Let's Talk About DEI

This much-needed resource offers fresh, multisided viewpoints on seemingly divisive, politically polarizing issues in education, business, politics, sports, entertainment, policing, and technology.

Let's Talk About DEI models for professionals and everyday Americans ways to productively critique, learn from, and respond to other people’s perspectives on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). A variety of contested issues are debated, including consequences for kids who do racist things in schools, the U.S. Supreme Court’s affirmative action reversal, legacy advantages in college admissions, the tumultuous tenure of Harvard’s first Black president, legislative attacks on DEI initiatives, and celebrity coaches at historically Black universities.

Readers will also see how the author and his students engage in respectful disagreements about celebrities and influencers, including Beyoncé, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Megan Thee Stallion, Brittney Griner, and Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders. This dynamic book includes chapters on Joe Biden, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Kevin McCarthy, George Santos, and Karen Bass.

Book Features:

• Replicable models for engaging in respectful disagreements about divisive topics.
• Current issues that are being debated amongst everyday Americans, teachers and educational leaders, politicians, and business professionals.
• Concise chapters pertaining to K–12 and higher education institutions, as well as DEI issues in business, politics, sports, entertainment, policing, and technology.

Shaun Harper is university professor and provost professor of education, business, and public policy at the University of Southern California, and the USC Race and Equity Center’s founder and chief research scientist. He has done high-quality DEI work with more than 400 educational institutions, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations.

“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, professor emerita, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“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