Latest news with #racialEquality
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Ben & Jerry's Fights Unilever on Social Justice in the Trump Era
By and Charlotte Hughes-Morgan Save As the US celebrated Black History Month in February, Ben & Jerry's crafted a social media post on keeping the racial-equality fight going even as President Donald Trump rolled back diversity initiatives. It never saw the light of day.
Forbes
22-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Went Wrong With DEI? 3 Ways To Move Forward
Concept of racial equality, anti-racism, diversity, stop racism, humanity, different wood textures, ... More silhouette, diverse cultures, cultural diversity, wooden face shape, Cooperation, collaboration With headlines dominating the news cycle—'The Death of DEI' to 'The Downfall of DEI'—it is time to learn from our past and pivot inclusion work forward positively. The backlash for DEI work has always existed. Most recently, the pushback focused on specific parts of DEI. For example, hiring goals for diversity were rebranded as 'DEI hires,' and support for LGBTQ+ rights became a political stance. In my interview with Paul Ladipo, CEO and Founder of Critical Conversations Consulting, he said, 'Anti-DEI activists started by picking on Critical Race Theory (CRT). Once that gained steam, it spread to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Then, DEI became under attack at the state and university level to becoming the rationale for plane crashes.' Ladipo sees many organizations continuing DEI under different framing, pivoting to words like inclusion, belonging, or culture. He recommends leaders learn from the backlash and go beyond surface-level problems, focus on the long-term legacy impact of the work, and let go of the idea that everyone has to be an ally. Go Beyond Surface-Level Problems 'Most people know social causes at a surface level. They do not understand the more complex reasons why racism or sexism exist and how to navigate them. If they understood the issues more deeply, they would not have fallen for DEI backlash,' Ladipo proposed. Despite the recent backlash, most people want DEI work at their organizations. People cite DEI improving their employee experience and broadening their talent pipelines, leading to higher rates of innovation and business outcomes. Once people understand how issues of inclusion affect them and those they work with, they have greater empathy and connection with their teams. Reframing DEI requires going beyond surface-level problems, to deeper DEI solutions. Reframe DEI As Legacy Work Ladipo acknowledges that the DEI pushback will take a long time to heal from. Uncertainty and massive change take a toll on people over time. It is not sustainable to go through waves of pro-inclusion and anti-DEI with the news cycle. People crave consistency in times of uncertainty. Centuries of inequality will not be solved overnight. DEI is a long game. It is legacy work. It necessitates having a plan, goals, and metrics to monitor over time. Tying DEI to the business and human cases can emphasize the long-term nature of DEI with specific actions tied to a broader strategy. Accept Not Everyone Is An Ally 'Following the Civil War we saw the rise of Jim Crow discrimatory laws. After the Civil Rights Act, there was an increased focus on securing the Southern vote by appealing to white grievance politics. There will always be a part of the population that resists social change,' Ladipo cites. DEI is about meeting people where they are on their learning journeys. If people are not ready or are not interested in allyship, it cannot be forced upon them. Coqual's research finds that the overwhelming majority of people want to or are persuable as allies, yet 10% of people remain naysayers. We cannot want this work for everyone, yet 90% is reachable. The future of DEI may be uncertain, yet despite the backlash, accepting not everyone is an ally, reframing as legacy work, and going beyond surface-level problems are pivots leaders need to consider to move forward successfully.
