On ‘Diversity’

February 25, 2025

We've come to a place of outlaw for the word "diversity."

I began my Ph.D. at UAF in Anthropology six weeks ago, the program and life change I left the Senator’s Office for, studying culture at our state’s university, a state home to over 20 official Indigenous languages, where the most diverse high schools in the US are here – number 1, 2, and 3 – stripped of one of the very words to describe us.

There’s no way around it. There’s no future where this ends up being a chapter future generations look back fondly on. This never ends up being right, in tandem with the related trend we see of the targeting of groups. Whatever the ‘reasoning,’ whatever the purpose, whatever the laws, this *always ends up being wrong.*

The targeting of LGBTQ people, reveling in deportation and anti-immigration sentiment…this is, and stands in history, as being wrong. Whatever the reasoning. Whatever the laws. It always comes out as wrong. These are the eras we *teach about.*

These are chapters in history we produce *documentaries* on.

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Presidential historian Jon Meacham and others remind us that falling short has historically been more of the rule than the exception, but it is through struggle that we, our nation, has been made more perfect. The points of struggle for freedom and justice and opportunity have been the moments that we have done something right, and are the moments we look fondly upon, as points of pride in our nation.

Anything good we’ve had in this nation, we’ve had to fight for. We can feel what we feel, and go through it, but recognize that effort will need to be produced on our behalves to uphold the elements of life that we so love.

Stripped of diversity, which recognizes all of us, sans equity, which acknowledges variability in peoples’ start in life, and minus inclusion, which ways you’re not just allowed, but desired…we must ask ourselves who actually benefits from this.

We must ask ourselves who benefits.

Without these values – because they are values – I know I wouldn’t exist. Not as I am now. I actually question if I would know any of you, the most beautiful angels of human beings.

How much is lost in absentia.

How much future potential and opportunity is cut short.

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Remember that diversity, equity and inclusion are values.

The value of diversity, that our specific backgrounds when brought together, make us all stronger.

The value of equity, acknowledging that our adjacency to opportunity does differ, yet all are equally deserving.

And the value of inclusion, which speaks to us that you are not only invited, but desired, wanted, upheld and cherished.

I think that these are beautiful things. I think it sounds nice to say the full words out loud. I also think that these have been the paddles of the canoe in America, as we've figured out how we're going to live together, whether we've had this language or not.

The absence of these paddles, the times we've chucked them overboard, are the times the canoe flipped over.

It takes more energy, than our base human programming, to be sure. More exertion, more intention, more effort.

But when we look back on America, the times citizens put in that energy are the moments of which we're most proud, and are a source of protections (like the Equal Opportunity Act) and rights (like the 19th Amendment) that we have today.

I think we should say what we mean. I don't mean medley for diversity, rectification in place of equity, or embracement for inclusion. I literally mean those exact words.

When we said diversity, equity and inclusion, we really said what we said.