“Democracy requires deliberative debate. Hearing and having access to only one side are the tools of totalitarianism. This book is designed to encourage and support healthy debate and pushback on authoritarian regimes. We must remain engaged. This text is a wonderful place to start.”
—Gloria Ladson-Billings, past president, National Academy of Education
“In this brilliant book, Professor Harper generously affords us access to his classroom. It teaches Americans how to consider and respect viewpoints beyond our own, which is exactly what our democracy needs in this era of deep polarization.”
—Arne Duncan, 9th United States Secretary of Education
“I portray a teacher on television, but Dr. Shaun Harper is the real deal. This powerful book is proof of his brilliance as an educator and visionary. It reads like the inspiring lesson plan our democracy so urgently needs in these dangerously divided times.”
—Sheryl Lee Ralph, Emmy Award-winning actress, Abbott Elementary
“Professor Shaun Harper is exactly the kind of teacher I wish I had in college. When so many people are working to pull America apart, it is great to have someone like Shaun searching for ways to meaningfully bring us together. This book is the latest demonstration of his commitment.”
—Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Governor of California
“Shaun Harper’s book curates years of hands-on DEI work into an evidence-based tool for educators, business and government leaders, and organizers alike. Let’s Talk About DEI is the perfect guide to meet a moment hostile to a multicultural democracy. Harper’s expertise will help us light the way out of this dark period of American life.”
—Kimberlé Crenshaw, Distinguished Professor, Columbia University Law School and UCLA School of Law
“As a red-state lawmaker on the front lines of anti-inclusion policymaking, I am constantly seeking relevant and timely insights. Dr. Harper’s book provides actionable guidance on how to engage in productive and respectful disagreements around diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as other topics. As a military veteran, I can think of nothing more patriotic than trying to strengthen the often neglected 'U' in USA.”
—Rep. Chris Mathias, Idaho House of Representatives
“Dr. Shaun Harper has given higher education many invaluable gifts over the course of his illustrious career: robust, reliable research that informs our professional perspectives; models and guides that shape our praxis; and, with this new book, an invitation to ‘deliberately engineer conditions’ for sustained openness and thoughtful student engagement across difference. Dr. Harper models a pedagogical approach to encourage and facilitate informed, constructive dialogue and dissent in the classroom.”
—Alta Mauro, Associate Dean for Equity and Belonging, Harvard University
“In this provocative book, Shaun Harper shows what it looks like to live one of our deepest values as Americans: to engage in respectful civic discourse with those who disagree with us. The book spans a myriad of contemporary topics, including popular culture, race, and DEI. It brilliantly captures the important conversations of this moment, and pushes for deeper reflection and more engagement across difference.”
—Na’ilah Suad Nasir, President, Spencer Foundation
“For thoughtful individuals desiring to take a step toward understanding the ‘bogeyman’ that has been made of DEI, this book is an answer. In this most difficult time, one of the world’s leading diversity scholars delivers this much-needed model. Readers will grasp that all that is good about DEI has been swept up by the casting of a three-letter acronym as evil.”
—Kenneth L. Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
“With our democracy in the balance, Dr. Shaun Harper offers a clear path forward for us to find common ground. He brilliantly invites all of us to step out of our echo chambers and consider others’ viewpoints. Harper does so by modeling the way, serving as both teacher and student, co-constructing learning to encourage multiple perspectives. This book is a must-read for all who care about our democracy and each other.”
—Patty Perillo, Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Maryland
“In these divisive times, Let’s Talk About DEI is a poignant call to engage across difference with respect, courage, and intellectual honesty. Dr. Harper and his students – who give me so much hope for our future – offer a powerful model for how educators, and all of us, can move beyond polarization toward deeper understanding. This book is both a practical resource and a vital reminder that respectful disagreement and robust exchange across difference are not only possible, they are essential to a healthy democracy.”
—Angel B. Pérez, Chief Executive Officer, National Association for College Admission Counseling
“I deeply appreciate Dr. Harper’s Let’s Talk About DEI, a balanced, bold, and timely exploration of an acronym many have weaponized and do not fully understand. His wide-ranging perspectives reflects how individuals, particularly today’s PK-16 students, experience DEI differently, and he does not shy away from addressing the rise of anti-DEI rhetoric. This is a must-read for those committed to transformative change beyond this anti-DEI moment in history.”
—Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, CEO/President, American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE)
“In a thought-provoking and generous collection, educational leader and DEI expert Shaun Harper explores a range of timely opinions about diversity, equity, and inclusion in dynamic exchanges with students holding opposing viewpoints. With a willingness to experiment and challenge assumptions, Harper offers us this unique collection, which encourages discussion and leaves readers with plenty to consider.”
—Prudence L. Carter, Sarah and Joseph Jr. Dowling Professor, Brown University
“Timely. Inspiring. Unique. Necessary. These words all come to mind when reading Let's Talk About DEI. Dr. Harper provides a masterclass on engaging students in difficult conversations, which is a blueprint for what America needs in this moment: a way forward through increasing polarization and a general inability or unwillingness for many to have meaningful, substantive conversations across difference.”
—Jonathan M. Cox, Vice President, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
“Grounded in research, yet accessible for audiences within and outside of the academy, Let’s Talk About DEI is a provocative, honest, politically analyzed, forward-thinking, and incredibly necessary book during times of unparalleled divisiveness in the United States of America. An invitation and model for how to agree to disagree centering civility, humanity, and possibility, this is a book that helps us move closer to a true democracy.”
—H. Richard Milner IV, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, Vanderbilt University
“Shaun Harper offers a timely guide for engaging in uncomfortable, yet worthwhile conversations. This pedagogical feat not only demonstrates how to talk across beliefs and orientations, but also recognizes the need to have respectful disagreements as part of human practice. Harper takes us from classrooms to boardrooms by demonstrating how important it is for faculty to learn from and with students and by providing a playbook for corporate facilitators to engage their teams.”
—Maisha T. Winn, Excellence in Learning Graduate School of Education Professor, Stanford University
“Professor Harper’s point/counterpoint approach provides a balanced discussion on all things DEI in a highly readable and accessible format. This approach succeeds exceptionally well in producing a much richer and nuanced take on a broad range of DEI topics. As such, the final package allows readers, regardless of background, to quickly get up to speed on what is at stake in DEI debates and to develop an appreciation for DEI positions, both pro and con.”
—Robert E. Thomas, Charles M. Hewitt Professor of Business Law and Ethics, Indiana University Kelley School of Business
“Dr. Harper’s approach to productive disagreements in Let’s Talk About DEI arrives at a critical time in our history. The text contains 40 student counterpoint responses to their professor’s analyses and viewpoints. This design offers a unique and exceptionally nuanced approach to intellectual critique and a platform for deepening conversations.”
—Jason Pina, Senior Vice President for University Life, New York University
“Let’s Talk About DEI is essential reading for this moment. Dr. Harper’s brilliant mind and musings — alongside those of his students — illuminate timely issues and controversies. A well-written and accessible guide, the book models how educators and students can open a dialogue on diversity, equity and inclusion. In reality, we are all students grasping to understand these evolving issues. Believing we already know it all is a fatal error, and resources like this one that will help each of us to express, confront, examine and productively debate divergent opinions on DEI are of the utmost importance.”
—Areva Martin, Civil Rights Attorney, Bestselling Author, Talk Show Host and Producer, and Disability Advocate
“By welcoming all voices into sociocultural exchange, Let’s Talk About DEI is an invitation that debunks the rhetoric that this space seeks to silence conservative voices. Educators will benefit from Harper’s unique pedagogical engagement that presents a vibrant model for the authentic assessment of critical thinking skills. Offering his own writings as the prompts, engaging the genius of his students in reaction to those prompts, and honoring their offerings with respectful responses that sometimes stand firm, at other moments capitulate, and occasionally redirect, Shaun Harper audaciously opens a space for constructive dialogue on compelling and entertaining issues of the day.”
—Denise B. Maybank, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, City University of New York
“This is the perfect book for any educator, trainer, or organizational leader looking to kickstart courageous conversations in America’s classrooms and workplaces. In refreshing and revealing ways, Harper models what constructive disagreement looks like on some of the hardest problems we face as a nation.”
—Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of African American Studies and Public Affairs, Princeton University
