I am thrilled to announce that I will be joining the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI) as a Senior Fellow this June. At a time when the American racial landscape is in a state of rapid transformation due to demographic changes and immigration patterns, I am excited to work with CSI to identify how we can build racial equity and multiracial solidarity through place-based, cross-sector solutions.
I came to CSI because I knew that the organization could provide the ideal environment to engage in the following points of inquiry:
Over the next 18 months, I hope to delve into these questions, and to give voice to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us. I plan to document best practices and suggest innovative solutions—many of which are being implemented by CSI’s partners around the country—for government and non-profit sectors in creating inclusive and equitable communities.
As part of my fellowship, I will also continue my work, begun at South Asian Americans Leading Together, to address the ongoing hate violence, xenophobia, and 9/11-related backlash targeting Arab, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian communities, and to amplify the voices and experiences of new immigrants in shaping twenty-first century movements for justice. I hope you will join me to engage on these issues at events and discussions related to my forthcoming book, We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future, available in November 2015 from The New Press.
I’m excited to plunge into my fellowship, and am deeply grateful to CSI’s staff, and in particular, to CSI’s President, Glenn Harris, for this tremendous opportunity.
And lastly—as with much of the work I have done, I know that it is meaningful only when it happens in community. That is why I hope to connect with people who are thinking about similar questions, and are on similar journeys towards racial equity and justice.
Connect with Me!
- Please drop me a note at diyer@thecsi.org and follow me @dviyer on Twitter so that we can build together!
- Read my bio here.
- Read a Q+A I did with Director of Communications Dennis Chin.