Diversify Our Narrative
Following recent events around the world and in our country, people are fighting for change everywhere; even in our valley. There are marches, protests and newfound organizations, like Diversify Our Narrative. Diversify Our Narrative is a campaign founded by two Stanford students, Katelin Zhou and Jasmine Nyugen. They both “...believe in the power of the public school system to enact long-lasting, institutional change that will be instrumental in this fight for justice and equality” (diversifyournarrative.com). Their mission is to integrate anti-racist and diverse texts in our English and Literature classes. They are doing this by having students across the country join them in their fight for an anti-racist and diverse education. There are chapters run by organizers for different school districts all over the United States, including Riverside County. The one that would affect us firsthand is of course the Desert Sands Unified School District chapter. It is a student led initiative aiming to expand DSUSD’s curriculum to be more inclusive and anti-racist. They plan on doing this by getting enough signatures on their petition, which explains and supports the curriculum change, and to then take it to the school board to discuss how and when it could be implemented. The petition for DSUSD is almost at 230 signatures. The chapter is gaining them by spreading the message through social media, especially on Instagram. They post weekly and interact with students within the district who support what they stand for. Their latest posts discuss their message, the more diverse literature they hope to include in schools, students’ testimonials of discrimination within our district, and how to join them in the fight for a more inclusive education that aids in anti-racism. To support them and their mission, sign the petition. It can be found in a link in the biography @DiversifyOurNarrativeDSUSD on Instagram or the official Diversify Our Narrative website.