My lived reality and CSOE values of diversity, equity, and inclusion: interrogating the disconnect

Abstract

Abstract Colleges and Schools of Education (CSOE) often espouse and proclaim to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social justice, as the flagship of their programs and culture. Mission and vision statements and strategic goals are often anchored on these values and ideals. Yet, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice are often denied and elusive for Black, Indigenous, Faculty of Color (BIFOC), including African-Born Faculty of Color (ABFOC). In this article, using the lens of storied research and reflexivity, I examine my almost three-decades-long lived reality as an “othered” ABFOC in US CSOE. I specifically engage the questions: What has been my lived reality as an ABFOC in US CSOE that proclaims to value diversity, equity, and inclusion? And, how has my lived reality reflected CSOE professed values of DEI? I aim to interrogate and expose the disconnect between proclaimed values of DEI and my lived reality as an ABFOC in US COSE. I conclude the article by making a clarion call for disrupting the disconnect between institutional values and lived realities of ABFOC and other marginalized faculty groups.