Dr. Awad Ibrahim—Acronymization of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) and the Need for EDI-Data Informed Policy
Our Guest, Awad Ibrahim, is full professor, Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence and holder of the Air Canada Professorship on Anti-Racism. He is a curriculum theorist with special interest in economy of hospitality (Derrida), cultural studies, Hip-Hop, youth and Black popular culture, social foundations (i.e., philosophy, history and sociology of education), social justice and community service learning, diasporic and continental African identities, ethnography and applied linguistics. With more than 100 publications, he has researched and published widely in these areas. Professor Ibrahim obtained his PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE), and has been with the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa since 2007. Before that, he taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (U.S.).
His immediate projects involve the Black experience on Canadian university campuses, equity policy in Ontario and the daily struggle of 'becoming a citizen' in Canada. Among his most recent books, Disruptive learning narrative framework: Analyzing race, power and privilege in post-secondary international service learning (2023); Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian academy: Teaching, learning, and researching while Black (2022); Black immigrants in North America: Essays on race, immigration, identity, language, Hip-Hop, pedagogy, and the politics of becoming Black (2022); Black immigrants in the United States: Essays on the politics of race, language, and voice (2020).
For high school students, he is known as Dr. Dre.
In this episode he poses the question, “Why was it so easy for Donald Trump to erase DEI policy with the stroke of a pen?”
Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD,PMP
Co-Host: Dr. Pinkie Mthembu
Sponsor: Patriox oxygenated water. Drinking Patriox helps oxygenate the body, promoting overall health, energy, and vitality. Receive a 10% discount on your next purchase with the code EDUPXE.
Resources:
- EDUP The Experience
- Culture Race and Intersectionality Network
- International Congress of School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI)
Greeting: Nicholas Hartlep
#EDUPXE #EDUCATIONALEXCELLENCE #EDUCATIONALEQUITY
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From my own experience as the
Vice Provost, Equity, Diversity,
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Inclusive Excellence, my
approach and commitment to
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diversity is not necessarily
what the institution had in
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mind.
As Sarah Ahmed put it, code, if
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institutionalizing diversity is
a goal of diversity workers like
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myself, it does not necessarily
mean it is the institution's
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goal.
That's a really complex idea
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that I, I wanted, I want us to
tease out.
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So the fact that I'm committed
to diversity, it does not
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express, it does not mean that
the institution has the same
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goal as I as I do.
I say I'm a continuous EDI and
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anti racist work can feel like
banging your head against the
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brick wall.
The wall keeps its place, so
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it's you who get sore.
This is because Ceramic explains
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we as EDI and anti racist
practitioners, we do not just
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work at institutions, we work on
them as well.
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This is Nicholas Hartlett,
Robert Charles Billings Endowed
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Chair in Education at Berea
College, and you're listening to
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Add Up Accelerated Excellence.
This episode is supported in
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Find more details in the show
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notes.
Thank you for listening to Add
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Up Accelerated Excellence and we
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We ask that all educators and
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regularly heard from, for at
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least 10 minutes.
This week, reflect on what
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you've learned about educational
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Add Up xe.com and we look
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Welcome, welcome.
Welcome to Add Up Accelerated
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Excellence, the podcast for the
advancement of educational
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excellence and equity.
And I'm your host, Jacob Easley,
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the second PhD PMP.
And for this episode, I'm so
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happy to share with you a
recording from a recent webinar
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hosted by the Culture, Race and
Intersectionality Network of the
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International Congress for
School Effectiveness and
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Improvement, where Doctor
Pinkett with Thingbu and I are
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Co coordinators.
Founded in 2023, the Culture,
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Race and Intersectionality
Network of IGSEI welcomes
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inquiries and engagement in
school effectiveness and
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improvement mediated by race,
culture, and the broader notions
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of intersectionality.
Developed from the work of
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Igse's commitment on
generational renewal, inclusion,
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and diversity, otherwise known
as GRID, the CRI Network
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recognizes and affirms the
intersectionality between race
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and culture as an integral and
significant factor for improving
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the future of education.
Our special guest today is
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Professor Abwad Ibrahim and he
will address the topic of a
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criminalization of equity,
Diversity and inclusion or EDI,
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and the need for EDI data
informed policy.
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Doctor Ibrahim is full Professor
and Vice Provost for Equity,
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Diversity and Inclusive
Excellence, as well as the
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holder of the Air Canada
Professorship on Anti Racism at
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the University of Ottawa in
Canada.
