Resources
We believe that learning is essential to transformation.
So we have pulled together a working archive of some of our favorite readings, activities, media and tips & tools. As we learn about and gather more resources, we will upload them here. You can filter by subject and then resource type below (activities, media, readings, tips & tools).
Shenandoah National Park Is Confronting Its History
This articles discusses the history of racism and exclusion in American National Parks, in particular at Shenandoah National Park, which had segregated facilities under Jim Crow Laws. The author provides examples of how the National Parks Service is beginning to reckon with this long history of exclusion in their efforts to make National Parks for inclusive. For more read here.
Younger, college-educated black Americans are most likely to feel need to ‘code-switch’
This article explores data on code-switching from the Pew Research Center, breaking it down by race and education level. For more read here.
“Now You Can’t Just Do Nothing”: Unsettling the Settler Self within Social Studies Education
This article shows how social science education often reinforces settler-colonial narratives and provides tools for how educators can work to “unsettle” this narrative in their teaching by challenging the way Indigenous history is taught and reckoning with their own personal connections to settler-colonialism. For more read here.
Color Brave Space – How To Run a Better Equity Focused Meeting
This resource from Equity Matters provides a framework for how to create a equitable community norms in a meeting space. They argue that standard “safe space” norms for meeting spaces end up maintaining existing norms making white participants too comfortable, rather than challenging them to create an equitable environment. For more read here.
Native Knowledge: What Ecologists Are Learning from Indigenous People
This article explores how scientists are increasingly learning from Traditional Ecological Knowledge to understand how climate change is effecting the natural world. They provide examples of collaborations between scientists and indigenous communities and show how ecological research could benefit from using a more holistic lens. For more read here.
The business case for diversity is a sinking ship
This article offers a strong critique of the “business case” for diversity and inclusion, where increased profit is the main motivator for diversity efforts. The author details how companies are lauded for cosmetic changes, such as more diverse marketing strategies, while they fail to focus on more substantive, long-term changes to company practices, leadership and culture. They also address how DEI work primarily focused on profit fails to address the needs of the marginalized communities they seek to profit from. For more read here.
What’s Wrong With This Diorama? You Can Read All About It
This article details how the American Museum of Natural History modified a problematic diorama that depicted a fictional meeting between Dutch settlers and the Lenape people. The diorama contained a number of historical inaccuracies that perpetuated stereotypes about indigenous people and reinforced cultural hierarchies. Rather than cover or change the diorama, the museum chose to put up signs that addressed those inaccuracies. For more read here.
Why Companies Should Add Class to Their Diversity Discussions
This article makes the case for why class diversity should be a point of emphasis within efforts to make workplaces more diverse. The authors provide examples of how people from working class backgrounds face barriers in entering white-collar workplaces due to referral-based hiring practices, prioritizing “culture fit” in hiring and different relationships to work and family. For more read here.
Diversifying Boards Means Ceding Control—Are White Nonprofit Leaders Ready?
This article discusses the lack of diverse representation on the boards of nonprofits and how nonprofits do work “for” marginalized communities rather than “with” them. They suggest that those in leadership in nonprofits are not willing to genuinely engage in equity work because it would mean radically changing their structures. For more read here.
Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination
We often talk about gender being complex, but rarely discuss how biological sex is equally complex. In this short article and great infographic, you can learn about the complexities of how biological sex gets determined. Access the article and infographic here.