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Douglass Austin

Rebranding ADEI for the Culture Wars

When I founded UPD in 2005, the mission was simple: help build better, higher performing, and more resilient organizations.  From the beginning, Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) has been crucial in this mission, not…
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Scholastic and the Folly of Appeasement

Appeasement never works: it’s an old lesson from the history books, and it rings just as true in today’s culture wars.  Look no further than last month, when Scholastic, the publishing and distribution company known…
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Help Yourself

This recent study shows some pretty dramatic benefits to the overall economy in pursuing an equity agenda—to the tune of nearly $26 trillion over the 30 years analyzed! We should all know by now that…
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C Change

The past few years have ushered in a new wave of organizational introspection related to antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI). It’s long overdue, and I’m glad to see it, but the prospect of achieving...
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Personal Foul

Many who know me know that, despite my rational self, I have been unable to break the codependent habits formed over a lifetime as a professional football fan.   I love the game in spite…
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No Rest for the Weary

It didn’t take long, did it? We had barely five hours to absorb and process the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd before Ma’Khia Bryant was shot four times and killed…
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When “good enough” isn’t

This is a sad parable about a good public policy ineffectively implemented. When the pandemic hit and the nation was forced to close its schools, one of the casualties was the Free and Reduced Lunch…
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Not so special education

The pandemic caused a painful disruption to public education. From mid-March to mid-April, virtually every school district in the country closed its doors and sent children home to a largely failed experiment in virtual learning....
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“Lost Time Is Never Found Again” –Ben Franklin

Our school districts are moving forward with reopening plans for the fall. The first day of school is looming and the waiting game is up. They have to make thousands of decisions with zero certainty...
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Juneteenth: Let’s Band(wagon) Together

It’s nice to see mainstream white America coming to grips, however slowly, with the importance of acknowledging past wrongs and scraping away some of the historical whitewash used to alleviate (or maybe avoid) the white...
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