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He is a curriculum theorist with
special interests in economy of
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hospitality, cultural studies,
hip hop, youth and Black popular
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culture, social foundations,
social justice and community
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service learning, diasporic and
continental African identities
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and ethnography and applied
linguistics.
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Welcome to the show, Doctor
Ibrahim. 1st, thank you, thank
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you Jacob, thank you Pinky and
thank you Christina.
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I, I know you had better things
to, to and I know Ruth and there
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are other people who are joining
us.
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You had better things to do and
you could, you could be with
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your family at this point.
So very, very much appreciated
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that that you are joining us
also shows our commitment to the
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work that we do.
I want to begin with a nod, a
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physical nod to our Indigenous
people.
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I am located in Canada and I
assume the same thing with Jacob
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and, and then also as well.
And what I want to do is I want
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to express my gratitude.
Yes, they did not have the
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choice of welcoming us on this
land, but they have not asked us
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to leave.
So I'm utterly grateful.
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I'm also in the spirit of black,
but I bring that the spirit of
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ancestors, my ancestors who as
well did not have the choice of
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coming to this land of ours.
And, and I always remembered,
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and I want all of us to, to be
thinking about those people who
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crossed the Atlantic not by
choice, but by force.
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And, and because of slings me
and I always, always as a
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linguist, listen to the language
they were, they were speaking
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the language they are hearing
that they do not recognize that
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I'm being English to Giza or
Spanish or, or, or, or
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otherwise.
And, and I also want to assume
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that I'm not just myself.
I'm kind of standing on the
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shoulders of many, many people.
And so I want to, I want all of
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that to be at the back of, of,
of my talk.
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I want to express my utter
gratitude to Doctor Easley and
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Doctor Matumbo for your generous
invitation.
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So thank you and thank you again
for all the people who are here
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and, and, and, and, and, and so
I, what I, what I want to do, I
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want to do 4 things.
And I, and I, I kind of want to
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summarize them this way.
I want to go back to professor
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at Harvard, Homie Baba, who used
to be in the in in the European.
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He makes a distinction between
diversity and difference.
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So I want to revisit this idea
and why it's so so significant
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for all of us to be thinking
about this.
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Second, I want to at a time as,
as Doctor Easley just mentioned,
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when the policies and politics
of equity, diversity and
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inclusion, and I am Canadian, so
we use EDI and there is a reason
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for that and which will become
clear later on when these
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policies and politics are under
assault.
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It's high time for us, as Doctor
Easley mentioned to, for us to
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define our terms and be clear
about the logic of these
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policies and politics.
At the same time acknowledging
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their limits and work with their
radical possibilities.
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Really, really want us to hold
on to that.
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So I want, I don't want to
celebrate it.
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I want to actually engage it in
a midway, some kind of work.
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So this is one thing that I, I
want us to kind of be thinking
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about engaging, not just
celebrating.
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And I want all of us to ask this
question thinking about the US
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context in particular.
And this is essentially the
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discussion question that I want.
I want all of us to be thinking
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about why was it so easy?
There's a stroke of a pen for
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Donald Trump to do away with DEI
in the states.
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And in the states, they use DEI,
not EDI.
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So this is really the big
question that I wanted to
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grapple with.
Three, I want to make a
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distinction that as a way to
think about to answer this
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question that I just posed, why
was it so easy for Donald Trump
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to indestructible pen to do away
with DI policy?
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As a way to start to the
question, I want to introduce
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what I'm calling the politics of
acronymization, the politics of
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acronymization.
And I want to introduce that as
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a culprit, as the reason, one of
the major reasons why we had
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what we what we are currently
having in the states.
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DEI in the states became just an
acronym.
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People did not really grapple
with, with it and, and as they
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should, they don't even know
what it means in some cases.
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So you, you're going to use in
the states, people use different
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terms, so DI and, and, and race
critical race theory and so on
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and so forth.
So this becomes kind of just
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kind of a, a facade kind of a
fad kind of kind of terms.
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I'm suggesting if we do not
define our terms, we will
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discover that EDI is not DEI.
And that's not just a semantic,
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that's legal.
The difference which will become
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clear in my discussion again,
4th and this is the last thing,
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if we define our terms, I'm
arguing that we should be
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coupling DEI and EDI and anti
racism.