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Sir Geoff Palmer obituary
Sir Geoff Palmer, who has died aged 85, was a son of the Windrush generation who became a grain scientist of global renown and, in his later life, an equally distinguished campaigner for racial equality and historical awareness. Most of his career was spent in Scotland, where he arrived in 1964 as a research student, when even renting a room was not easy. 'As I walked up the path I'd see the curtain move and by the time I got to the door, I was told the room had been taken.' Surrounded in Edinburgh by street names and statues which had, from his perspective, unsavoury connotations, Palmer made it a mission to raise awareness of Scotland's links with the slave trade. He believed these had been downplayed, although the wealth of many Scottish dynasties was founded on slavery and 'about 60% of the surnames in the Jamaica telephone directory are Scottish'. He went on to become Scotland's first black professor in 1989 and did much to make Heriot-Watt University an internationally recognised research centre for brewing and distilling. In 2021, he became the university's chancellor. The many accolades he received included, last year, admission to the Order of the Thistle, Scotland's highest order of chivalry. Palmer's crusade to force historical reassessment came to wider attention during the Black Lives Matter campaign, through his focus on Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville, who, as a minister in William Pitt's administration, was known as the 'uncrowned King of Scotland' and whose towering monument is the centrepiece of St Andrew's Square in Edinburgh. Palmer maintained that Dundas had been responsible for delaying the abolition of slavery by 15 years during which a further half million slaves were transported from Africa to the Caribbean. Under the scrutiny engendered by Black Lives Matter, the Melville monument became the subject of intense controversy. However, Palmer did not support removing or toppling monuments. He said: 'My view is that if you remove the evidence, you remove the deed. Therefore, slavery-related objects such as statues and buildings should carry plaques which tell the truth of links with slavery'. This was the solution eventually arrived at in the case of the Melville monument. Palmer arrived in London a month before his 15th birthday, which proved a detail of critical significance. His father, Aubrey, had deserted the family in Jamaica and his mother, Ivy, came to London aboard the Mauretania in 1948, leaving Geoff behind to be looked after by aunts until her earnings as a seamstress could bring him to England. She had arranged a job for him but, as they left for work, a man stopped them to ask how old Geoff was. It was, he recalled, a life-changing intervention. The fact he had not reached 15 meant he had to go to school. Initially, he was branded 'educationally sub-normal'. 'On a test they gave me, one of the questions, I can remember it clearly, was: 'What is Big Ben?' And I must have written, 'It's a big guy'.' Shelburne secondary modern in Highbury took him in and his cricketing ability meant he was soon playing for London Schools. This led to an offer from Highbury grammar, where he gained an A-level in biology. He found work as a lab assistant and, after adding to his qualifications, secured a place at Leicester University, where he graduated with honours in botany. Palmer returned to London but the only work the Labour Exchange would offer him was peeling potatoes in a restaurant. Set on an academic career, he saw an advert from Heriot-Watt, then a college of Edinburgh University, offering a PhD opportunity and was interviewed by Dr Anna Macleod, the world's first female professor of brewing and biochemistry. 'After about 10 minutes, she said: 'I'm going to take you'. She gave me a dustbin full of barley. I said: 'What am I going to do with that?'. She said: 'Get on with it. That's your research material'.' This set Palmer on a course that was to make him a celebrated figure in the evolution of brewing and distilling. 'I then went and read up as much as I could about barley and malt', he said. 'Those references are still in my head because I went to the library at the Royal Botanic Garden, next to where I lived in Edinburgh, and tracked their barley research, right back to the 1800s'. By 1967, he had gained his PhD, for research that proved groundbreaking. It involved the science and technology of changing germinated barley into malt and produced results which were reported in the scientific journal Nature. The barley abrasion process that Palmer identified accelerated the malting cycle and became of great value to big brewers and whisky companies. He became senior scientist at the Brewing Research Foundation in Surrey before returning in 1977 to Heriot-Watt where, among his many achievements, he secured £1m from the Scotch Whisky Association to help establish the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling in 1989. His expertise was in demand from many countries and businesses. One notable legacy was in Africa, resulting from a ban on the importation of European malt and barley by the Nigerian government in the 1980s. Palmer advised on the uses of local grain, an innovation which spread across the continent to the benefit of many small farmers. While increasingly involved in working for equal opportunities, Palmer continued to teach at Heriot-Watt University until his retirement in 2005 and, in 2014, he was knighted for services to human rights, science and charity. He worked closely with his friend Benjamin Zephaniah to promote opportunities in STEM subjects for disadvantaged communities. Throughout his career, Palmer experienced and overcame both overt and covert racism while forming strong views on how the only long-term answers lay in education, which must include teaching about Britain's colonial past and its impacts on the history that followed. Spreading that knowledge became his chief preoccupation. A courteous, humorous and charismatic man, Palmer relied on reasoned argument and careful research to communicate powerful messages. He published Mr White and the Ravens, a novel about race relations, in 2001 and The Enlightenment Abolished: Citizens of Britishness, a memoir and collection of articles, followed in 2007. He is survived by his wife, Margaret Wood, an educational psychologist, whom he married in 1969, their son, Ralph, and daughters, Susie and Catherine. Sir Godfrey Henry Oliver 'Geoff' Palmer, grain scientist, historian and equality campaigner, born 9 April 1940; died 12 June 2025
