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Diversity Definitions

Discrimination is an assault on the very notion of human rights. Discrimination is the systematic denial of certain peoples' or groups' full human rights because of who they are or what they believe. It is all too easy to deny a person's human rights if you consider them as "less than human".

American Association of Colleges and University Definitions:


Inclusion: The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity--in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect--in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.

Equity: The creation of opportunities for historically underrepresented populations to have equal access to and participate in educational programs that are capable of closing the achievement gaps in student success and completion

Whiteness includes several factors, historical and legal practices in the United States, systems of social beliefs, and norms all of which impact how we think about issues of race. The ideas of race are perpetuated by the social structure.

The Social Construction of Whiteness: Racism by Intent, Racism by Consequence
Whiteness Studies: The New History of Race in America

White Privilege:
White individuals in the United States have access to different opportunities than do people of color. The advantages are often not recognized by the group in power, it has never occurred to them, which once again is a privilege of being white. There are several examples of white privilege in current U.S. society: curriculum reflects the dominant group experience, not American Indian experience, the African American experience, nor other minority groups, dominant group members expect to see themselves represented in politics, the media, and business. Dominant group members don't ever question whether some instance happened because of their race or ethnicity.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
White Privilege Shapes The U.S