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They should not be seen as two
separate things.
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But the really big question that
I wanted, I want all of us to
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grapple with is why was it so
easy for Donald Trump to do away
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with DI?
So let's let's go with the first
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slide.
The difference the the kind of
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the distinction that Hami Baba
makes between diversity and
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difference.
In a classic article where he
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critiqued multiculturalism, Humi
Baba makes this an interesting
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distinction that is relevant to
my argument about diversity
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versus difference.
He argues that in multimodalism
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there is a distinction between
what he calls, quote, a creation
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of cultural diversity and code,
and code a containment of
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cultural difference.
Kami Baba argues that within the
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W Ocean tradition, although
there's always an entertainment
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of cultural diversities, there
is also a corresponding
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containment of it.
This containment is that event
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taking place in subtle, in
subtle, and in subtlety, and
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through processes of what he
calls normalization, where the
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dominant culture becomes
ubiquitous, normalized gaze.
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In other words, and I'm coding
Homi Baba here, a transparent
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norm is constituted A norm given
by the host society or dominant
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culture, which says these other
cultures are fine, but we must
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be able to locate them within
our grid and code.
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This is what Sarah Ahmed calls
diversity management, which acts
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as a technology of control that
does that, does everything to
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avoid conflict and dissent
within diversity management.
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Diversity has to come.
Sorry, has come code
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overwhelmingly to mean inclusion
of people who look different and
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code.
This is our Ahmed writing
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defined as such.
Then diversity does something
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really absurd.
I want to I want to pause here
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because this isn't one of my
main argument.
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Diversity does something really
absurd.
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It not only keeps whiteness in
place, but it makes actually
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whiteness as a yardstick against
which everything and everyone is
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measured.
Diversity management creates an
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economy of hospitality where
whiteness becomes the host and
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those who embody diversity are
turned into guests into what she
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calls Space Invaders.
And I'm quoting here Sarah
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Hammond.
To be welcomed is to be
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positioned as one who is not at
home.
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Conditional hospitality is when
you are welcomed on condition
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that you're you.
You give us something back in
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return.
The multicultural nation
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functions this way.
The nation offers hospitality
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and even love to wouldn't be
citizens as long as they return
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this hospitality by integrating
or by identifying with the
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nation.
People of color in white
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organizations are treated as
guests, temporary residents in
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someone else's home.
People of color, people of color
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are welcomed on condition they
return that hospitality by
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00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,839
integrating into a common
organizational culture.
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Interestingly enough, within
diversity management, diversity
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becomes a technology of
exclusion, I emphasize, not
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inclusion.
This is why we need to think in
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terms of difference.
Difference works with
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categories, gender, social
class, sexuality is ability, and
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so on and so forth.
Hence the idea of
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intersectionality.
Difference requires not only
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intersectionality but strategic
essentialism.
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I emphasize it requires not only
intersectionality, but it also
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requires strategic essentialism.
This is Yatris Kyivak and she
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argues that since we cannot deal
with these social categories,
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gender, social class, sexuality,
race, ability and so on and so
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00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:26,320
forth all at once and with the
same force, we have to choose,
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in other words, essentialize one
category that becomes our our
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00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:42,040
our category of a struggle.
Feminism chose gender, L GB TQI
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00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:49,280
AS2 plus chose sexuality, anti
racism chose race, and so on and
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00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,760
so forth.
In working with these categories
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we are not making them, we are
simply acknowledging the real
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presence and thus investigating
their social and psychic impact.
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00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:12,000
We need to remember first these
are are no abstract intellectual
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categories.
These are real categories with
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00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:21,120
real consequences and they are
someone's life that we are
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00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:26,480
talking about.
If you are a trans living in the
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00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:31,960
states right now, sexuality and
gender are not abstract ideas or
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00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:39,840
categories. 2nd, we need to
realize that not all categories
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have the same weight all the
time.
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So we need to acknowledge the
difference that makes a
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difference.
I emphasize, and I'm I'm
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speaking particularly to Pinky's
students here, not all
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categories work with they have
the same weight or the same
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force.
That's why sometimes you need to
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make a decision.
This category is the difference.
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I need to acknowledge this as
acknowledge it as the difference
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that makes a difference in this
sense for Black people.
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Black lives matter.
And we would argue that blue
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lives matter for some, but for
sure not for black people.
