Thank you Misty Copeland & Darren Walker 🙌🏽 Repost from @chq1874 • As we move forward with the critical conversations that explore the best in human values and help to build empathy, we were honored to welcome Misty Copeland to the Amphitheater stage for this morning’s 10:45 lecture as part of our Week Eight theme, “New Profiles in Courage.” Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, interviewed Copeland on her hard-fought journey to ballet stardom and becoming the first black woman to ever be promoted to principal dancer at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. It takes years for a ballerina to achieve what Copeland has, and she had to deal with more than most, from homelessness to criticism about her body shape. But Copeland embraced her hurt and pain and channeled it into strength and courage to move beyond feeling ashamed or boxed in by her circumstances. In the book she released last November, Black Ballerinas, Copeland celebrates the women who paved the way, while never shying away from the realities of racism in the dance world. “Though I’m alone in that space, I’m not alone,” she told Walker this morning. “I stand on the shoulders of so many people who have put in the work for generations and deserve to be acknowledged and shown that they have contributed to this history.” Copeland’s book is currently available at the Chautauqua Bookstore. #CHQ2022 @mistyonpointe