Occasional Observations of Traveling Technology Coach

There is still hope…

This email response from the Office of Organizational Development, Talent, and Culture in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) portfolio — the organizers of the Freedom Dreaming conference — offers hope that the event will not recapitulate that which has gone before (the CUNY Freedom Dreaming program (https://freedomdreaming.commons.gc.cuny.edu/about/) and the BRIC Freedom Dreaming program (https://www.bricartsmedia.org/blog/freedom-dreaming-call-imagine)

“Hello Charles,

Our conference is not connected to either of the programs mentioned.

In partnership,

DEIB Conference Committee “

The NYCDOE Office of Organizational Development, Talent, and Culture in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging portfolio is hosting a conference entitled Freedom Dreaming.

How far to go before Israel gets dragged into the mix?

Not that far.

From the original Freedom Dreamers Brooklyn event:

“I dream of a world where Black and Brown boys don’t fear for their lives”
“I dream of a world where I can live without fear”
“I dream of a free Palestine”

(https://www.bricartsmedia.org/blog/freedom-dreaming-call-imagine, retrieved 07/11/23)

How I wish “uplift” organizations would not have to down-trod on Israel all the time. I, too, wish for a Palestine that was free from its murderous, antisemitic rulers, beginning with the Nazi-ally Grand Mufti Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, and continuing to this day.

A short google search of the phrase “Freedom Dreaming,” the upcoming conference offered by the NYCDOE The Office of Organizational Development, Talent, and Culture in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging portfolio, returns this result from CUNY Academic Commons website:

• Freedom Dreaming means actively uplifting the intricately connected and complex lives and stories of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latin/os/as/x, Arab, Middle Eastern and Multi-ethnic people (from https://freedomdreaming.commons.gc.cuny.edu/about/, retrieved 07/11/23)

Their list seems awfully exclusionary — what about ethnic Jews? — and does not take class or economic status into account.

Could this group from CUNY be the source for the DOE’s conference?

The Freedom Dreaming flyer has this to declare:

Will I be wearing my tie-dye? You bet I will!

This just in (the bold italics are my own):

The Office of Organizational Development, Talent, and Culture in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging portfolio is thrilled to announce our re-scheduled 2nd Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) conference on Friday, July 28th! This year’s conference theme is Freedom Dreaming.  This conference will uplift promising practices from DEIB leaders and include facilitated workshops, keynote speakers, community building, and recognition of individuals and teams committed to ensuring an equitable school system across New York City Public Schools. Throughout the day-long, in-person conference, participants will engage in courageous conversations regarding policy, equity, and belonging within the New York City Public School system to move towards creating change in support of our colleagues, students, and the NYC school communities we serve.   

My three initial take-aways are

• uplift
• promising practices
• courageous conversations

If the last two were not alliterative, would they be so good?