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00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:43,200
Second argument that I'm making
equality is not equally a very
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00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,040
interesting but very, very banal
idea.
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But it's really worth kind of
revisiting.
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We need to define our terms.
Equity is not equality,
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diversity is not different.
And inclusion is again, not an
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abstract category.
And this is just a visual way to
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talk about with what I'm talking
about.
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And I'm, and I'm going to
explain this for pinky students
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because I, I'm, I'm, I'm sure
the rest of us have seen it
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00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,320
before.
So this is a visual
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representation of equality.
And I'm, I'm using the, I'm
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00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,520
looking at the, the picture at
the top.
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00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:37,120
I'm starting from left to right
equality where it says we're
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00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:39,160
going to treat everybody the
same.
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00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,320
So no matter how tall you are
and no matter how wealthy you
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00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,600
are, it doesn't matter if we're
going to have that fence, we're
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00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:50,080
going to treat everybody the
same.
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00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:55,960
So we end up with a reality like
this where people are over, way
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00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,840
over.
And some people are not just
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beyond the fence, they are under
the fence.
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00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:09,400
Where, when then we move to
equality equity, the second
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00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:16,080
picture from top and moving from
left to right equity, where we
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00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:20,600
going to say, so equality is
treating everybody the same.
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00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,240
Equity is treating everybody
according to their needs.
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00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,040
That's why you're going to see
the, the, the, the, the, the boy
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00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:35,120
in the, the, the left.
They need they, I assume he, I'm
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00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,080
going to just say he, they, they
need more boxes.
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00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,840
And beside that is the reality
that we already have.
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00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:54,080
Our aim should be the liberation
idea where we get out, I'll get
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00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:57,560
rid of the whole fence.
That's my, that's our hope.
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00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:02,880
That's our ultimate goal.
But I'm going to suggest is not
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00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:08,520
just getting rid of the fence,
but to actually in kind of
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00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,400
making the viewers themselves as
part of the game itself.
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00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,680
That's not just getting rid of
the fans, but actually making
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00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,400
people actors within the play.
That's our ultimate liberation.
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00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,960
You're going to see the same
thing with the reality equality
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00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:27,320
at the bottom.
It's the same.
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00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:31,840
It's a different way of
expressing that as we see in
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00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:35,560
these features, we do not all
start at the same point with the
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00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:42,400
same abilities and resources.
This is why for the argument I'm
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00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:49,160
making a discussion or on
meritocracy is not only false
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00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:55,160
with a distraction.
If you apply a quality
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00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,640
principle, then Marcos, and I'm
going to just ask you Marcos.
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00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:05,520
I'm just going to give her a
character who's a Filipino and
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00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:12,120
and Tagalog speaker who arrived
recently in let's just give
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00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:17,720
Australia as an example will
suffer substantially because he
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00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,680
will be treated like anybody
else.
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00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:25,320
You can't treat all your class
the same way, and I think Pinky,
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00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:30,160
you would agree with me on this.
This is where equity becomes
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00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:34,240
significant, where you are
treated, where you're treating
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00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:41,240
people according to their needs.
Then there is diversity, which
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00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:47,000
is a rabbit hole since we're all
diverse, even within ourselves.
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00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:52,840
To bring difference into
different bodies, into an
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00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:58,000
institution, without any notion
of why we need these bodies and
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00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,160
what they are supposed to do
once they are in the
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00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:07,640
institution, is to rewrite Sammy
Greenlee's autobiographical
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00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:13,120
novel The Spook Who Sat At By
the Door.
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I really, really hope you know
this novel.
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00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,080
If you don't, I highly recommend
you look.
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00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:25,760
Looking it up.
This is the 1950s CIA, which was
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00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:33,400
almost 100% white and male.
Sam Greenlee, an African
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00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:39,560
American, was hired by way of
showing diversity.
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00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:46,640
The CIA made him sit at the
front door of the CIA building.
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00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:52,680
He was the first person everyone
who is entering the building
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00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:57,560
will see.
It's really, really interesting
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00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,920
if you think about it from that
perspective.
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00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,720
This is the diversity which not
only keeps and normalizes
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00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:10,840
whiteness, but it licenses the
the continuation of
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00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,760
institutional racism on the one
hand, and it allows institutions
308
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,240
to wash their hands off
diversity.
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00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,440
Diversity now has an office and
an officer.
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00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:29,920
Canada is hiding and I and I,
I'm gonna air some deer linen
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00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,280
here.
