DEI Home - Diversity | Equity | Inclusion Resources at Truman College

Truman College is committed to creating a welcoming, respectful, and diverse and inclusive environment for our students, faculty, and staff. This guide contains links to hundreds of valuable resources on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) topics.


Diversity: Multiple identities and experiences within an organization.	Equity: The fair treatment of all people to ensure full participation and advancement.	Inclusion: Thoughts, ideas, and perspectives of all individuals matter.

DEI Glossary contains a list of important social justice terms and definitions (Pacific University in Oregon).

This site is organized by specific DEI and social justice topics, linked from the menu at the left:

DEI & Open Educational Resources (OER)
Bias & Microaggressions; Intersectionality
Race & Ethnicity
Sex & Gender
Social Class, Socioeconomics, & Social Justice
Immigration & Citizenship
Religion & Spirituality
Neurodiversity & Dis/ability
Mental Health & Healing

Topical pages are further subdivided by terminology; books in the CCC libraries; articles & essays; audiovisual resources; Open Educational Resources (OER); and guides & tools. All citations are hyperlinked.

Please note:

though it is extensive, this guide is by no means exhaustive. Contact the library to suggest additions, or with questions regarding resources.
some of the resources in this guide may contain triggering material.

-- Truman College Library & Truman College Diversity and Inclusion Committee

DEI Annotated Bibliography This annotated bibliography was created to fulfill requirements for a special assignment for the 2023 City Colleges Libraries Open Educational Resources (OER) Initiative Project, which is focused on providing resources for City Colleges English faculty to use, with the intention for them to produce or remix OER incorporating the themes of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), access and/or social justice for their courses. Though the list below is extensive, it is by no means exhaustive. DEI Annotated Bibliography by Sara K. Klein is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Books @ CCC

Cover art From Equity Talk to Equity Walk

Cover art It's Time to Talk (and Listen)

