“Justice, Like Beauty, Is in the Eye of the Beholder”: Reimagining Justice in an Anti-DEI Era

• In Event: Countering Anti-DEI Legislation in Education: Renewed Imaginings of Justice

Abstract

This article examines the May 23, 2024 University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ repeal of Diversity Equity and Inclusion. We use CRT composite storytelling methodology to explore the policy decision within a broader context of regressive responses to educational equality efforts over time. Through the pedagogical function of composite storytelling, we explore the policy in relation to concepts of whiteness as property (Harris, 1993), and mourning toward possibility (Warren, 2021). The story also illuminates the ways the UNC BOG have enacted a “repressive legalism” (Garces, et al., 2021) reflected across other times in our nation’s past. By juxtaposing the 2024 policy shift with historical records and liberatory insights, our findings provoke discussions envisioning a more just future for education.

Authors

• Uma Mazyck Jayakumar, University of California - Riverside

• Rican Vue, University of California - Riverside

• Tara J. Yosso, University of California - Riverside