DEIJA views: International conversations in diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility

Abstract

To kick things off in this new feature, which we call “DEIJA Views: International Conversations in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility,” we write our own reflection on what DEIJA looks like in contemporary institutions of higher education in the United States. This reflection includes an examination of the beginnings of DEI work in the US, a view of where we currently stand, and a prospective look forward. We hope you, in turn, find inspiration to share your own view of DEIJA work in your community. In doing so, we hope to find commonalities and differences, challenges and opportunities, support and criticism from colleagues all around the world. As we begin, we recognize that we are writing this article from the ancestral lands of the Wahpekute and Mdewakanton bands of the Dakota Nation, currently occupied by Carleton College; as well as from the ancestral lands of the Onöñda'gaga, the Oneida Nation, the people of the Standing Stone, and the Susquehannock Nation, each belonging to the Haudenosaunee Alliance often called the Iroquois Confederacy, currently occupied by Juniata College. We honor with gratitude the people who have stewarded the land through the generations and their ongoing contributions to these regions. We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that have been committed against these peoples and Nations, and we wish to interrupt this legacy, beginning with acts of healing and honest storytelling about these places. We also recognize that our own experiences can influence the perspectives we share below, and we include a statement of positionality to situate our identities as educators in the context of this editorial (Box 1).