Cover art Defending the Community College Equity Agenda

Print Books

Clark, C., Fasching-Varner, K. J., & Brimhall-Vargas, M. (Eds.). (2012). Occupying the academy : just how important is diversity work in higher education?. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. "In the wake of the election of President Obama, many diversity scholars and practitioners imagined that renewed commitments to educational equity and justice were just around the corner. Unfortunately, the opposite has become the Obama-era reality. Across the country, equity and diversity workers at all levels in university and colleges, but especially Chief Diversity Officers in public institutions, are under assault. Is this assault a result of a pre-meditated and carefully calculated conservative political agenda or the unfortunate consequence of how largely white, politically conservative--and the power bases they represent--are expressing their anger about the changing racial landscape in the United States? This volume explores and deconstructs the reasons for this assault from various perspectives. This volume also illustrates how the national assault on equity and diversity has resulted in a continuum. At one end are 'diversity-friendly' institutions that are benignly neglecting equity/diversity efforts because of state budget crises. At the other end of the spectrum are the deliberate efforts being made to systematically dismantle equity and diversity work in especially politically conservative states."--Publisher's website.
Kim, M. M. (2021). The wake up : closing the gap between good intentions and real change. Hachette Go. "As we become more aware of various social injustices in the world, many of us want to be part of the movement toward positive change. But sometimes our best intentions cause unintended harm, and we fumble. We might feel afraid to say the wrong thing and feel guilt for not doing or knowing enough. Sometimes we might engage in performative allyship rather than thoughtful solidarity, leaving those already marginalized further burdened and exhausted. The feelings of fear, insecurity, inadequacy are all too common among a wide spectrum of changemakers, and they put many at a crossroads between feeling stuck and giving up, or staying grounded to keep going. So how can we go beyond performative allyship to creating real change in ourselves and in the world, together? In The Wake Up, Michelle MiJung Kim shares foundational principles often missing in today's mainstream conversations around "diversity and inclusion," inviting readers to deep dive into the challenging and nuanced work of pursuing equity and justice, while exploring various complexities, contradictions, and conflicts inherent in our imperfect world. With a mix of in-the-trenches narrative and accessible unpacking of hot button issues--from inclusive language to representation to "cancel culture"--Michelle offers sustainable frameworks that guide us how to think, approach, and be in the journey as thoughtfully and powerfully as possible."--Amazon.com
Sensoy, Ö. & DiAngelo, R. (2017). Is everyone really equal? : an introduction to key concepts in social justice education. Teachers College Press. Based on the authors' extensive experience in a range of settings in the United States and Canada, the book addresses the most common stumbling blocks to understanding social justice. This comprehensive resource includes new features such as a chapter on intersectionality and classism; discussion of contemporary activism (Black Lives Matter, Occupy, and Idle No More); material on White Settler societies and colonialism; pedagogical supports related to "common social patterns" and "vocabulary to practice using"; and extensive updates throughout. Accessible to students from high school through graduate school, Is Everyone Really Equal? is a detailed and engaging textbook and professional development resource presenting the key concepts in social justice education. The text includes many user-friendly features, examples, and vignettes to not just define but illustrate the concepts.
Washington, E. F. (2022). The necessary journey : making real progress on equity and inclusion. Harvard Business Review Press. ""What does a workplace utopia look like to you?" This is the question Dr. Ella F. Washington asks companies, and often she hears about an ideal vision of an organization that values diversity and inclusion and wants employees to bring their whole selves to work. Many organizations desire this ideal vision and know that it's a journey to get there-but still don't know what's required to make the journey. Organizations have largely missed the mark when it comes to creating environments where all employees thrive in an equal and equitable way, because they treat diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a program that gets done rather than the necessary and difficult journey it is. A truly inclusive workplace requires invention and reinvention, mistakes and humility, adaptation to a changing world, constant self-reflection, and sometimes significant sacrifice. The road to an inclusive workplace is a difficult one, but you can traverse it, and there's help along the way. Start here with stories of companies making the necessary journey, including Slack, Kaiser Permanente, and PwC. Hear from their leaders about their successes and failures, times they were on the vanguard, and the moments they realized they had much more work to do. These are profiles in perseverance from people who are keen enough to recognize the need for inclusive workplaces and humble enough to know they're not there yet. Washington brings her years of experience as a DEI leader in multiple industries to give you a frame for thinking about where these companies are on their journey and where you may be, too. Progress is hard-won on the necessary journey to becoming an inclusive organization, but it must be won. John Lewis said it best: "You see something you want to get done, you cannot give up, and you cannot give in.""-- Provided by publisher.

