Thank you for your support and engagement with the D&I Digest. This digest is designed to be used as a learning resource throughout the quarter for County employees. At your leisure, please enjoy the content our D&I champions have helped source.

“When we establish human connections within the context of shared experience we create community wherever we go.” - Gina Greenlee, Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road

Digest Contents:

Stories of Us

• TED Talk: Try (5 min)
• TED Talk: 4 Lessons the Pandemic Taught Us About Work, Life, and Balance (8 min)
• Troy Made it: A Potter with Down Syndrome (2 min)
• Story Corps: Silvia's Legacy (2 min)
• REFUGE: Human Stories from the Refugee Crisis (20 min)
• SHE: Shared Human Experience (3 min)

Connecting the Dots

Targeted Universalism

• Video: Animated (4 min)
• Video: John A. Powell (4 min)
• Article: Creating Consensus with Targeted Universalism
• Podcast: Who Belongs? Ep 10 (34 min)
• Primer: Policy & Practice

County Spotlight

Panel Discussion: D&I and Ethics

TED Exploration: Molded Travelers

Exploration Zone

Podcast:

• All Things Considered: The History Of Juneteenth, And Why It Is Relevant Today (6 min)
• Unlocking Us: Recognizing the Choices and Gifts in Our Lives (44 min)
• The Science of Happiness: Are You Listening to Your Elders? (21 min)

Articles:

• HBR: What’s Your Story?
• Zim Zum: 3 stories about unlikely connections between strangers
• Apartment Therapy: Your Home is Your Temple: Observing Easter, Passover, and Ramadan During Quarantine
• Providers of Goodness: Unlikely Connections
• The Atlantic: Life’s Stories
• The Story of Memorial Day

Webinars/Trainings:

• Instagram: When you are a bystander of hate
• TED-Ed: Rethinking thinking
• Diversity Inc Best Practices

From her stoop in Brooklyn, singer-songwriter Madison McFerrin shares her experience singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" for Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016 -- a moment that pushed her to become her best self -- and performs "TRY," a song she wrote about chasing your dreams despite what others say.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work for good. Can it also change it for the better? Consultant Patty McCord reviews four key insights employers and employees alike gleaned from their shift to working from home -- and shares how companies can use what they learned in lockdown to creatively and innovatively rethink how we do business.

Troy started working with clay at the local pottery studio a few years ago. Ever since his talent has blossomed and he became an amazing potter. We couldn't be happier to support Troy as an artist with Down syndrome, and help him show the world that individuals of all abilities and special needs can become masters of their craft!

Listen to Suzanne, Troy's Mom, tell a little bit about Troy's journey to becoming a potter with Down syndrome.

Ellaraino experienced a common teenage reaction when she learned she’d have to leave Los Angeles to spend the summer in Louisiana with her great-grandmother, Silvia. Less common was Ellaraino’s realization that Silvia had lived through the Civil War, and had a lot to teach her great-granddaughter about the true meaning of freedom.

A small team of filmmakers set out for Greece, documenting human stories from the frontlines of the European Refugee Crisis, focused on humanity and hope. The world was changing and we found ourselves at a crossroads in history, so we set out to help in the way that we knew best - with the telling, and sharing, of stories. (*This story involves details that may be upsetting to some viewers.) RefugeProject.co

Bias and discrimination have never been more at the forefront of our minds with the international Black Lives Matter movement and the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting inequalities in our societies. London-based director, Idris Fassisi has taken a caustic monologue from Shakespeare which through careful casting and editing has produced the visually stunning, monologue short SHE. Director’s notes

Targeted Universalism

When the County declared Racism a Public Health Crisis, we began to discuss approaching the work we are embarking on with a practical equity framework. At the same time, the Chief Administrative Office was working with the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkley and community members to develop the mission statement for the Office of Equity and Racial Justice. Through this work, the County was introduced to the concept and framework of Targeted Universalism. The Office of Equity and Racial Justice (OERJ) is in the beginning stages of introducing the concepts of Targeted Universalism as an approach to equity in County operations and policy.

Targeted Universalism means setting universal goals pursued by targeted processes to achieve those goals. Within a Targeted Universalism framework, an organization or system sets universal goals for all groups concerned. It is a platform for bridging programs that move all groups toward the universal goal of equity and belonging.

I invite you to engage in the learnings of Targeted Universalism below and join me as we reimagine and change County government through the lens of equity and justice in all we do.

- Andrew Strong, Director, Office of Equity and Racial Justice and D&I Executive Council Member

Resources:

Targeted Universalism is a different way--a powerful way-- to make the transformational changes we need. Changes we need to improve life chances, promote inclusion, and enhance and sustain equitable policies and programs. To better understand a targeted universalism framework, please enjoy this brief animated video, which explains the difference between targeted universalism and more traditional policy approaches. Transcript

Article: Creating Consensus with Targeted Universalism by FSG

Podcast: Who Belongs? Ep 10 – Targeted Universalism (34 min)

Primer: Targeted Universalism: Policy & Practice by OBI

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