DEI Syllabus

On this page, you find a variety resources to help you learn more about DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). Some self-learning opportunities take less than 5 minutes; others might require setting aside a 30-60 minute block of time. Educating yourself to better understand how the past has impacted the current state of affairs, and learning what you can do to limit your own bias and be more inclusive, is a practice. It is a lifelong journey, not something to simply check off the to-do list. Join us as we learn together and collectively live into our commitment to DEI.

Glossary of Terms

There are a lot of DEI-related terms; too many for us to list here in entirety. This short list is a good starting point, a way to familiarize yourself with some of the most commonly used words, phrases and acronyms that you’re likely to encounter as you are reading, listening and watching the various resources listed below. You can find a comprehensive glossary of terms here.

Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit in concrete ways.

Books

Note: Don’t forget audio books. They’re a great option, especially for when you’re in the car.

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters

I’m Tired of Racism: True Stories of Existing While Black by Sharon Hurley Hall 

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison

The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Banaji & Greenwald  

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabelle Wilkerson  

How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi  

No Pity: People With Disabilities Forging a New Civil Rights Movement by Joseph Shapiro 

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander 

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo  

We Are Everywhere: Protect, Power and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Reimer, Brown  

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum 

Women Race & Class by Angela Davis

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi

The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr. and the Debate over Race in America by Nicholas Buccola  

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabelle Wilkerson

Podcasts

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Is there a resource not listed here that you’d like to share? Send us an email with your suggestion for an additional book, podcast, video, article or website.