. You don’t have to hold office or wield power in any conventional sense to bear witness to the world around you. I think that can be the beginning of great change.

Thank you again for honoring me with this year’s “Open Door Award. Old South Church is a vital part of this city, and it’s wonderful to be recognized by you. 

Have a great Sunday."