CNN
24-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Colleges are canceling affinity graduations due to anti-DEI policies. Here is how students are preserving the traditions
Elyse Martin-Smith began meeting with her classmates at Harvard University last summer to plan the annual Black student graduation hosted by a campus group she leads. The ceremony was set to be a celebration of Black culture, featuring musicians, poetry readings, messages about the historic struggle for racial equality, and a speech by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the '1619 Project,' Martin-Smith said. Students had reserved Harvard Memorial Church on campus for the event, she said. But in early May, Martin-Smith said she received an email from university officials saying she would not be allowed to host the Black graduation on campus. Harvard is among several universities across the country that have canceled affinity graduations amid threats from President Donald Trump to block medical research funding and revoke accreditation from schools that don't end diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Trump decries these programs as 'illegal and immoral discrimination.' Affinity graduations are optional events typically led by students to celebrate different student identities and ethnicities. Commonly held ceremonies often honor Black, Hispanic, Asian, first-generation and LGBTQ+ students. Students say the events are significant because they honor the music, apparel, food, history, language and traditions unique to their identity. Harvard and other elite universities have also clashed with Trump over his demands for crackdowns on student protests, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations and purported antisemitism. The lost support for affinity graduations — coming just weeks before most universities were set to hold their commencement events — left some students scrambling to find ways to still host the events. Martin-Smith said she was 'disappointed but not surprised' when the school canceled the Black student graduation hosted by her group, Harvard Undergraduate Black Community Leaders. In late April, Harvard announced it was renaming its diversity, equity, and inclusion office and rescinding all funding from affinity group commencement celebrations. The move came after the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard when the Ivy League school initially said it would not follow policy demands from the administration. 'This isn't the first time the university has catered to PR (public relations) concerns rather than student concerns,' Martin-Smith said. Martin-Smith was determined to hold the Black graduation and spent time between finals study sessions calling venues to secure a space off campus, she said. She ultimately found a venue and obtained support from the Black Graduate Student Alliance and the Harvard Black Alumni Society. The event will be held on May 27 and will still feature a similar program to the initial event, Martin-Smith said. 'It's an undue burden that continues to be placed upon Black students to create the change that we want to see,' Martin-Smith said. Students at the University of Kentucky faced a similar dilemma when the school announced earlier this year it was canceling all affinity graduations. 'Following a number of federal and state policy changes and directives, the university will no longer host identity-based or special-interest graduation celebrations,' university spokesperson Jay Blanton said in a statement. 'In the past, these were held outside of our official commencement ceremonies as optional celebrations and social events. We will continue to comply with the law, while celebrating all students and their distinctive achievements at our official commencement ceremonies.' Kristopher Washington, a University of Kentucky graduate, said he was disappointed to learn that there would no longer be a Black student graduation on campus — an event he had looked forward to throughout his college career. Washington collaborated with his fraternity brothers from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to find an off-campus venue where they could still host a cultural graduation for their peers. He secured support from the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center in Lexington, where they held the event dubbed 'Senior Salute,' Washington said. The ceremony was open to all graduates and Washington's fraternity encouraged students to wear items signifying their identity or culture. 'I feel it's important to show that there are people coming from other places, underprivileged areas and many different backgrounds and struggles and still making it over to UK (University of Kentucky) and still getting their degree,' Washington said. 