Connie (she/her)
Welcome to Diversity & Inclusion: Revolution or Reform? where we talk all things D&I to ask and answer whether D&I can save us, get us free, or move us towards collective liberation. I'm Connie Chui, a former D&I practitioner shifting into healing justice that's focused on racial equity and healing in the intersection of mental health and DEI.
David (he/him)
And I am David Ryan Barcega Castr- Harris, all five names for all my ancestors, and I'm a Restorative Justice practitioner leaning into ancestral values of interconnection to build a more just and equitable world for future generations. So Connie, why this work and why this podcast?
Connie (she/her)
You know, for me, the why is really in the struggle and in asking the questions of how we can get free and how we can heal and how we can be whole and liberated communities together. I feel like my life and becoming as a response and opposition to white supremacy, like I often wonder who would I be, if not for white supremacy and capitalism and patriarchy. So I want to ask more questions and seek invitations on this podcast with you and with guests. Like what's our organizing principle of D&I work, right? What's the narrative we're crafting and telling that is rooted in interdependence and liberation. What about for you David?
David (he/him)
Well, with this work, it really is about getting justice for my ancestors and building a better world for future generations. As a Biracial Black and Filipino person, my ancestors came to this country both on slave ships before any of us can remember and from the Philippines due to US imperialism. My grandfather on my mom's side was a part of the US Navy and there's a lot of harm in separation from our Homeland and who our people were. And so, as I'm thinking about conversations about “Diversity and Inclusion”, I'm really thinking about how are we being included and what are we being included into? Is this something that we want to be included in at all and what are the alternatives? And so podcasts are conversations and formats that I love to have because we get to dive deep into these conversations.
Each week on this podcast, we'll get into whether D&I is revolution or reform with guests who are D&I practitioners, activists, organizers, or academics, and researchers in the field. We'll talk strategy, mindset, growth, learning and mistakes, and even some juicy DNI confessions, because at the end of the day, we're all just humans trying to do our best. Connie, what's a D&I confession that you have.
Connie (she/her)
Ooh. So I may or may not be breaking up with diversity, equity and inclusion. It's been a messy and complicated relationship, but we can't seem to part ways yet. And you know, I'm okay with messiness and complications. What about you David?
David (he/him)
When I think of a confession, I guess I should be up front. I don't consider myself a DEI practitioner at all. I think as a Restorative Justice Practitioner, I'm inviting people to go beyond that and to straight up say we're dismantling white supremacy and that is not about including people from diverse backgrounds into the structures that are entrenched in white supremacy. So that’s me.
Connie (she/her)
Yeah and I'll say that I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'm definitely trying to live into the questions of how to move beyond D&I and grapple with the polarities and contradictions of how we arrived here to this moment where black squares, performative pride branding and tokenizing heritage month celebrations are the norm.
David (he/him)
Yeah, definitely. We have so much that we're excited to share with you. Make sure you're subscribed on whatever platform you're listening on right now so you don't miss an episode and while you're at it, leave us a rating or review and share this with a friend or, you know, Karen at work.
Connie (she/her)
We'd also love to hear from you as D&I Revolution or Reform. Send us your thoughts and juicy DEI confessions as a voice memo or text to revolutionorreform@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. We'll be back with another episode next week.
David (he/him)
Later y'all.
Connie (she/her)
Bye!