Sunday, September 5, 2010

Struggles with "Diversity" at SIUE

Too often, the talk about "diversity" at our university fails to deal with some tough questions about African American interests here. Sure, "diversity" should deal with more than just black people. But my worry is that some of the recent trends we're seeing with so-called diversity regularly exclude black folks.

Why do conversations about diversity rarely highlight the need to address the ongoing legacies of anti-black racism? Didn't the earliest pushes for diversity emerge out of struggles to eradicate institutional forms of segregation, exclusion, and mistreatment?

Does the perceived militancy of black people encourage university officials to favor "minorities" that are seemingly easier-to-deal-with? How can we move conversations about diversity beyond the surface level of numbers to instead include concerns about how we feel black people are and can be treated on campus?

Related Posts:
Fear of Black Studies

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