'It's a tremendous achievement.' One expert said graduations celebrating students' ethnic identities are important because most main commencement celebrations have European roots. Antar Tichavakunda, an assistant professor of race and higher education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, pointed out that 'Pomp and Circumstance' — a song commonly played at graduations — is by English composer Edward Elgar. He also noted that the tradition of wearing graduation gowns originated in Europe during medieval times. Many Black graduations have embraced Black culture by incorporating West African drums, strolling by Black Greek letter organizations, and featuring guest speakers who understand the Black experience, Tichavakunda said. 'Giving us a space to celebrate like we'd like to and not be policed, play music that feels more affirming and culturally responsive in a smaller setting really just makes that moment of completing a degree that much sweeter,' said Tichavakunda, who is also author of 'Black Campus Life: The Worlds Black Students Make at a Historically White Institution.' 'It definitely speaks to pride and not having to dim part of your identity to be palatable to others.' Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also seen their traditional Lavender Graduations canceled at schools across the country due to anti-DEI policies at both the state and federal levels. Last year, Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs from higher education, the public education system and government employers. Jacey Thornton, executive director of Project Rainbow Utah, said that the law led to the closure of resource centers focused on gender, race and identity at colleges and universities. It also meant that universities would no longer support the Lavender Graduations that celebrate the achievements of LGBTQ+ graduates. Thornton said Project Rainbow helped LGBTQ+ students at Weber State University and the University of Utah find ways to gather with their community. For example, Thornton said Project Rainbow sponsored an event at a church for the University of Utah's LGBTQ+ community where they hung pride flags and graduates wore the lavender stoles and rainbow tassels that are traditionally worn at Lavender Graduations on college campuses. Students from Westminster University and Salt Lake Community College were also invited, she said. It's important for LGBTQ+ students to be able to celebrate their graduation in a space where they feel welcome and embraced, Thornton said, who graduated with a master of social work from Weber State this spring. 'We are holding space to celebrate the obstacles we have overcome as queer people,' Thornton said. 'It's important that we stand up and stand strong. A lot of us lose biological family in the process of transitioning or coming out as queer. This supports that space for us to come together and find a new chosen family.' Tichavakunda said universities' withdrawal of support from affinity groups signals to students that they should consider schools that fully embrace their identity and offer programs to help them navigate college. For Black students, he recommended considering HBCUs. Students who choose to attend universities despite the loss of DEI practices will need to work harder to preserve cultural traditions, Tichavakunda said. 'For future classes, I think this administration is forcing students and faculty to think creatively beyond the university and work around it,' he said. 'But I don't think this will be the end of culturally specific graduations. I just think it might be the end of universities supporting them.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colleges are canceling affinity graduations due to anti-DEI policies. Here is how students are preserving the traditions
Elyse Martin-Smith began meeting with her classmates at Harvard University last summer to plan the annual Black student graduation hosted by a campus group she leads. The ceremony was set to be a celebration of Black culture, featuring musicians, poetry readings, messages about the historic struggle for racial equality, and a speech by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the '1619 Project,' Martin-Smith said. Students had reserved Harvard Memorial Church on campus for the event, she said. But in early May, Martin-Smith said she received an email from university officials saying she would not be allowed to host the Black graduation on campus. Harvard is among several universities across the country that have canceled affinity graduations amid threats from President Donald Trump to block medical research funding and revoke accreditation from schools that don't end diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Trump decries these programs as 'illegal and immoral discrimination.' Affinity graduations are optional events typically led by students to celebrate different student identities and ethnicities. Commonly held ceremonies often honor Black, Hispanic, Asian, first-generation and LGBTQ+ students. Students say the events are significant because they honor the music, apparel, food, history, language and traditions unique to their identity. Harvard and other elite universities have also clashed with Trump over his demands for crackdowns on student protests, including pro-Palestinian demonstrations and purported antisemitism. The lost support for affinity graduations — coming just weeks before most universities were set to hold their commencement events — left some students scrambling to find ways to still host the events. Martin-Smith said she was 'disappointed but not surprised' when the school canceled the Black student graduation hosted by her group, Harvard Undergraduate Black Community Leaders. In late April, Harvard announced it was renaming its diversity, equity, and inclusion office and rescinding all funding from affinity group commencement celebrations. The move came after the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard when the Ivy League school initially said it would not follow policy demands from the administration. 