Diversity Talks offers workshops, fellowships, and anti-racism resources, focusing on youth-led professional development to promote systemic change and cultural competence.
Diversity Talks trains youth to lead conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion with adults in their communities. Our highly-trained youth and staff facilitators lead professional development workshops, seminars, and affinity groups for participants of all backgrounds and identities.
We aim to increase cultural competence in youth-serving organizations by equipping youth and adults to challenge the societal standards that uphold white supremacy.
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Diversity Talks facilitated two workshops for our organization, and they were both exceptional. The youth facilitators did an amazing job creating a container for learning. We all developed in our racial analysis and grounding in equity. The artifacts were also really engaging. We are actually taking their information design lead and using it in some of our own sessions. Additionally, the process of planning and organizing the workshops virtually was so easy. The team is wonderful to work with.
— Shannon Scott, Foster America
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Following the Diversity Talks events, our student teachers have been able to process what they've taken in. The conversations that we've had weeks later have been even deeper and richer, about the impact implicit bias has on ourselves and our interactions with our families, the people that we work with and the students we serve.
— Kimberly Johnsen-Smith, Ed.D. Roger Williams University
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I think that the Diversity Talks event offers educators the knowledge, awareness, and types of transformative discussions that help people to think more deeply about the issues of bias and diversity that everyone must collectively face in order to help others, ourselves, and our communities move beyond prejudice to form a more inclusive environment both in our classrooms and in our world.
— Melissa Rodriguez, Senior Elementary Education Major, Roger Williams University
Our Supporters
Our Partners
| America on Tech | ANet | Argosy Collegiate Charter School | Beacon Charter School for the Arts | Blackstone Valley Prep | CCF | Chariho Regional School District | City Year San Antonio | Community MusicWorks | Dedham Public Schools | Diverse Charter Schools Coalition | East Providence Schools | ECET2 | Education Commission of the States | Education Leaders of Color | EduvateRI | Family Service of Rhode Island | Founders Academy at Beacon | Generation Citizen | Highlander Institute | IUPUI | Johns County Library | LiberatED | Manton Avenue Project | Massachusettts Maritime Academy | Metropolitan Regional Career And Technical Center | MLK Community Center | Morris Hargreaves McIntyre | Mural Arts Philadelphia | National Math and Science Initiative | New England Library Association | New Schools Venture Fund | North Providence School Department | Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition | Nowell Academy | Old Rochester Regional School District | Pacific University | Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic | Pomeroy & Co. | Promise54 | Providence After School Alliance | Providence Schools | Providence Youth Arts Collaborative | PVD Prep | PVD Prep | Rhode Island College | Rhode Island Department of Education | Rhode Island for Community and Justice | Rhode Island Office of Library and Information Services | RIOT RI | Roger Williams University | SAVE of Essex | Skills USA | Steel Yard | Student Achievement Partners | Swearer Center at Brown University | Taylor and Francis Group | The Child Health and Development Institute | The High Scool of Fashion Industries | TNTP | Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale | Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine | University of Connecticut | University of Southern Mississippi School of Performing and Visual Arts | UP Academy Boston | White Electric | Women in Toys, Licensing, & Entertainment | Women's Fund Rhode Island | Year Up Chicago | Year Up Rhode Island
Who We Serve*
64%
of students in partner schools identify as BIPOC
5%
of staff in partner schools identify as BIPOC
54%
of students in partner schools are economically disadvantaged
*Average demographic data of schools Diversity Talks has partnered with, based on data from the Rhode Island Department of Education
Support our work
With your generous support, we can expand our services to more youth and adults across the country.
“Our high school is a Title One school in Rhode Island. We worked with Diversity Talks in the past, the program made a lasting impact in our school. Teachers and students felt empowered to talk to each other about difficult topics and worked to further build our community with the incredible new skill set Diversity Talks brought out of us. Five years later we were looking to give a new group of students the opportunity to build their facilitation skills and their confidence. Unfortunately for us we were sure that we couldn't find room in the budget to make it happen. Diversity Talks did not turn us down and took on our fellowship pro bono making it possible for us to move forward and give our students and staff an opportunity to learn and grow together. We are grateful for any donation amount that will empower communities like ours or otherwise.”
— Ryan Hall, William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School