Diversity can’t be canceled

By Jamie Cho, Ph.D.

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. DEI. These are words that are now being censored by our federal government that seeks to ensure that our systems continue to be unjust and that many people, including children and families, will continue to be marginalized. 

On Jan. 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education eliminated DEI initiatives, including withdrawal of the Departments’ Equity Action Plan, removal of over 200 webpages from the departments’ website, and rescinding Executive Order 13583. As someone who has spent many years working in higher education institutions, on DEI committees, implementing DEI initiatives, teaching about how anti-racism and anti-oppression is a stance that all educators need, and modeling the types of humanizing practices that serve to create just spaces, I am appalled that the government is trying to eradicate DEI. And it’s disturbing that all it took for institutions to change their language is the threat of financial loss. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, but it is incredibly disappointing. 

As an instructor, I have often told my students that we all live our lives in contradiction because we are taught to be ignorant of our true history, how our food came to our tables, or whose labor contributed to the clothing we wear, or how large corporations contribute to injustice. However, as we learn or unlearn, we are faced with an active choice to live in compatibility with our values. It’s not an easy decision to give up the brand name you enjoy, to boycott a restaurant for their values, or to pass over a cheaper option for a more expensive one. It’s often inconvenient.  However, I would argue that knowingly living in contradiction with our values is a heavier burden. It can make us morally corrupt and disconnected from our interrelated world. I believe it is lifelong work to live in accordance with our values and one that is so important in this time. 

Public education is a right for all students in the United States, but more and more it seems like education is a privilege afforded to the few who represent the dominant cultural norms. Whiteness, which is also reflected in the teaching and leadership population in K-12 schools, may be the reason that it is so easy to erase the words diversity, equity, and inclusion. All this time, the systems never actually embraced them at all. They used the words when it was popular, when it would curry favor, and when doing so made their image “good.” And now, in this moment of crisis, when it has become unpopular, when these terms have been misused to spread disinformation, and when people in power express hate and are celebrated for it, it is easily erased, changed, or ignored. 

For all the initiatives that have been created to center diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice in schools, have we seen structural changes that will continue regardless of the political backlash? I have watched numerous videos on YouTube of school board meetings that are divided and divisive, focused not on how to do better for our collective children, but instead about how one person, as an elected director, can have more power over the district. I have seen how people who are tasked with supporting students have caused them harm. 

I have the privilege of working on the Public Education in Beloved Community Initiative, and no, the title does not have the words diversity, equity, inclusion, and yes, DEI is at the heart of my work. The work of creating a beloved community is to address injustice in our systems, to create equity within our schools, and to care for our community as a whole. To be grounded in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work aligned with his vision is to dream and labor for an educational system that is accessible to all, honors students’ identities and histories, and eradicates violence (police or otherwise). It is a movement toward school as a place of learning that centers students’ lived experiences and builds community and belonging for all. 

Thich Nhat Hahn, who was friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was also committed to the beloved community, wrote about peace within, resulting in peace throughout in The Heart of Understanding: “When you produce peace and happiness in yourself, you begin to realize peace for the whole world.” I believe this applies to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice as well. When we believe, hold these values close to our heart and act accordingly, we will begin to realize these values for the world. 

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Justice. For some, these words may not be words that you can say at work anymore, or in the company of colleagues, but I know that as an Asian American woman, my identity cannot be erased. Diversity cannot be canceled. Our advocacy for social justice is needed more than ever. While words are important, our commitment to them is what matters most. As long as we embrace these words and their meaning with each fiber of our being, and recognize that we do have a choice to align our actions with our values, in community, diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging will always be ours for the making. 

Bio

Jamie Cho, Ph.D. is Director of Public Education in Beloved Community Initiative at Seattle University’s College of Education. In partnership with schools across Washington, she works with public school leaders to enact change that centers relationships, love, and care. Her scholarship in education focuses on creating joyful, equitable, and just learning experiences for all children. An educator, she draws from her varied experiences to translate theory into practice toward realizing just educational systems. Previously she was Assistant Teaching Professor of Justice in Early Learning at the University of Washington, Seattle.