The two of us first met in July, 2020, when we were asked to serve as inaugural co-directors of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine’s new Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism (HESJAR) curricular initiative. Health equity, social justice, and anti-racism are important concepts, but they can easily degenerate into little more … Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 39: Creating Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés and Adwoa Osei→
Keynote Address for Constitutional Law: The End of Affirmative Action Part of the Signature DIAlogue Webinar Series of the Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources Thank you for the opportunity of reflecting on Affirmative Action, particularly the two recent Supreme Court decisions that struck down the admissions policies of Harvard University and the University … Continue reading End of Affirmative Action? A Tale of Two Stories – by Dr. Carlos Cortés→
I’m no artist. Never have been. I’ve always enjoyed viewing art, but I can’t draw or paint a lick. I even finished at the bottom of last December’s family cookie decorating contest. Thankfully, the Riverside (California) Art Museum didn’t know about my failings when it asked me to become the consulting humanist for its new … Continue reading Diversity and Speech No. 38: Conversations at The Cheech – by Carlos Cortés→
Diversity language seems to wander through a series of predictable phases. First, someone comes up with a new term like micro-aggressions, or retrofits an old dictionary word like violence. A few terms catch on and become diversity specialist standard fare, then enter public lingo, sometimes celebrated, sometimes mocked. Finally, after the heat dies down and … Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 34: Revisiting Privilege – by Carlos E. Cortés→
Brotherly Perspectives on Religious Experiences A co-authored Interview Carlos: Last year I wrote a column about the tribulations of Growing up Bi-Religious in our religiously-mixed household in Kansas City, Missouri: Dad a Catholic with a Mexican immigrant father – Mom, a Reform Jew with a Ukrainian immigrant father and an Austrian immigrant mother. I had to … Continue reading Diversity and Speech #33: Bi-Religious – by Carlos Cortés, Gary Cortés→
Most public surveys about free speech and the First Amendment go something like this. “Do you believe in the idea of free speech?” Overwhelmingly yes. “Should group slurs be allowed?” Overwhelmingly no.. “Do you support the First Amendment?” Overwhelmingly yes. “Should hate speech be permitted?” Overwhelmingly no. What gives? Aren’t these positions inconsistent? Yes, in … Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 32: Language Tensions of Speech and Social Justice – by Carlos E. Cortés→