eBooks

Bailey, T. & Morest, V. S. (2006). Defending the Community College Equity Agenda. Johns Hopkins University Press. Community colleges enroll almost half of all undergraduates in the United States. These two-year colleges manifest the American commitment to accessible and affordable higher education. With about 1,200 institutions nationwide, community colleges have made significant progress over the past decade in opening access and have become the critical entry point to higher education for many Americans who traditionally have been left out of educational and economic opportunity. Yet economic, political, and social developments have increased the challenges community colleges face in pursuing an “equity agenda.” Some of these include falling state budgets combined with growing enrollments, a greater emphasis on outcome-based accountability, competition from for-profit institutions, and growing immigrant student populations. These trials come at a time when community colleges confront crucial economic and workforce development pressures that may impact their mission. How can community colleges continue to maintain their open-door policies, support underprepared students, and struggle to help enrolled students complete degrees and certificates that prepare them for success in the workplace? Building on case studies of colleges in six states—New York, Texas, Florida, California, Washington, and Illinois—this volume offers a fresh examination of the issues currently facing American community colleges. Drawing on their fieldwork supplemented by national data, the authors analyze how these challenges impact the community college mission of educational opportunity—especially for low-income students, students of color, and other underserved groups—and how colleges are responding to a drastically different environment. They then propose a set of strategies to strengthen the role of community colleges in providing both access and opportunities for achievement for all students.
Bopaiah, M. (2021). Equity : How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. A fast and engaging read, Equity helps leaders create more inclusive organizations using human-centered design and behavior change principles.Even the most passionate advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion have been known to treat equity as the middle child—the concept they skip over to get to the warm, fuzzy feelings of inclusion. But Minal Bopaiah shows throughout this book that equity is critical if organizations really want to leverage differences for greater impact.Equity allows leaders to create organizations where employees can contribute their unique strengths and collaborate better with peers. Bopaiah explains how leaders can effectively raise awareness of systemic bias and craft new policies that lead to better outcomes and lasting behavioral changes. This book is rich in real-world examples, such as managing partners at a consulting firm who learn to retell their personal stories of success by crediting their systemic advantages and news managers at NPR who redesign their processes to support greater diversity among news sources. This slender book expands DEI past human resources initiatives and shows how leaders can embed equity into core business functions like marketing and communications. Filled with humor, heart, and pragmatism, Equity is a guidebook for change, answering the question of how that so many leaders are asking today.
Esmail, A., Pitre, A., & Aragon, A. (2017). Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice in Educational Leadership. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice in Educational Leadership provides educational leaders with practical steps for implementing multicultural education into schools. Drawing from multicultural scholars like James Bank's it equips educational leaders with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to ensure that schools provide all students with equal educational opportunities. Concepts such culturally responsive leadership, transformative leadership, and restorative justice are discussed throughout the book.
Kara, B. & Wilson, H. (2022). Diverse Educators : A Manifesto. University of Buckingham Press. Structured around the Equality Act and written collaboratively, Diverse Educators: A Manifesto aims to capture the collective voice of the teaching community and to showcase the diverse lived experiences of educators.The book is divided into ten chapters, one for each of the nine Protected Characteristics (Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Pregnancy and Maternity; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Race; Religion and Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation) with a tenth chapter exploring intersectionality.Framed in theory and interweaving personal and professional narrative from over 100 contributors, this ground-breaking text responds to current and historic debates, while remaining accessible and solutions-focused, with high-quality input on practice, pedagogy, people management and policy.Each chapter shares provocations for the reader and for the school system on the changes we would collectively like to manifest in education.
