An urgent game of truth or dare kicked off The Association of American Colleges and Universities’ 2021 Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success on Wednesday. The theme of the three-day, virtual conference is “Upholding These Truths: Equity, Diversity, and Democracy.”
This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Lori Patton Davis, professor of higher education and student affairs and chair of the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University, began by issuing uncomfortable truths about the current reality of diversity work in academia.
She posed the question: When it comes to diversity work, who is actually doing the work?
While the assumption is that university leaders — the ones who are often quick to issue public diversity statements following high-profile incidents of racism — are often the ones behind the scenes, Patton Davis said most of the people “cleaning up the mess” are marginalized staff, faculty and students.
“When I think about accountability and who’s doing the work and who’s cleaning up the mess, I can easily direct my attention to people who look like me, and other minoritized communities who continue to be the most significant driving force of change in higher education,” said Patton Davis. “Yet, these are the same people who are devalued, marginalized and treated inequitably.”
Rather than being recognized or compensated for their efforts, Patton Davis says these minoritized communities are instead placed on the margins of academia and treated as “The Help,” referring to the twentieth century Black women who often worked as domestic laborers for wealthy white families, cooking and cleaning up after the family.
In using the term, Patton Davis added that she is also referring to the 2009 novel The Help and subsequent movie of the same name, featuring a White woman who forms a relationship with two Black maids amid the backdrop of the 1963 Civil Rights Movement. Appalled by the racism the two women endure as “The Help,” the White woman exposes their hardship by writing a novel, ultimately gaining recognition for her selfless pursuit.
