Tomorrow, I’m speaking on a panel for the same Diversity Conference that I co-founded in high school. The question: what did DEIB and the conference mean to me at Holton and how has it informed my life/ experiences post-graduation…SO just sharing some thoughts here – in my opinion, DEI should be more than “organizational frameworks which seek to promote “the fair treatment and full participation of all people”. The definition of DEI is inherently performative and does not seek to change anything for people affected by the exact systems implementing such frameworks. DEI shouldn’t be minimized to an “org. framework” when the bare bones of it runs so much deeper than that…on a level of pure humanity. In the workplace, it should be deeper than a Zoom call for Asian employees to share their Lunar New Year traditions. In schools, it should be deeper than a block party to partake in “Blackness”. It should be deeper than a marketing department funneling resources toward commercials that capitalize on tragic current events.
DEI, as it exists today, is idealistic and based in potential because that concept doesn’t require the destabilization of the systems and processes that currently exist. Anything that’s added can just as easily be taken away. However, it’s impossible to remove DEI from a system that is built upon it, but “DEI” wasn’t written into the majority of origin stories. My formal DEI intro? Melissa Brown. My introduction to DEI’s significance? Holton Arms. The conclusion that DEI is a framework that needs to be reframed and reworked? Life. Now, I put my faith in organizations, brands, companies, etc. that have been founded and established through the longing for DEI. Truthfully, I’ve never stepped foot in a space that has “implemented DEI initiatives” and truly felt the D, the E, or the I.
& for Holton Arms specifically…the school can still exist while also understanding that the system it is built upon needs to be completely dismantled and re-established to ensure an experience that everyone has the privilege to reminisce fondly on. It’s a matter of humanity, so remove the politics, the economics, the statistics, the religion, the conditioning, all of it. Learn to feel something for someone other than yourself. True empathy. & In case you didn’t feel like reading…which I get… No one is truly free, til we’re all free. So learn more and love deeper.
