We are honored to announce several keynote sessions and speakers for the 9th Annual Diversity Summit, Defining Revolutionary: A Call for Justice, Liberation & Empathy, which will take place in-person from February 20-22, 2024. You can read more about each speaker on the Diversity Summit website.
February 20, 5:30 p.m.
The Promise of Pluralism in Times of Tension
Jenan Mohajir is Vice President of External Affairs and Rebecca Russo is Senior Director of Higher Education Strategy with Interfaith America, which inspires, equips, and connects leaders and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity.
As Muslim and Jewish senior leaders from Interfaith America, Jenan and Rebecca will share their personal experiences as bridge builders who have been deeply impacted by the ongoing violence in Gaza and Israel and yet model empathy in their friendship and work across cultural, religious, and political differences. Through both personal and campus-based stories, they will explore the complexity and opportunity of bridge building in this moment and highlight the unique role of college campuses as laboratories for engaging positively across deep differences.
February 21, 6:00 p.m.
What it Takes to Bloom: Black Trans Lives & The Journey to Liberation
Raquel Willis is an award-winning activist, journalist, and media strategist dedicated to collective liberation, especially for Black trans folks. She is an executive producer with iHeartMedia’s first-ever LGBTQ+ podcast network, Outspoken, and the host of Afterlives, a podcast centering the lives and legacies of trans folks lost too soon to violence. She is also the author of The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation.
Living authentically and as your full self in a world that was not designed with you in mind can feel like you're constantly taking a risk. Black trans women often experience higher rates of mistreatment, discrimination, and violence against them for being Black, trans, and women. During Black History Month and with the increase in bills, laws, and policies being passed against Black people and trans people, Raquel will invite attendees into her story and journey toward liberation as a Black trans activist, inviting them to explore their own journey toward liberation and consider how they show up with and for Black trans women in the fight for justice.
February 22, 12:00 p.m.
Responding to Today’s Threats Against DEI in Higher Education
Jeremy C. Young is Freedom to Learn Program Director at PEN America, which stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. He will be joined in conversation by Laura Coates, an attorney, CNN anchor and chief legal analyst, and SiriusXM host.
The closing session will address the current threats against DEI, race-conscious admissions processes, banned books, and free expression in higher education, exploring the impact of these topics on higher education and the ways institutions could and should be combating these efforts.
The full schedule of Diversity Summit events will be shared soon, so stay tuned.
Diversity Summit Registration
As a reminder, please register for the Diversity Summit by Friday, February 16, 2024 at 5:00pm EST with your GW email address.
Please note that if you registered to attend the Diversity Summit in October, you still need to register to attend in February.
Register for the Diversity Summit
Visit our website and follow us on social media @InclusionatGW for information and updates. If you have questions, please email [email protected].