Kim, A. S. & del Prado, A. (2019). It’s Time to Talk (and Listen) : How to Have Constructive Conversations About Race, Class, Sexuality, Ability & Gender in a Polarized World. New Harbinger Publications. Conversations about controversial topics can be difficult, painful, and emotionally charged. This user-friendly guide will help you engage in effective, compassionate discussions with family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers about race, immigration, gender, marriage equality, sexism, marginalization, and more. We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. If you've ever struggled in a conversation about a “controversial” topic with a loved one, work colleague, or even a stranger, you know exactly how uncomfortable and heated the discussion can become. And even if you are one of the lucky few that expresses themselves eloquently, how do you move beyond mere “lip service” and turn words into actionable change?This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. Using a simple eight-step approach, you'll learn communication strategies that are supported by research and have been practiced in classrooms, work meetings, therapy sessions, and more.We constantly hear about friends and colleagues whose family members are not speaking to each other because of different political opinions, who've exchanged words that have mutually offended one another. If silence is one end of the continuum and verbal conflict anchors the other, how do we reach a middle ground? How do we take part in the “in between” spaces where both parties can speak and listen?With this book as your guide, you'll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you've learned beyond the conversation and out into the world—whether it's through politics, social justice movements, or simply expanding the minds of those around you.
McNair, T. B., Bensimon, E. M., & Malcom-Piqueux, L. (2020). From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education. In Association of American Colleges and Universities. Association of American Colleges a Drawing from campus-based research projects sponsored by the AAC&U and the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California, "From Equity Talk to Equity Walk" provides practical guidance on the design and application of campus change strategies for achieving equitable outcomes. The authors offer advice on how to build an equity-minded campus culture, align strategic priorities and institutional missions to advance equity, understand equity-minded data analysis, develop campus strategies for making excellence inclusive, and move from a first-generation equity educator to an equity-minded practitioner. Central concepts and key points are illustrated through campus examples.
Pickett, C. W., Smith, M. & Felton III, J. (2017). Inclusive Directions : The Role of the Chief Diversity Officer in Community College Leadership. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. As community colleges continue to be significant in the national landscape of higher education by providing access to education and job training to diverse constituents, conversations about the support for strategic diversity leadership are paramount. Now more than ever, senior leaders must be intentional in aligning strategy with outcomes and guidance in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leaders must be diligent in pursuing an inclusive excellence agenda and promoting a strategy to support positive outcomes that impact cross-college collaboration that advances education completion and support. This practitioner's guide will provide timely and relevant insight on the ultimate benefits of strategic diversity leadership to promote inclusive excellence at community colleges. This book offers tangible resources and discusses the role of the chief diversity officer.This book will significantly benefit those interested in learning more about diversity and inclusion at community colleges and will provide insight into strategic diversity leadership. The book provides an in-depth view of the roles and responsibilities of the chief diversity officer, diversity strategic planning, and examines the various roles of diversity leaders at community colleges.
Zheng, L. (2022). DEI Deconstructed : Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. The definitive comprehensive and foundational text for critically analyzing and applying actionable DEI techniques and strategies, written by one of LinkedIn's most popular experts on DEI.The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace cannot be understated. But when half-baked and under-developed strategies are implemented, they often do more harm than good, leading the very constituents they aim to support to dismiss DEI entirely. DEI Deconstructed analyzes how current methods and best practices leave marginalized people feeling frustrated and unconvinced of their leaders'sincerity, and offers a roadmap that bridges the neatness of theory with the messiness of practice. Through embracing a pragmatic DEI approach drawing from cutting-edge research on organizational change, evidence-based practices, and incisive insights from a DEI strategist with experience working from the top-down and bottom-up alike, stakeholders at every level of an organization can become effective DEI changemakers. Nothing less than this is required to scale DEI from interpersonal teeth-pulling to true systemic change. By utilizing an outcome-oriented understanding of DEI, along with a comprehensive foundation of actionable techniques, this no-nonsense guide will lay out the path for anyone with any background to becoming a more effective DEI practitioner, ally, and leader.