'This isn't the first time the university has catered to PR (public relations) concerns rather than student concerns,' Martin-Smith said. Martin-Smith was determined to hold the Black graduation and spent time between finals study sessions calling venues to secure a space off campus, she said. She ultimately found a venue and obtained support from the Black Graduate Student Alliance and the Harvard Black Alumni Society. The event will be held on May 27 and will still feature a similar program to the initial event, Martin-Smith said. 'It's an undue burden that continues to be placed upon Black students to create the change that we want to see,' Martin-Smith said. Students at the University of Kentucky faced a similar dilemma when the school announced earlier this year it was canceling all affinity graduations. 'Following a number of federal and state policy changes and directives, the university will no longer host identity-based or special-interest graduation celebrations,' university spokesperson Jay Blanton said in a statement. 'In the past, these were held outside of our official commencement ceremonies as optional celebrations and social events. We will continue to comply with the law, while celebrating all students and their distinctive achievements at our official commencement ceremonies.' Kristopher Washington, a University of Kentucky graduate, said he was disappointed to learn that there would no longer be a Black student graduation on campus — an event he had looked forward to throughout his college career. Washington collaborated with his fraternity brothers from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to find an off-campus venue where they could still host a cultural graduation for their peers. He secured support from the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center in Lexington, where they held the event dubbed 'Senior Salute,' Washington said. The ceremony was open to all graduates and Washington's fraternity encouraged students to wear items signifying their identity or culture. 'I feel it's important to show that there are people coming from other places, underprivileged areas and many different backgrounds and struggles and still making it over to UK (University of Kentucky) and still getting their degree,' Washington said. 'It's a tremendous achievement.' One expert said graduations celebrating students' ethnic identities are important because most main commencement celebrations have European roots. Antar Tichavakunda, an assistant professor of race and higher education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, pointed out that 'Pomp and Circumstance' — a song commonly played at graduations — is by English composer Edward Elgar. He also noted that the tradition of wearing graduation gowns originated in Europe during medieval times. Many Black graduations have embraced Black culture by incorporating West African drums, strolling by Black Greek letter organizations, and featuring guest speakers who understand the Black experience, Tichavakunda said. 'Giving us a space to celebrate like we'd like to and not be policed, play music that feels more affirming and culturally responsive in a smaller setting really just makes that moment of completing a degree that much sweeter,' said Tichavakunda, who is also author of 'Black Campus Life: The Worlds Black Students Make at a Historically White Institution.' 'It definitely speaks to pride and not having to dim part of your identity to be palatable to others.' Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also seen their traditional Lavender Graduations canceled at schools across the country due to anti-DEI policies at both the state and federal levels. Last year, Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs from higher education, the public education system and government employers. Jacey Thornton, executive director of Project Rainbow Utah, said that the law led to the closure of resource centers focused on gender, race and identity at colleges and universities. It also meant that universities would no longer support the Lavender Graduations that celebrate the achievements of LGBTQ+ graduates. Thornton said Project Rainbow helped LGBTQ+ students at Weber State University and the University of Utah find ways to gather with their community. For example, Thornton said Project Rainbow sponsored an event at a church for the University of Utah's LGBTQ+ community where they hung pride flags and graduates wore the lavender stoles and rainbow tassels that are traditionally worn at Lavender Graduations on college campuses. Students from Westminster University and Salt Lake Community College were also invited, she said. It's important for LGBTQ+ students to be able to celebrate their graduation in a space where they feel welcome and embraced, Thornton said, who graduated with a master of social work from Weber State this spring. 'We are holding space to celebrate the obstacles we have overcome as queer people,' Thornton said. 'It's important that we stand up and stand strong. A lot of us lose biological family in the process of transitioning or coming out as queer. This supports that space for us to come together and find a new chosen family.' Tichavakunda said universities' withdrawal of support from affinity groups signals to students that they should consider schools that fully embrace their identity and offer programs to help them navigate college. For Black students, he recommended considering HBCUs. Students who choose to attend universities despite the loss of DEI practices will need to work harder to preserve cultural traditions, Tichavakunda said. 'For future classes, I think this administration is forcing students and faculty to think creatively beyond the university and work around it,' he said. 'But I don't think this will be the end of culturally specific graduations. I just think it might be the end of universities supporting them.'
