Former Arkansas Razorback and NBA basketball player Sidney Moncrief made a big difference on the court.
Now his goal is to make a big difference in the community.
In Moncrief’s new book, the g.r.i.t. factor, Moncrief addresses issues such as diversity, discrimination, and community.
Moncrief developed the acronym g.r.i.t., which stands for growth, resiliency, integrity, and tenacity.
“It takes all four of those mindsets to overcome the temptation to not engage and maintain relationships and harmony with others. And that’s why the grit factor is about embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Moncrief said.
This project originally started as a book about emotions, and building relationships with one another, Moncrief said. But as racially-motivated unrest spread across the country, the scope of Moncrief’s book shifted. “This would be my contribution to the issue,” Moncrief said. “This is my way of taking action.”
Moncrief, who had previously launched diversity and inclusion programs aimed at students, wanted to find an avenue to talk to adults as well.
When talking about the g.r.i.t. factor, Moncrief said, “I was always intrigued by ethnicity and discrimination, biases and stereotypes, and I wanted to build a product that was easy to read and fun to read but addressed some of those basic issues of how we address people not like us.” For Moncrief, it comes down to building better relationships.
The book is uniquely written, Moncrief says, because it contains confessions from a diverse group of people, activities that sharpen emotional intelligence, and discussions about emotions and g.r.i.t.
When asked what he hopes people will take away from his book, Moncrief replied, “We have to buy into the concept of communicating better with others, and working together and collaborating with people who don’t look like us, and when that happens, we’ll build community.”
Moncrief’s new book, the g.r.i.t. factor, can be purchased at sidneymoncrief.com.
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