What is true diversity inclusion?

Often, people find themselves struggling to gain inclusion in systems that were not designed to accommodate those they oppress. For years, I struggled to comprehend the effectiveness of making demands, protesting, or exposing inaccuracies or unfair treatment. In my perspective, the desire for liberation or acceptance can be more oppressive because it places reliance on the actions or nature of others.

While it’s true that laws and policies can prohibit unfair practices or discriminatory acts, they are unlikely to address the core issues of one’s heart. Those who seek to oppress will often find alternative ways to do so, either subtly or through the use of language.

Similarly, those who believe that diversity, inclusion programming, initiatives, policies, or any other chartered ventures will make a difference have been disappointed for decades. If we examine civil rights assimilation initiatives in the United States with an open mind, we can see that those who fought for marginalized communities have achieved little more than the loss of their identity and years of wasted effort in pursuit of a fleeting sense of equality.

A fight that has long been a futile journey.

As a young girl, my parents taught me that if the other kids don’t want to play with you, go and make your own way. In life, I’ve discovered that what is more liberating than being included is the power to build your own path, which, in time, will lead to the liberation you seek.         

However, asking for inclusion or forcing others to provide it is simply foolishness, believing that the omission of such action comes without consequence. Diversity inclusion, in its pursuit of equality, is an illusion designed to perpetuate hamster wheels that keep people chasing an elusive fulfillment that rarely benefits anyone except the oppressor or those who exploit others.

So, what is the solution? True diversity flourishes when we step out of the shadows of believing that fighting for something that should be inherent is digging a grave for the greater purpose of our lives, merely delaying progress. Therefore, diversity inclusion comes in the form of liberation when we understand the power to build our own table.