I have an automatic, negative reaction to the phrase “the business case for” + any equity-related issue. This particular reaction recently came up for me as I was reading a business journal for work. As a social researcher, I wanted to know what the business world had to say about equity issues and how to approach them, as that world is highly influential in my subset of academia which is very chatty about equity these days. I should have expected a “business case for” equity mindset to be prevalent throughout the read but hope, as usual, led me to disappointment. Page four featured a letter from the CEO titled, “Diversity: the Business Case and Beyond” and page 28 began an article on how “empowering young women” can be used as a strategy for attracting new clients.
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Creating change is messy, hard, and incremental. The ripples most of the time are unnoticeable but when my ripples, connect with the ripples that you are creating, we can form a wave of change. We need you. When you are doing work that you love and are able to share that passion, you are doing activism.
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Equity work is many things. It is fulfilling, powerful, and chock full of potential to change the world around you, be it in small or significant ways. We know the work is difficult, but that’s part of what makes it so important to be involved. Without effort, change won’t happen.
It is important, however, to recognize that equity work can be beyond difficult. It can be exhausting. The work is non-stop; when you live and breathe an equity mindset, you have to apply it to every aspect of your life. Equity work requires self reflection, some of which can be disheartening, even devastating as your realize that people whom you might love very much hold dehumanizing opinions of you or other people you care about. Finally, it’s disruptive, meaning that it often isn’t supported by your workplace. For these reasons, it is no wonder that many of us wind up “burned out.”
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It is November 6th, 2018 and midterm elections are underway. I enter the day with trepidation. My fear is that the voices of the hurt, the frightened, and the angry will not ring loud enough to break past the misdirection and intimidation facing us.
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On Sunday, October 28, Word Up Community Bookshop in Washington Heights hosted a celebration and reception for the community art exhibit, Reframing Immigration. Reframing Immigration was a project I started in July 2018 when family separation at the border was being covered by every major news station. I wanted to help but I did not know how. All I could think of was sending supplies and money to organizations at the border. I didn’t want giving to be a solitary act. I wanted to build community and solidarity as I was giving. As I thought more about how to serve, I took a moment to think about my residential community. I live in a community that has a large Dominican population. I thought about what stories they carried. What were the things that connected us and divided us? These questions led me to use art as a tool to uncover those answers.
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Free speech has thus become a political technology that is used to redefine freedom around the right of some to occupy time and space. It is “the others” who become the oppressors; those who in speaking of a wrong are judged as speaking wrong.
- FeministKillJoy
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Voice is so much more than what words you use to communicate. Voice is personal, cultural, and expressive. Voice, once established, can be trained but never abolished. Lean into your voice, recognize the voices of those around you. Allow voices to help you discover communities old and new.
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Woke 2.0--a more intentional practice of awareness. It is not about the hashtags, the t-shirts, or the demonstrations. It is about knowing who you are and how you can add to the movement of change.
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As the growing number of diversity and inclusion (D&I) officers are finding a seat at the table for prominent companies and organizations, it is necessary that we discuss this topic more often especially in relation to employees with multiple identities.
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It is not enough to talk about representing the physical aspects of diversity. The need to be heard is just as important to the conversation about diversity.
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