For Hispanic Heritage Month:

• Hispanic vs. Latino vs. Latinx: A Brief History of How These Words Originated
• How to Tame a Wild Tongue
• Dear Latinx, Let’s Check Our Privilege (video)
• Afro-Latinx Experts Talk About Racism Within Our Community (video)

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

Specific:

• Prior to this, what was your understanding of the terms Hispanic, Chicano/a/x, Latino/a/x? How has your understanding evolved (if it has)?
• Are there aspects of your own cultural heritage that you struggle to maintain, to integrate?
• Each of these readings/videos highlights heterogeneity within the Hispanic/Chicanx/Latinx community. What parallels can you draw to your own social and cultural communities?
• Given what you have learned, what concrete actions might you / we / San Diego State take to better support our Hispanic / Chicanx / Latinx students, faculty and staff?

For Filipinx American History Month: (see this document for summaries and specific discussion questions for each piece)

• National Film Society. (2020, October 13). Why is it called Filipino American History Month?  (video)
• Nadal, K. (2016, October 6). Why We Celebrate Filipino American History Month   
• David, E.J.R. (2016, April 6). Why are Filipino Americans still forgotten and invisible?  
• Suansing, R. (2021, June 1). The perpetual foreigner: What it's like to be Filipino American in a time of hate  

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

Specific:

• Why is there more of a focus on celebrating history than heritage? 
• Why is it important to celebrate Filipinx American history month?
• To what extent are Filipinx Americans still considered “invisible minorities”? Has there been progress? Why or why not? What can we do to amplify the voice and visibility of students and other folks who identify as Filipinx Americans?
• Why is it necessary to learn, understand, and reflect on how anti-Filipinx hate manifested in the past? How does this relate to the rise in anti-APIDA hate as a result of the pandemic?
• What concrete actions might you / we / San Diego State take to better support our Filipinx students, faculty and staff?

For Native American Heritage Month: (see this document for summaries and specific discussion questions for each piece)

• Is Travel Next in the Fight Over Who Profits From Native American Culture? (New York Times)
• 'We the People' - the three most misunderstood words in US history | Mark Charles | TEDxTysons (video)
• Aaron Huey's America's Native Prisoners of War (video)
• Re-Thinking Thanksgiving: Myths & Misgivings 

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

Specific:

• Where do you see images, symbols, names or practices associated with Native American culture being used by people who aren’t Native American?
• What stories did you learn about the “first Thanksgiving”? When and where did you learn them?
• What concrete actions might you / we / San Diego State take to better support our Indigenous students, faculty and staff?

For Black History Month:

• The Case for Reparations (Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2014)
• Walking While Black (Garnette Cadogan, 2016)
• The List: From Slavery to George Floyd – Systemic and Structural Racism in America (Marquis D.B., 2020)
• America’s Racial Contract is Killing Us (Adam Serwer, 2020)
• Sustainability Education for Ontological Re/Configuration: COVID-19 as a Pointer to the Ailing World Asili (Mokuku, 2021)

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

For Women's History Month:

• The urgency of intersectionality (video) | Kimberlé Crenshaw
• bell hooks Remembered After Death at 69
• What Would an Intersectional Women’s History Month Look Like?
• Intersectional feminism (video) | Living In Colour
• A Black Feminist Statement | Combahee River Collective
• De-essentializing Anarchist Feminism: Lessons from the Transfeminist Movement 

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) Heritage Series:

• Arab and other Middle Eastern Americans (Minority Rights Group International)
• Are Arabs and Iranians white? Census says yes, but many disagree (LA Times, 2019)
• Voices of San Diego: Middle Eastern Communities Say Census Whitewashes Their Numbers, Needs (Voice of San Diego, 2021)
• Students urge CSU to include SWANA identity on application (Daily Titan, 2021)
  • Cal State Fullerton, Associated Students Inc.: A Resolution in Support of the Southwest Asian North Africa Community
• Addressing the invisibility of Arab American issues in higher education (Counseling Today, 2021)

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

For APIDA History and Heritage Month:

• "One year after Atlanta shootings, why we're still struggling with anti-AAPI Hate" by Cynthia Choi, Manjusha Kulkarni, and Russell Jeung (Time Magazine, 2022)
• "How racism created America's Chinatowns" by Braden Goyette (Huffpost, 2014)
• "Multifaceted: The Cultural Diversity of Asian America" by Christine Tran (PBS SoCal, 2020)
• PBS docuseries "Asian Americans" (video)

Possible discussion questions:
General:

• Did anything surprise / confuse you?
• What is something new you learned?
• What patterns and themes are present? What do you notice is absent?
• What are the implications for our unit/organization, for how we might interact with our students, colleagues, classmates?
• What questions does this reading/discussion raise for you?
• What lessons from this reading/discussion might you bring into future conversations?
• What concrete actions are you inspired to take?
• What other resources could members suggest for those who would like to continue developing knowledge/perspectives on this topic?

We encourage existing groups - such as Employee Resource Groups, diversity councils, diversity planning teams, student organizations, etc. - to participate, perhaps by using time at established meetings to discuss the materials, or setting up a specific discussion time for interested members to attend. Alternatively, anyone in the SDSU community can establish a Circle specifically for the purpose of hosting these discussions. 

A few things to consider when establishing your Circle:

• In order to keep conversations meaningful but manageable, we suggest Circles of between 5 and 15 people, but facilitators should determine what works best for them and their group.
• Establish a common time and place to meet each month, and plan to meet for at least the semester. Even if a few people cannot make every meeting, having a core group who can participate regularly will help build a stronger community and allow for more meaningful discussions.
• Select someone to ‘lead’ each session. It can be extremely helpful to have a designated facilitator to keep each discussion moving smoothly. Some Circles may wish to have the same facilitator(s) for all sessions; others may want to rotate these duties. Whatever your group decides, facilitators should see the additional guidance provided on this page about this role.

We also invite you to register your group; this will ensure that you receive the monthly materials quickly, as well as help the CIE team understand who is participating and give us a way to contact you with any relevant updates or information.

Facilitators (those leading Circle discussions) are expected to:

• Schedule meeting dates and times for discussions
• Secure meeting space / set up Zoom links
  Communicate with Circle participants about all logistics (e.g., meeting reminders, discussion prompts, etc.)
• Keep things moving during the discussion, including kick off the discussion, ensure everyone participates / no one dominates, watch time, ask more questions if discussion lags, etc. See the Facilitator Guide for Diversity Conversations for advice and suggestions about how to do this effectively, as well as the guidance below. 

If you are not part of an existing group that wishes to participate, and/or unsure how to find others to create your own Circle, the Center for Inclusive Excellence will host two open discussions each month (specific times TBD); for the fall, both will be online. These will be open to all but participants will be asked to register so that we can plan accordingly. Be sure you are on the CIE mailing list to get information on dates and registration links!

Not a problem! Some groups who may want to participate may not get organized until later in the year, and some folks just may not want to think about anything for a while other than getting the school year under way. The materials will be posted each month and archived on the website, ready for you to take up when you are ready. And although this year’s materials will be connected to specific Heritage Month, feel free to use these materials whenever and however works best for you.

• Establish community agreements and review each session
• Provide suggestions for responses when agreements are broken and review each session 
• Establish a protocol for determining who speaks and ensuring everyone has opportunity to participate.

See the Facilitator Guide for Diversity Conversations for specific examples for each of the bullets above.

• If you have a diverse group, take care not to expect more from the person whose community is the focus of the readings
• Remember that the purpose is to learn and provide space for reflection.