Articles & Essays

Bensimon, E. M. (2018, October 16). Reclaiming Racial Justice in Equity, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 50(3-4), 95-98. Reclaiming Racial Justice in Equity. Estela Mara Bensimon is Dean's Professor in Educational Equity and Founding Director of the Center for Urban Education. In 2017, she was elected to the National Academy of Education and presented with the 2017 Social Justice in Education Award by the American Education Research Association (AERA); she is the 2018 AERA Division J Research Award recipient. Her opinion pieces have been published in Inside Higher Education, Denver Post, Sacramento Bee, and Zocalo. In January 2018, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Dr. Bensimon to the Education Commission of the States.
Cheng, S. (2023). Leveraging OER and Open Pedagogy to Promote EDI in the Classroom. Sheridan College. This research paper is the author’s capstone project for the 2022-2023 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program that she participated in. The paper explores how OER and open pedagogy can help promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for students in the classroom.
Ginwright, S. (2022, February 16). Letting Go of Myths, Embracing Truths. Yes! Magazine. By first transforming and reimagining ourselves, we all have an opportunity before us to truly transform our organizations and reimagine our work.
Golom, F.D. (2018, February). Reframing the Dominant Diversity Discourse: Alternate Conversations for Creating Whole System Change. Metropolitan Universities, 29(1), 11-27. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts in higher education are decades old, yet progress continues to be slow and elusive for many campuses. Recent events in colleges and universities across the United States suggest that long-standing challenges related to access, equity and inclusion remain as entrenched and intractable as they have ever been, resulting in campus environments that may be unwelcoming or hostile to faculty, staff and students from underrepresented groups. One reason for the partial success of university D&I programs is that they overemphasize individual actors, attitudes and behaviors while neglecting the systemic, organizational cultures in which those actors reside. Drawing on the organization development and change literatures, this paper offers three alternate perspectives for reframing campus diversity work, arguing that all D&I initiatives must consider the (a) contextual, (b) multilevel and (c) systemic nature of change if they are to be robust and successful.
Gorski, P. & Swalwell, K. (2015, March). Equity Literacy for All. Educational Leadership, 34-40. Schools can commit to a more robust multiculturalism by putting equity, rather than culture, at the center of the diversity conversation.
Griffin, K. A. (2018, April 23). Addressing STEM Culture and Climate to Increase Diversity in STEM Disciplines. Higher Education Today. National and private organizations have invested millions of dollars in science diversity programs designed to shift patterns of representation in science, technology, engineering, and math—the so-called STEM fields—in and beyond college. However, minoritized* populations continue to be underrepresented in STEM disciplines. According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statics, while over a third of black, Latino, and Native American students enter college with an interest in studying STEM, only 16 percent go on to obtain bachelor’s degrees in these fields. Our limited progress may be rooted in how we are viewing and approaching the problem. Thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners have engaged in two largely separate conversations as they have tried to increase STEM diversity. One conversation has focused specifically on the culture within these disciplines, noting how exclusionary norms and values translate to an unwelcoming environment. The other conversation has focused on college campuses more broadly, unpacking how inconsistent institutional commitments to diversity, acts of discrimination, and encounters with microaggressions in academic and non-academic spaces translate to hostile climates for women and men of color. We must attend to both STEM culture and institutional climate to cultivate more inclusive learning environments and increase diversity.
Hoffman, M. & Morrow, J. (2002). Investigating “Sense of Belonging” in First-Year College Students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 4, 227-256. A great deal of emphasis in higher education is centered on questions such as, “Why do students leave college and how can we get them to stay?” Although researchers have pointed to the import of “sense of belonging” in departure decisions, a measure of students' subjective sense of affiliation and identification with the university community has not been developed. The following is an empirical measure of “sense of belonging” which sheds light on factors that contribute to retention. Gaining greater clarity regarding factors important to the development of “sense of belonging” can help institutional policy planners evaluate the effectiveness of retention programs on their campuses, design more effective intervention strategies, and identify students at risk for departure.
Johnson, E. (2020, January 2). Students' Sense of Belonging Varies by Identity, Institution. Inside Higher Education. New research highlights the differences in students’ sense of belonging by race, institution type and first-generation status.
McKinsey & Company. (2022, August 17). What is diversity, equity, and inclusion?. McKinsey & Company. Consulting group McKinsey & Company defines and discusses DEI.
Phillips, K. W. (2014, October 1). How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Scientific American. Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working
Rezvani, S. & and Gordon, S. A. (2021, November 1). How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion. Harvard Business Review. It’s time for the conversation around inclusion and diversity to take a human-centric approach. It’s not just about the numbers — it’s about the people. Storytelling, one of the most universal human experiences, gives us a rare chance to look through new lenses. And perspective-taking is a life skill, not just a workplace one. Companies that prioritize inclusion will emerge from crisis stronger, and stories are one major vehicle to help them get there. Inclusion consultants Selena Rezvani and Stacey A. Gordon offer steps to implement a story-based approach to DEI where employees are encouraged to tell their stories, own them, and consider how they impact their day-to-day experiences at work.
Samuel, A. & Robertson, T. (2021, October 13). Don’t Let Hybrid Work Set Back Your DEI Efforts. Harvard Business Review. Hybrid work is likely to exacerbate diversity and equity challenges — and gains — that we saw during the era of remote work. By measuring five aspects of the hybrid workplace — 1) who’s spending time working at the office versus at home; 2) who gets to choose when to be in the office; 3) who gets promoted; 4) how remote management tactics are used; and 5) who is engaged — talent managers can ensure that career advancements and employee benefits accrue equitably.
Stanford Diversity and First-Gen Office and SPARQ. (n.d.) Higher Ed Diversity and Inclusion Collection. Stanford University. Science-powered activities for promoting equity in colleges and universities

