Anti-DEI and the Future of Higher Education

By Monika Williams Shealey and Jacob Easley II

This article was reprinted with permission from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affirmative action in college admission decisions was unconstitutional sent shock waves throughout the higher education community. Many institutions seeking to balance the racial composition of their student bodies are left to wonder about the next steps. Seen as a victory for some who view themselves as a new unprotected class, the ruling represents a setback for others who have experienced marginalization based on their race. Yet leading up to the federal ruling, a string of state legislative actions — each seeking to hobble or even decimate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities and programming on university campuses — provides a telling story of a divided national mindset.

Coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, the ruthless death of George Floyd and many other African Americans who suffered police brutality ushered in cries for racial justice that reverberated across all sectors of society. Higher education quickly doubled down on its DEI commitment, reaffirming the importance of safe learning spaces for marginalized and underrepresented groups. At the same time, former President Trump’s executive order promulgated opposition for a racialized and sexualized America. The order sought to disavow and exterminate any notions of historical or contemporary racism and sexism in the foundation and fabric of the American Republic.

Educators, We Must Defend AP African American Studies

By Monika Williams Shealey

This article was originally published by Education Week and is reprinted with permission.

Dear Florida Educators,

When I was growing up in Florida and I would hear church folks describe a troubling event that ran afoul of their moral compass, they would say, “it’s just not sitting right with my spirit.” That’s how I’ve been feeling lately when I hear about recent efforts in my home state of Florida to limit academic freedom in higher education; stifle intellectual curiosity in schools; ban books; obliterate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in higher education; and silence the questions of pre-K-12 learners who may be struggling with their gender identity and sexuality.

I was educated in public pre-K-12 schools and graduated from three major Florida universities with my undergraduate and graduate degrees in the area of special education. I’m a former special education teacher who worked in Pinellas, Seminole, and Miami-Dade counties and was a tenure-track faculty member at Florida International University. Yet today, when I think about the education landscape in my home state, I’m grieved that instead of being lauded as a leader in innovation and delivering high-quality, equitable educational opportunities to all learners, Florida is applauded by its governor as “the place where woke goes to die.”

Stay Engaged in Revolutionizing Education: Renew Your Membership

By Monika Williams Shealey

Overcoming Racial Battle Fatigue Through Education Reform

By Monika Williams Shealey

The horrific image of George Floyd taking his last breath is seared into our hearts and minds. Since that tragic event, we continue to bear witness to racial violence, police brutality, and incidents of discrimination that are played repeatedly in the news and via social media. The cumulative effect of these stressful reports can be traumatizing, and they are having a profound impact on our educators and students of color.

Racial battle fatigue (RBF), a term coined by critical race theorist William Smith, reflects the cumulative results of race-related stress. It emerges not only due to macroaggressions, but also from daily microaggressions, such as dismissive and demeaning comments directed at Black and Brown individuals. Basically, RBF is a wearing down based upon one’s racial identity. Some of the symptoms include depression, anger, frustration, and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness that a person of color is unable to contribute to positive change.

RBF is persistent and pervasive, and it manifests in different ways dependent upon who the person of color is and what he or she has experienced in the past. And while RBF impacts every aspect of our society, in higher education and K-12 environments, we predominantly see it’s imprint through hateful, divisive speech on social media, racial profiling in our society and our schools, and discipline policies that differ for students of color.

DEI Prof-spectives: Racial Profiling, Institutional Racism, and White Allyship

By Monika Williams Shealey

The following article is an excerpt from the Rowan University Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion blog and is reprinted with permission.

For the past 2 months our country has been in the grips of a pandemic that has challenged us in unimaginable ways and revealed our strength and courage in the face of fear. Unfortunately, during a time when we should be united against a common enemy, COVID-19, racism and xenophobia has become the cure for some who are inflicted with an irrational hatred and fear of people of color. Let’s not forget we were introduced to this pandemic as the “Chinese Virus” and the result was an onslaught of hate speech directed towards Asians and Asian Americans. We are not ok.

It is difficult for Black Americans to forget the legacy of the enslavement of Black bodies for economic consumption, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement and mass incarceration lives on. How does one talk about systemic racism and the oppression of people of color without acknowledging and understanding the current conditions that ensure our country remains divided by race.  The election of a Black president was believed to be an indication of how far we’ve come as a country and we even heard that we were living in a post-racial country. Yet, the stories of police brutality, racial violence, and discrimination directed at Black Americans continued.  We are not ok.