On Feb. 20, the Spokane branch of the NAACP held a town hall at Spokane Community College to have a constructive conversation about how to resist the DEI ban, and move in unified solidarity.
Elysee Kazadi, pictured above, talked about bridging the gaps within the African diaspora to grow collective power, as we are all under attack. He emphasized the great need to build community against the chaos, capitalizing on these moments of getting to know your neighbor.
“Talk to your neighbor, because (when) I know my neighbor I know the truth,” he shared. Insulated and siloed communities, repeated throughout the evening, are our greatest disadvantage, he said.
April Eberhardt, Spokane NAACP Education Committee Chair; District Attorney Francis Adewale; and Jerall Haynes, City of Spokane Civil Rights Director, were panelists at the event. Adewale reinforced the strength we carry together by sharing our knowledge.
“We in Africa understand all of these tricks. We know how autocrats grow, how they develop. What we are seeing now, we saw that movie before … We need to shine our eyes,” referring to an idiom that serves as a strong warning to wake up. “The end goal is not DEI. The end goal is belonging, and we often forget that. They can weaponize any language at any point in time. We as a community have to agree that we will not let them erase us … We are better when we bring others in. We get richer, we make better decisions.”
This point was sternly emphasized by the statement that DEI is not tokenism. Haynes echoed the message of collective action.
“One of the ways that a community protects itself is through education,” Haynes said.
Haynes continued that when communities come together to create and build their own resources, you can’t be starved out.