Audiovisual Resources

Bauer, D. (2021). The importance of belonging [Audio podcast]. In The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast. Apple Podcasts. Michele Mattoon is director of the National School Reform Faculty (NSRF), an organization that teaches educators how to improve school culture. She’s also president and owner of Coltrain Group, which teaches leadership skills that emphasize collaboration tools (protocols) that foster community and maximize productivity. She has worked with businesses and educational groups around the world, training their employees to work together better. Michele is obsessed with intentionally building healthy, productive communities through the use of specific collaborative structures. Show Highlights Experience what it means to be “other” (but not less privileged). Belonging is mindset growth to connect purpose and relevance. The len to integrate belonging into the culture. 3 protocols to ensure everybody has a stake in your success. The feedback box of chocolates. How to have honest and difficult conversations without being offensive. Dive into various learning mindsets with this provocative idea. “There is no growth mindset without belonging. Communities that we worked with, the teachers who had a strong sense of belonging really took to the work and grew exponentially. A lot of the discussions we had with students became really clear and important. To be able to grow and learn, you have to feel safe.” -Michele Mattoon
Bennett, K. (2019-2022). Pod for the Cause [Audio podcast series]. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. We’ve joined the airwaves to help spark conversation and activism on some of the most critical issues of today. From the courts to immigration, we’re seeing unprecedented attacks on the values we hold near and dear. At Pod for the Cause, we’re going to tackle these issues and more. Our friends in the movement will be stopping by to have these conversations, and they promise to be real, straightforward and honest. This podcast was created for those of you wanting to effect change, who understand the importance of restoring our democracy and want to engage in deep conversation around the issues. So check out the first episode of Pod for the Cause, and subscribe below!
Brooks, A., Donnelly, C. (2023, January 24). Rethinking diversity, equity and inclusion training [Radio broadcast] in On Point. WBUR Boston. Lots of organizations require their employees to participate in diversity, equity and inclusion training. But is it effective? Radio broadcast from WBUR's program On Point, January 24, 2023
CORA Learning. (2020, April 11). Equity-Minded Student Services in the Online Environment [Video]. Youtube. This a recording of the free CORA webinar of April 9th featuring Dr. Luke Wood and Dr. Frank Harris entitled Equity-Minded Student Services in the Online Environment. The webinar is free to the public and is hosted by the Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement in collaboration with ACPA - Educators International and the Chief Student Services Officers Association.
Cort, J. (2019-). Third Space with Jen Cort [Audio podcast series]. spreaker.com. Jen Cort is an education consultant in the areas of equity, inclusion, diversity and justice. In this podcast, Jen opens up a "third space"— a place outside our familiar home and work environments — in order that we might begin to engage in some of the provocative questions that need to be addressed. Listen in as Jen speaks with some of the leading thinkers and doers in the field.
Eakins, S. L. (2018-). Leading Equity [Audio podcast series]. Listennotes. This podcast focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their school. On this podcast, listeners can expect to hear interviews and stories from voices of equity in education today.
Hammond, Z. (2013-). Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain [Blog]. crtandthebrain.com. Since you are an equity-minded educator like me, you are probably waging your own private movement to bust the myths behind student engagement (or the lack of) among low performing students of color, poor students, and English learners. ... This is a blog where we can get answers to our collective and individual questions about how we can help students become confident and competent learners. In this space, I want to highlight what I am learning from being out in schools and classrooms with teachers who are successful with diverse students. I want to focus on how we can take everyday strategies and practices and put them to work in their classrooms to be more culturally responsive. ... Just to let you know, on average, I publish a new post every other week – two times per month at the least (sometimes a few more). That gives me time to be in schools and to write. If you don’t want to miss updates on what I am seeing and learning, sign up for my newsletter by pushing that button below.
National Education Association Center for Social Justice. (n.d.). A Social and Racial Justice Checklist for Safe, Healthy and Just Learning. NEA edjustice. As we expand digital learning models, due to COVID-19, it’s important to remember that students with disabilities, those without access to the internet, and LGBTQ, Black, brown and Indigenous populations are at higher risk of experiencing school closures more intensely. Regardless of the education delivery system during the pandemic, all students must be provided the care and attention and learning opportunities they are guaranteed and deserve. Ask yourself the following questions when planning or assessing digital instruction through a racial justice lens:
usgovACF. (2015, May 12). Funds of Knowledge Video [Video]. ECLKC. Watch as Luis Moll describes the concept of Funds of Knowledge. Funds of Knowledge are the essential cultural practices and bodies of knowledge that are embedded in the daily practices and routines of families. Learn how to gather and use the funds of knowledge for children and families in the classroom. This approach will help staff ensure culturally relevant programming. INCLUDES HANDOUT.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Learn more about what OER are, how they relate to DEI, and why they're important here.

