Dr. Ashley E. Stewart

The benefits of diversity and inclusion are well known and supported. However, social unrest has brought to surface gaps in our culture and practices. Many individuals, organizations, and institutions now realize that we must move beyond the superficial and performative nods of inclusion practices to have a genuine and authentic appreciation of diverse environments. We are all at different places in our journeys, which is okay because that can be true, and we can also still move forward with urgency. It is essential to acknowledge that the common practice of slow and incremental change comes at the cost and suffering of people’s wellness. Navigating from a foundational understanding that our communities, workplaces, and systems are not equitable and that systemic and structural oppression has caused deep wounds, we can begin to do the more profound level work to make a permanent change. Change comes with naming forms of oppression including, but not limited to: racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, xenophobia, transphobia, ageism, ableism, and religious and identity-based discrimination.

It’s time to engage more deeply with truth and, as a result, create change that is sustainable and empowering!