And I don't know how the
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00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:38,760
situation is like in, in, in
Sweden and in, in, in South
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00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,680
Africa.
It's hiding behind the idea of
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00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:46,360
privacy not to collect race
data, for example.
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00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,720
We still don't do not have that.
We can't talk about inclusive
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00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,880
excellence, not guess inclusion.
And by the way, this is my take.
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00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:59,880
This is the, I was the one who
chose my title as equity,
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00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,040
diversity and inclusive
excellence, not just inclusion,
319
00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:09,800
inclusive excellence.
So I'm, I emphasize that was for
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00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,080
a long time study, having to
study the history of it.
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00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,200
For a long time, inclusion was
put in competition against
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00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,800
excellence.
And that's why I said I'm
323
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:26,800
arguing that they have to be,
they have to be one and the
324
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,120
same.
So inclusion can't continue to
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00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:34,320
be a fluffy notion.
It will never be excellent if it
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00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,520
does not have data or if it's
not data based.
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00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:43,720
How do you address people's need
if you do not know who you're
328
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,600
talking to or who we have on
campus?
329
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:50,960
In what follows, I want to push
EDIA bit further.
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00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:53,960
Even EDII want to push it a
little bit further.
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00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,640
So I'm talking about equity,
diversity, and inclusion to a
332
00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,440
place where I actually make my
own work.
333
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:05,440
Racism, or as the Americans
would say, anti racism.
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00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,360
So if you can, you can go either
or similar to categories of
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00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,760
difference.
So gender, sexuality, race,
336
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,960
ability and so on.
We need to remember that EDI is
337
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:20,600
not an office.
It is not a pretty and brilliant
338
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,560
policy we have on our
institutions websites.
339
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:30,960
It is a daily grinding work and
practices and it concerns
340
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,920
everyone and it's definitely not
a destination we're going to
341
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:37,680
reach.
No one gets up in the morning
342
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:42,000
and says I'm so full, I'm so EDI
full now.
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00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,840
It's a daily practice.
It's a, it's a grinding work.
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00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:53,000
The fact that we have an EDI
vice Provost office does the
345
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:58,280
opposite of what is intended.
It permits the institution to
346
00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:04,080
concentrate EDI into that office
and ask the vice Provost to
347
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,200
create magic.
Sonia Tang argues that there are
348
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:12,920
two elements that are absolutely
essential if EDI is to be
349
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:15,720
successful and not just
performative.
350
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:24,280
One, we need to approach it not
as a workshop, not as one off,
351
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:29,480
but as a daily ongoing practice
that involves every single
352
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:35,280
person in the institution. 2 You
need a committed and visionary
353
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:38,360
leadership in order for EDI to
be successful.
354
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:43,840
That just does not talk the
talk, but walk the walk as well
355
00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:48,040
or walk the talk.
If you don't have these two
356
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:53,600
components, then institutions
are devaluing the EDI work and
357
00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,960
setting up the vice Provost EDI
for failure.
358
00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:04,600
It seems to me that EDI needs
the bottom up to rise, the top
359
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:09,600
to lead, but it also needs the
middle management as well.
360
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:15,360
This middle management is a
category we tend to neglect in
361
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,640
EDI work.
Having said that, if we want to
362
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:23,680
talk at social justice, it seems
to me that we need to go one
363
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:29,360
step up the ladder because of
time.
364
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:34,560
I will simply say anti racism is
strategically centralizes race
365
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:39,880
as a point of departure as we
think about intersectionality
366
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,440
because there is something about
race that brings chill in the
367
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:47,400
room.
I emphasize I we can talk
368
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:50,960
gender, we can talk sexuality,
we can talk everything else.
369
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,280
As soon as you bring race,
people's finds go up, hair go
370
00:30:55,320 --> 00:30:58,480
up, and something happens in the
room.
371
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,400
There's chill.
And it is probably the only
372
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:05,920
category that people do
everything to avoid.
373
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:10,120
This is anti.
This is why anti racism calls
374
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:15,400
into question that category,
that categories of difference
375
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:21,280
are created to distribute power
differently to different people
376
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,080
and black people.
So this is This is why anti
377
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:28,000
racism essentializes race to
begin with.
378
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:33,640
And then it says that this there
are some categories that the
379
00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,000
categories the intersection out
of that we're talking about.