Abawi, L., Cart, S., Lawrence, J. (2019). Opening Eyes onto Inclusion and Diversity. University of Southern Queensland. Table of Contents: Introducing the key ideas - Differing childhoods: Transgressing boundaries through thinking differently - Celebrating diversity: Focusing on inclusion - Opening eyes onto diversity and inclusion in early childhood education - Fostering first year nurses’ inclusive practice: A key building black for patient centered care - Positioning ourselves in multicultural education: Opening our eyes to culture - Creating an inclusive school for refugees and students with English as a second language or dialect - Opening eyes to vision impairment: Inclusion is just another way of seeing - Setting the scene: The importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural perspectives in education (the danger of the single story) - Conclusion
Davenport University Libraries. (2023). Diversity, Equity & Inclusion OER. Contains links to open textbooks and books, courses and syllabi, images, and videos.

Guides & Tools

Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.) Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia. Columbia University. Inclusive teaching gets a lot of attention on college campuses. Instructors are increasingly expected to understand how course climate— the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical environment of a class—impacts their students, and respond to calls for inclusive classroom environments from both students and administrators.1 But creating a supportive learning environment for all students can be challenging. Where do you begin? The Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia helps instructors answer that question by offering five inclusive teaching principles derived from research and evidence-based practices. In addition, the guide contains practical, accessible, and usable strategies that instructors can use immediately. We invite you to contact the CTL with questions, suggestions, or ideas for collaborating with us on this initiative at columbiaCTL@columbia.edu.
Human Rights Campaign. (n.d.) Resources: Tools for Equality and Inclusion. Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/resources Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign is to ensure that every LGBTQ+ person is free to live their life openly, with their equal rights ensured. We know that goal requires that we keep educating, supporting and inspiring ourselves and each other. In the spirit of that continual growth, we’ve compiled information and advice on a range of topics, including resources from the HRC Foundation.
Lamont, A. (2021, March 15). Guide to Allyship. An open source starter guide to help you become a more thoughtful and effective ally.
Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Increasing Sense of Belonging. Indiana University Bloomington. A recent report from IU, exploring students’ experiences with moving to online teaching during the pandemic, lists four recommendations for faculty who are planning their online courses. Along with judiciously assigning classwork and collaborating with instructors across the institution, two recommendations highlight the importance of community and sense of belonging for students. The report recommends that instructors 1) “create opportunities for student-instructor communication, especially for first- and second-year students”; and 2) “facilitate student success and foster a sense of virtual community through student-to-student communication.” IU students want more opportunities to communicate with their instructors and their peers. They want instructors who foster a sense of community, which becomes even more important in the online learning environment, and the sense of belonging it promotes.
Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Managing Difficult Classroom Discussions. Indiana University Bloomington. Teaching controversial subjects is an inherent part of some courses and disciplines. Topics like race, culture, gender, and/or sexual orientation can come up in many fields, and any course dealing with current events presents an opportunity for socially-challenging or politically-charged topics to arise spontaneously in class discussions. How we manage those discussions, however, can greatly impact how useful the conversations are to our instructional goals, and what sort of impact they have on the dynamics of the class. Many of the suggestions (here) focus on pre-planned discussions, but many of the techniques can also be applied to discussions that pop up unexpectedly.
