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Dear Casper,
This week, on Thursday, June 19, we as a nation recognized Juneteenth for its fourth year. While Juneteenth as a celebration has been celebrated culturally and in communities across the country since 1866, it only became a national holiday in 2021. There is so much to celebrate about this holiday, and so much historical significance, yet we only recently gave it the weight that it deserves.
This holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, finally closing the door on an age of unimaginable suffering for so many people who were thought of and treated as property. As joyous and righteous as the end of this period was, ending slavery did not cure our nation’s racial problems and disparities. After the Civil War came Reconstruction, a period in which Black Americans were subjected to anti-Black legislation and discrimination known as Jim Crow. Throughout this period, members of the Black community experienced many different forms of violence and persecution based on the assertion and belief that the white population was superior. This period lasted from 1877 to the mid-1960s and culminated with the Civil Rights Era. Through decades of struggle, protest, political activism and communal work, in July 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed, barring, finally, the discrimination against those who were wrongly deemed to be inferior. This landmark piece of legislation paved the way for so many of the freedoms, rights, and protections that we have today and that prevent the exclusion and homogeneity of the past.
In the years leading up to the first Juneteenth in 1866, the sole demographic of higher education, both in the student body and faculty, was white men. As time wore on, women were eventually allowed into these institutions as students, but by 1940 men were still 50% more likely to receive a college degree. From 1828 to 1900, it is estimated that less than 700 Black men held degrees from almost exclusively white universities. In that seven decade span, the sole demographic given the chance to advance their careers and education was white males, while those who do not fit into that space were not afforded that same opportunity. While higher education is just one public institution, this sort of disparity mars our collective history Across every facet of society. These same trends are seen in healthcare, politics and the economy, just to name a few examples.
It is with all of this in mind that I ask you to consider what it means to be included, what it means to be diverse, and what it means to be equitable, and to consider why this is so important to the fabric of our public institutions, workplaces, and communities.
In recent months, diversity, equity, and inclusion, more colloquially referred to as DEI, have been perceptually skewed and misrepresented as a sort of cultural boogeyman. We have seen this administration dismantle DEI policies across the government and push to ban any and all DEI initiatives. Instead of considering the importance of these policies and programs, or looking at the worth and wealth they have contributed to public life, there is a massive effort to completely rid our country and institutions of them.
When we break this down, though, it truly is difficult to find fault with each concept and what they can contribute to our communities and lives. It is important to really define and deconstruct what each piece of DEI truly means. Diversity, at its most basic definition, means to be constructed of many different parts or facets. When I think about diversity, I think about how wonderful it is to be able to learn from varied experiences and see from so many different points of view. I think about the multitude of perspectives we have in our communities, and how we can all learn so much from each other. I think of vibrant neighborhoods teeming with color, sound, life and culture. When we think of a field of wildflowers, do we truly want to see the same flower, over and over, with no variation? It is the same with our communities. We do not benefit from all being the same. We do not learn or expand our horizons or imaginations without diversity of thought, opinion and lived experience.
Equity provides each and every citizen of the United States the same opportunity to be successful, if upheld correctly and legitimately. To achieve this goal, and to give everyone a level playing field with which to begin from, we must examine and recognize that, due to a range of different factors such as gender, race and socioeconomics, not all people have the same resources or access to resources. The primary goal is to give everyone the same access to these opportunities and equal ability to fulfill the American dream. Thomas Jefferson himself wrote in our Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” If that is the case, then should we not allow all members of our community the same opportunity? To be equitable, we must examine the structural discrimination that exists, dismantle it and uphold this tenet of American values.
Inclusion is the practice of simply including something or someone. In the context of DEI, this means to offer a welcome, safe, and open environment for all people to be included, regardless of religion, race, sexuality, gender expression or any other distinction. To include is to expand our networks, to find community and learn from each other. It is welcoming in someone or something that we might not fully understand or know much about. From that inclusion, we are able to personally and communally grow. Humans are communal by nature. To not only survive but truly thrive, we depend on one another – on the unique skills and perspectives each person brings. Without inclusion, we are missing out on not only the chance to make someone feel wanted, understood, and cared for, but also we are missing out on the chance to experience growth and connection ourselves.
Before we write off DEI as negative policy decisions, something that takes away from our institutions, or unfairly places people in positions that they do not deserve, think about all that it can truly offer us. Think of all the people you have known, all the things that you have learned and all that has helped you become a better person throughout your life. If that person would have been born into a different circumstance, if they had been excluded from that situation, where would you be? Where would we be?
We are so much stronger, brighter and beautiful because of the diversity in this country. We have seen the work of incredible scientists, writers, and minds because of equity practices. When everybody is included and given a seat at the table, there is so much more to offer and learn from each other. I urge you to consider how you practice DEI in your own life, and to promote and protect these practices where we can. We are better together, and diversity, equity and inclusion is a key part of that.
Writing in solidarity for a better Wyoming future,
Allyse Taylor
Casper
Sources & further reading: https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/jimcrow https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/what.htm https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/civil-rights-act https://segregationinamerica.eji.org/report/from-slavery-to-segregation.html https://www.leadershipbrainery.org/post/historyofhighered https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK568721/
