Greater Binghamton Chamber’s DEI Conference

BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – Dozens of local businesses gathered at the Double Tree for a day-long conference focused on diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

The Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual DEI conference in Binghamton today. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The keynote speaker for the event was the Director of Binghamton University’s Harriet Tubman Center for Freedom and Equity, Anne Bailey.

Bailey is a history professor at BU and instrumental in the development of the Downtown Freedom Trail.

The trail consists of 13 markers spread across two and a half miles in Binghamton, that commemorate the local people and places that fought for equal rights.

Bailey says we need to remember our past mistakes but use them to pave the way for the next generation.

“The term I’ve coined is called ‘the age of repair,’ and I think, in general, across the world but even here in the U.S. especially, we’re in an age where we are really trying to repair some of the legacies of the past. We can’t go backwards, we can’t change the past, but what we do now is really what matters. And this community is really committed to repair,” says Bailey.

Throughout the conference, there were four breakout sessions, each featuring a different local speaker.

This year’s theme focused on Minority, Women and/or Veteran Owned Businesses.

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