Diversity and Inclusion
This piece explores another African American bit of history. It is about John Lewis and James Zwerg.
Like many, I would love to have been a proverbial “fly on the wall,” listening intently to candid conversations between those two men. Of course, we –well, most of us anyway – know about the late congressman John Lewis. But James Zwerg?
There is much discussion in the United States of what race is, how it can be and is used for good and ill, and how it can be used permissibly from a legal perspective of “environmental justice” and “race neutrality” as a political initiative. These discussions can become quite heated. This article is an attempt to “disambiguate” the discussion, as the post-modern literary critics say.
Continue reading A Primer on Race Identification in America – by Marc Brenman
The tech industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. We live in a digital era where technology has become an essential part of our daily lives and work processes. For this reason, we need tech companies that create software that improves our lives, cybersecurity agencies that protect our online data, and experts who develop new technologies annually.
There is a high demand for technology and people who specialize in this field. What strikes me the most is the lack of diversity in such an essential industry like tech. Are the most qualified people always white and male? Or are other groups of people intentionally underrepresented?
The debate over Black History Month is not new, but it intensified when the Oscar nominees were all Caucasian and earned the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Provoked an outcry, it raised questions about the existence of Black Entertainment Television awards (BET) and whether it hurt rather than helped African Americans in Hollywood.
“Either we want to have segregation or integration. And if we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It’s a double standard, ” said actress Stacey Dash in Variety.
Continue reading Diversity Dilemma: Should there be a Black History Month? – by Deborah Levine
On Monday the nation will pause to observe the annual holiday honoring the life and legacy of iconic civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet too many Millennials and members of their younger cohort, Generation Z, consider civil rights history as ancient history at the dawn of a new millennium.
However, there are profound and poignant lessons which today’s young people need to learn. The most important lesson is how to make major changes in society through the type of peaceful means championed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow civil rights leaders of the time.
A term of significance for young people to comprehend is: “civil disobedience.” Continue reading MLK Day: Civil Rights Lessons for Millennials and Gen Z – by David Grinberg
The Native American community in the United States makes up a mere 3% of the population, yet they have perhaps been one of the most misunderstood and stereotyped groups in the nation. While Blackface has been frowned upon for at least 40 years now, sports mascots and symbology intended to “honor” Native Americans are still considered acceptable by far too many people. Many attempts have been made to erase Native American culture, and their history has been whitewashed.
However, these negative trends have been reversing. As we head into a new year, let’s look at three areas where Native Americans and their stories are headed in a more positive direction.
Continue reading Key Native American Trends for 2022 – by Susan McCuistion
Following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, the number of diversity-related jobs increased significantly as organizations worked to address issues that could no longer be ignored. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) became more important as organizations launched initiatives focusing on making meaningful change. While some organizations simply increased their diversity efforts, others created new positions focused on diversity. These positions ranged from entry-level jobs to executive-level positions and spanned all types of organizations including academia. Indeed.com reported that diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DI&B) job postings increased by 123% between May and September of 2020.
Continue reading Trends in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging – by Gail Dawson
In December, 2021, millions of secondary school students in India appeared for their Class X (Grade 10) exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
Since its inception in the 1920s, the Board has gone through several changes and emerged as one of the largest such organisations in the world, with more than 25,000 school — based in India and other countries — affiliated to it. Each year, about 2 million students take the secondary board exams.
Continue reading The exam paper that stumped all – by Mona Bopanna
A Co-Authored Interview
Carlos: Steve, now that you’ve retired as Associate Director of Residence Life at the University of Maryland, College Park, I would love to get your thoughts about the changing nature of student speech. In the twenty-five years that I worked with your department, I saw many changes.
Steve: You’re right. The two of us certainly had fun designing our Common Ground program back in the 1990s. That program would bring together diverse groups of students – sometimes more than a dozen – to discuss current equity dilemmas. A series of four, 90-minute dialogue sessions, all framed around a single provocative question. Should laws governing abortion be changed? Should universities use intentional methods to diversify their student populations? Rousing and illuminating conversations.
Instruct & Inspire with these Religious Diversity books by award-winning author Deborah Levine
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