Cohen, A. (n.d.). How to have a difficult conversation. Psyche. Avoidance will only foster more conflict. Aim for a shared understanding with these techniques from an expert mediator.
Gonchar, M. (2021, May 11). Teach About Inequality With These 28 New York Times Graphs. The New York Times. Inequalities, by definition, involve a comparison between two or more things. In math, we can easily express inequalities with simple mathematical sentences, such as x
Supiano, B. (2019, July 19). Grades Can Hinder Learning. What Should Professors Use Instead? The Chronicle of Higher Education. Grades Can Hinder Learning. What Should Professors Use Instead?, including 4 approaches to ungrading.
The Learning Network. (2020, October 23). Over 60 New York Times Graphs for Students to Analyze. The New York Times. A collection of graphs, maps and charts organized by topic and graph type from three years of “What’s Going On in This Graph?”
Fievre, M. J. (2021, October 26). Cultivating the Classroom as a Safe Space. Edutopia. Middle and high school teachers can create an environment that supports inclusion and gives students space to make mistakes as they learn.
Souto-Manning, M. (2010). Chapter 1: Culture Circles and Critical Pedagogy in Freire, Teaching, and Learning: Culture Circles Across Contexts. Counterpoints, 350, 7–28. "No one constructs a serious democracy... without... radically changing the societal structures, reorienting the politics of production and development, reinventing power, doing justice to everyone, and abolishing the unjust and immoral gains of the all-powerful... The exercise of this democratic disposition in a truly open school... must first approach the authoritarian tendency, racist or machista... such as the denial of democracy, or freedoms, and of the rights of those who are different, as the denial of a necessary humanism." Freire (1998, pp. 66-67)
Center for Teaching and Learning. (2020, January). Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia. Office of the Provost of Columbia University. The Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia helps instructors answer that question by offering five inclusive teaching principles derived from research and evidence-based practices. In addition, the guide contains practical, accessible, and usable strategies that instructors can use immediately. We invite you to contact the CTL with questions, suggestions, or ideas for collaborating with us on this initiative at columbiaCTL@columbia.edu.
Lamont, A. (2023). Guide to Allyship. guidetoallyship.com. The Guide to Allyship is an open-source starter guide to help you become a more thoughtful and effective ally.
Stanford SPARQ. (n.d.). Higher Ed Diversity and Inclusion Collection. Stanford University. Science-powered activities for promoting equity in colleges and universities
Yale University Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Diversity and Inclusion. Yale University. Effective approaches to teaching and classroom climate are founded on the same principles that drive diversity and inclusion: equal access and opportunity for all students to thrive, honest dialogue about important issues, and protocols for managing difficult, sudden, and emotional moments. Instructors can consider racial and socioeconomic awareness, checking for implicit bias, and developing inclusive classrooms, teaching strategies, and diversity statements.
NEA Center for Social Justice. (2021, January). Toolkit: Implicit Bias, Microaggressions, and Stereotypes Resources. Resources to sharpen our racial analysis and to deepen our understanding of implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes.
National Equity Project. (n.d.). Responding to Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias. There is not a single “best way” to respond when we witness a microaggression in an interaction between two people, or when we observe actions or hear comments that seem to demonstrate unconscious bias. To help shift thinking and behavior in the long term, we must take a few things into consideration, such as the strategies and responses suggested in this handout.

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