380
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,040
These are categories to
distribute power.
381
00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,520
This is a power question more
than guest categories.
382
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,720
I'm going to go faster.
If EDI calls for evolutionary
383
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,320
change and to racism calls for
revolutionary change and to
384
00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:56,680
racism calls into question the
false dichotomy we created in
385
00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:02,080
the Academy between this,
between the Academy and the
386
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,680
community.
This is the false dichotomy,
387
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,960
this idea of the Ivy League
versus, you know, the community
388
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:13,040
on the ground.
The struggle is in The Academy
389
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:16,360
Is as important as the so-called
community.
390
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,720
Anti racism is addressed to all
students.
391
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:27,800
Indeed, in places like the one
where Alison is coming is is at
392
00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:32,360
right now, where everybody looks
alike, think alike, dress alike.
393
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:36,320
That is where anti racism
becomes even more important.
394
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:42,000
It's more important, I would
assume for Christina in
395
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,680
Christina's context, more
important than if it's in New
396
00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,440
York.
Anti racism is about dismantling
397
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:54,960
white male privilege and status
quo.
398
00:32:55,240 --> 00:33:00,280
And ask this question, whose
knowledge is privilege and why?
399
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:06,280
Finally, anti racism is about
opening up spaces so that people
400
00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,440
can locate themselves in time
and space.
401
00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,640
And here I'm addressing pink as
students and let me just re read
402
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,440
this.
Anti racism is about opening up
403
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:24,840
spaces so that people can locate
themselves in time and space and
404
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,200
at the same time question the
adequacy of that location.
405
00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:35,160
With our eyes wide open, let us
create a welcoming climate that
406
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,240
keeps his spiritual and mental
health questions alive.
407
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:44,440
If we're not good to ourselves,
we're not good to anyone else.
408
00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:46,720
And Jacob, I think you would
agree with me on that.
409
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:52,680
Let us always remember that life
is a story and we are the author
410
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:57,000
of that story.
My hope is we are going to write
411
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:03,000
beautiful story, poetic story by
the end of the day.
412
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:11,360
Anti racism is an act of love as
the as it is, as it is showing
413
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:16,159
and on the slide.
An act of love.
414
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,639
What a great ending to this
webinar with provocative
415
00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:27,159
questions and thoughts around
how we can advance educational
416
00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:30,280
excellence and equity in our
institutions.
417
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:35,400
Thank you, Doctor Adword
Ibrahim, and we challenge each
418
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:39,080
of you to join the XE Listening
Tour.
419
00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,719
Challenge yourself this week to
listen to a voice that you often
420
00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:47,480
don't hear from.
Whether it be a parent, a
421
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:52,520
student, or community member,
reflect on what you learn from
422
00:34:52,520 --> 00:35:04,360
their story.
regardingeducationalexcellenceorequityandthenshareyourinsightsviaavoicemail@edupxe.com.
423
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:11,000
That's edupxe.com and your
contribution may be featured on
424
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,840
air during this podcast and we
look forward to hearing from
425
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:21,800
you.
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notes.
Thank you for engaging with Ed
434
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:05,800
Up Accelerated Excellence, a
member of the Ed Up Experience
435
00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:09,320
network of educational podcasts.
You can find this and other
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Professor & Vice-Provost EDI
Awad Ibrahim is full professor, Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence and holder of the Air Canada Professorship on Anti-Racism. He is a curriculum theorist with special interest in economy of hospitality (Derrida), cultural studies, Hip-Hop, youth and Black popular culture, social foundations (i.e., philosophy, history and sociology of education), social justice and community service learning, diasporic and continental African identities, ethnography and applied linguistics. With more than a 100 publications, he has researched and published widely in these areas. Professor Ibrahim obtained his PhD from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE), and has been with the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa since 2007. Before that, he taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio (U.S.). His immediate projects involve the Black experience on Canadian university campuses, equity policy in Ontario and the daily struggle of 'becoming a citizen' in Canada. Among his most recent books, Disruptive learning narrative framework: Analyzing race, power and privilege in post-secondary international service learning (2023); Nuances of Blackness in the Canadian academy: Teaching, learning, and researching while Black (2022); Black immigrants in North America: Essays on race, immigration, identity, language, Hip-Hop, pedagogy, and the politics of becoming Black (2022); Black immigrants in the United States: Essays on the politics of race, language, and voice (2020). For high school students, he is known …