Diverse Dialogues

Diverse Dialogues was launched by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in the Spring of 2018. The program provides opportunities for students, faculty and staff to have conversations about relevant issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, social justice and much more.

They are designed to be an informal gathering to allow participants to educate and learn from one another. While each dialogue has a centralized theme, the goal is to encourage participants to determine where the conversations go. This program is meant to be a catalyst for discussion on difficult topics and implore individuals to push their awareness, knowledge and action related to themes of diversity and inclusion. 

Spring 2021 Diverse Dialogues

From Impostor to Impresser: Expressing Complex Identities in STEM with Dr. André Isaacs

 

Monday, March 29, 2020 - Zoom @ 6:30pm EST
Known as @drdre4000 on TikTok and Instagram, Dr. André Isaacs (he/him/his) is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. and brings his multiple identities to the forefront of his career, his social media expression, and to Michigan Tech’s campus virtually with his campus dialogue, From Impostor to Impresser: Expressing Complex Identities in STEM!

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) invites you to join Dr. Dre and our virtual community in engaging in meaningful campus dialogue around topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

If you’re part of the dialogue, you’re part of the solution.

Bio: Dr. André Isaacs (he/him/his) is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He moved to the U.S. upon finishing high school in Kingston, Jamaica and received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California, Berkeley before accepting his current faculty position. In addition to teaching courses in Organic Chemistry, he conducts and publishes research in the area of copper-mediated organic reactions and synthesis. He is a faculty advisor to numerous student groups including the Caribbean African Students’ Assemblage and is a member of the college’s GLBTQ Faculty and Staff Alliance. 

Lunch with Dr. André Isaacs (private invite of CDI identity groups only)
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - Zoom @ 12:15pm EST


12th Annual Feminists Reading Feminists


Tuesday, March 30, 2024 - Zoom 6pm EST
Join us for the 12th annual Feminists Reading Feminists event hosted by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) and the Humanities Department (HU). Help us pay homage to the contributions of diverse feminist scholars and activists who have inspired us and continue to shape our evolving world.

The event will be held at 6p.m. (March 31) via Zoom. We encourage you to sign up through our Google form ahead of time (or submit a video/picture through the Google form if you cannot attend) and at our virtual event via Zoom, be prepared to share a chosen passage from your favorite text, your favorite video/audio clip, or simply participate by listening and engaging with those that are sharing.

Your selection should take five minutes or less to read or view. Prose, poetry and media are welcome. There will be time at the end for those who did not sign up ahead of time to participate in an open reading.

ALL are welcome. Please join us virtually to engage in meaningful dialogue and celebrating the women's history month—near and far—as a community.

If you’re part of the dialogue, you’re part of the solution.


A Conversation with Civil Rights Activist DeRay McKesson

presented by the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI)

Friday, April 16, 2021 - Zoom @ 6pm EST
DeRay Mckesson is a civil rights activist focused primarily on issues of innovation, equity and justice. Born and raised in Baltimore, he graduated from Bowdoin College and holds honorary doctorates from The New School and the Maryland Institute College of Art.

DeRay has advocated for issues related to children, youth, and families since he was a teen. As a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter Movement and a co-founder of Campaign Zero, DeRay has worked to connect individuals with knowledge and tools, and provide citizens and policy makers with commonsense policies that ensure equity. He has been praised by President Obama for his work as a community organizer, has advised officials at all levels of government and internationally, and continues to provide capacity to activists, organizers, and influencers to make an impact.

Spurred by the death of Mike Brown and the subsequent protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and beyond, DeRay has become a key player in the work to confront the systems and structures that have led to mass incarceration and police killings of black and other minority populations. He is also the host of the award-winning weekly podcast Pod Save The People - which creates space for conversation about the most important issues of the week related to justice, equity and identity.

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) invites you to join DeRay Mckesson and our virtual community in engaging in meaningful campus dialogue around topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

If you’re part of the dialogue, you’re part of the solution.


Doc & Talk: KIKI

presented by Keweenaw Pride (KP) and the Center for Diversity & Inclusion (CDI)

Monday, April 19, 2021 - Zoom @ 7pm EST
In New York City, LGBTQ youth-of-color gather out on the Christopher Street Pier, practicing a performance-based artform, Ballroom, which was made famous in the early 1990s by Madonna’s music video “Vogue” and the documentary “Paris Is Burning.” Twenty-five years after these cultural touchstones, a new and very different generation of LGBTQ youth have formed an artistic activist subculture, named the Kiki Scene.


KIKI follows seven characters from the Kiki community over the course of four years, using their preparations and spectacular performances at events known as Kiki balls as a framing device while delving into their battles with homelessness, illness and prejudice as well as their gains towards political influence and the conquering of affirming gender-expressions.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) invites you to join our virtual community in viewing KIKI, a documentary film that illuminates the personal and unique stories of young queer youth of color in the U.S.

If you’re part of the dialogue, you’re part of the solution. 

Past Diverse Dialogues