In this episode of the DU 80208 Podcast, Julie Tran and Ana Ortega talk with Dr. Travis Heath about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and how DU can create a space for BIPOC faculty and students.

Heath is a licensed psychologist and has taught at the Metropolitan State University of Denver for the past 12 years. He moved to DU this year in a visiting position to work with the Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP). He directs the Trauma Disaster and Recovery Clinic and also works with Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI).

Heath’s understanding of the BLM is that it is a liberation and justice movement that centers around black life, creativity and joy. BLM 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 media attention on BLM last summer, Heath notes that the movement has been going on for longer than one year and continues today. The U.S. holds a history of 400 years of racism. Institutional responses to BLM are not yet finished.

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. If the diversity in an institution is asked to behave in the same hegemonies, then the diversity is for nothing.

Since the summer of 2020, people have started to call attention to the phrase “anti-racism.” However, Heath is not sure that people know what this 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. It is infrastructural and systemic. To fight against this, individual attitudes 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 decolonize, 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 should release statements, Heath says that there has to be action following them. 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’ final exams.

Working in DEI in the GSPP, Heath’s suggestions are largely in line with what his unit has started moving toward. He believes that DU has started to act.

One of Heath’s practices is to talk to anyone that he possibly can. He found that students and alumni have good ideas, and they have created working groups to look at specific paths and policies.

One of Heath’s areas of focus has been the tenure process. He thinks 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 to DU, minoritized students should not only be getting through their program but also having a good experience on campus. This falls in line with his value of transformation. As much as DU moves to diversify and include all types of students, they also have to 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 from works by white men. It is important for students of color read text where they can see themselves represented. If those are not provided, the program is essentially asking students to conform to dominant Eurocentric practices.

Creating space for BIPOC students also means that there must be structures for accountability. While there are offices for major transgressions, Heath said that minor issues can build up and students 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 with privilege and power may not even know they are being insensitive or expressing microaggressions, but marginalized groups see and feel the effects of it.

Heath knows that DU is moving to put more policies in place, but there is still much to do before true transformation is seen. “My goal in bringing these up in GSPP is to start working to change structures. 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.

Listeners are invited to reach out to thedupodcast@gmail.com with any questions, comments or concerns.

Produced by Ana Ortega, Aidan Smith, Julie Tran, and Emma Williams.

To listen to more podcasts from 80208, visit their website.