Don’t Believe the Hype: Educating Beyond DEI Through Justice and to Healing: Webinar
The social uprising and unrest of 2020 resulted in an increased institutional focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). Many school districts, colleges/universities, municipalities, and corporations scrambled to show their “wokeness” by establishing or re-igniting DEI initiatives and hiring DEI-focused staff. These efforts were happening parallel to attempts by some to control curriculum, limit academic freedom, and stifle efforts to ensure educational equity. In this second webinar of a year-long conversation surrounding the myriad complicated challenges faced by K–20 educators and administrators, join thought leaders Adam A. Smith and Heather C. Lou for a panel discussion and interactive conversation as they examine ways we as educators can go beyond performative DEI and be empowered with real tools to create educational justice and healing.
In this webinar, we discuss:
- Moving beyond cultural competence to cultural mindfulness.
- The normalization of attacks on curriculum and tools educators can use to maintain academic freedom.
- The adverse impact of DEI efforts on the wellness of educators of color.
- The continued impact of racialized trauma on Black and Brown students, educators, and higher education leaders.
About the Presenters
Adam A. Smith is a first-generation college graduate who has dedicated his almost three-decade career to ensuring college access and success for all Americans. He currently works at the University of Kentucky as Executive Director of University Academic Advising and has a vibrant public speaking and educational consulting firm, Adam A. Smith & Associates. Smith has led coalitions and innovations that have had a dramatic impact on student success at Metropolitan State University (MN), the University of Alabama, the University of Akron City of Rockford (IL), and Rock Valley College.
heather c. lou (she/her/hers) is an angry gemini earth dragon, multiracial, asian, queer, cisgender, disabled, survivor/surviving, anxious, and depressed womxn of color artist and educator based in st. paul, minnesota, which is the hxstorical occupied land of the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples. find out more about hclou at: hclouart.com or instagram.com/hclou