This TED Talk features sociologist, educator, and writer on India Kundu, recorded live at TED Residency 2017.

So I teach college students about inequality and race and education, and I like to leave my office open to any of my students whom I just want to see me to chat.

And a few semesters ago, one of my more cheerful students, Mahari, actually came to see me and mentioned that he was feeling

a bit like an outcast because he's black.

He had just transferred to NYU from a community college on a merit scholarship.

And it turns out, only about 5% of students at NYU are black.

And so I started to remember that I know that feeling

of being an outsider in your own community,

partially what drew me to my work.

At my university, I'm one of the few faculty members of color,

and growing up, I experienced my family's social mobility,

moving out of apartments into a nice house,

but in an overwhelmingly white neighborhood.

I was 12, and kids would say they were surprised

that I didn't smell like curry.

That's because school is in the morning,

and I had egg-lwaffles for breakfast.

Curry is for dinner.

So when Mahari was leaving,

I asked him how he was coping with feeling isolated,

and he said that despite feeling lonely,

he just threw himself at his work,

...