In this episode of the DU 80208 Podcast, Julie Tran and Ana Ortega talk with Dr. Travis Heath about the Black Lives Matter movement along with how the University of Denver (DU), as an institution, can create a space for BIPOC faculty and students.
Heath is a licensed psychologist and has taught at Metropolitan State University of Denver for the past 12 years. He moved to DU this year on a visiting position to work with the Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP). He directs the Trauma Disaster and Recovery Clinic and also does stuff with Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). As it is looking right now, Heath’s future is here at DU.
Heath’s understanding of the BLM is that it is a liberation and justice movement that centers around black life, creativity and joy. This idea of black life involves all black lives, especially those most marginalized within the black community. When he thinks of BLM, he thinks of an organization that stands against all forms of white supremacy.
While there was a lot of news surrounding BLM last summer, Heath notes that BLM has been going on for longer than one year and it continues today. The U.S. has a history of 400 years of racism. Institutions’ responses to BLM are not yet done.
While diversity, equity, and inclusion are all values to strive for, Heath stresses that there is another major value: transformation. He does not want to be included in a system that expects its members to perform whiteness. Essentially, if the diversity in an institution is asked to behave in the same traditional way, then that diversity is for nothing.
Since summer 2020, people have really started to call attention to the phrase “anti-racism,” but Heath is not sure that people know what that means in terms of implementation.
DU has been moving in positive directions in terms of DEI, but racism is not an individual attitude to be changed. Heath states that racism is infrastructural and systemic. To fight against this, individual attitude and minds do not need to change as much as land, labor and resources do. Looking at these factors will help us move toward equity.
Heath has specifically looked at decolonial practices. To decolonialize, he says to start with the field and then the university as a whole. However, even Heath does not know, “Can an institution that is, at its heart, a colonial institution be completely decolonized?” Even if Heath does not know the answer to this question, he believes that we should still try.
While there is a complexity to whether or not institutions or people with power release statements, Heath says that on the route of releasing statements, there has to be action following. Tran and Ortega brought up how some students still did not feel completely supported last summer even after DU released a statement and asked faculty to be flexible with students.
Working in DEI in the GSPP, Heath’s suggestions are largely in line with what his unit has started moving toward. He also mentioned that DU, as a university, has also started on the path to act.
One of Heath’s practices is to talk to anyone that he possibly can. He found that students and alums have really good ideas, and they created working groups to look at specific paths and policies.
One of Heath’s areas of focus has been the tenure process and what it looks like. There should be DEI objectives that faculty have to meet in terms of curriculum and student interactions. It is also important to look at how faculty respond to student comments about DEI.
Heath is also taking a look at how they recruit students and the interview process. Once students get here, they want to be sure that minority students are not only getting through the program but also having a good experience. This falls in line with the value of transformation. As much as DU moves to diversify and include all types of students, they have to also create space for them.
Part of this involves looking at the curriculum and teaching practices in place. Curriculum can often be outdated. Heath stressed that most of the time, students are reading about works by white men. While white men do have information to contribute, it is important for students to read about works that represent themselves. If those works are not there, the program is essentially asking all students to conform to eurocentric dominant practices.
Creating space for all types of students also means there need to be structures of accountability. While there are offices for major transgressions, Heath said that many minor issues can build up, and students will have no one to talk to about those issues.
There needs to be a process that allows students to communicate how they feel and allow faculty and other students to learn and make sure this does not happen again. People that identify with dominant cultural identities may not even know they are being insensitive or stating microaggressions, but minorities see it and feel the effects of it.
Heath knows that DU is moving to put more policies in place, but there is still so much to go before true transformation is seen. “My goal in bringing these up in GSPP is to start working to change structures, to change policies rather than sitting down and trying to change hearts and minds because I don’t think most folks here would say that they espouse racist ideology,” Heath said.
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