Retired Colorado educator Dr. Brenda J. Allen authors book addressing societal stigmas
BOULDER, Colo. — Accepting people for who and what they are is something Brenda J. Allen, a retired educator from the University of Denver, genuinely encompasses in her work.
In the third edition of her book "Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity," Allen breaks down stigmas based on race, gender, sexuality, economic status and much more.
Allen described her book to a room of people at Boulder Book Store during a book signing. It’s not a one-size fits all guide to answers, Allen said. Instead, the encourages readers to question the potential implicit bias they have inside their minds based on societal norms.
"I’m inviting everyone who may pick the book up to engage as a learner, to engage as someone genuinely curious about what’s gone before, what’s going on now, how might I make a difference? How does this resonate with my lived experience?” said Allen.
Allen was recruited to the University of Colorado Boulder from Howard University. She said she dealt with discrimination during the hiring process.
Allen shared something a staff member said to her: “You only were hired because you are a Black woman.”
Allen said she was shocked at the accusation, knowing she earned her job through her qualifications, which includes a doctorate. From that moment, Allen said she changed her work to focus on gender and race. Allen described this reroute as a noble act of “resistance” and choosing to become what people assumed she was.
“We all can do something. We all can do better. and I'm hoping that my work both invites that as well as provides a specific form of guidance,” Allen explained, adding that so many of the systems that separate people are not valid. She hopes her book inspires people to make a change and disrupt systemic racism, gender hierarchy and discrimination of all kinds.
Allen has also created an accredited diversity course at the University of Colorado that anyone can take: Inclusive Leadership: The Power of Workplace Diversity. To date, a little over 50,000 people have enrolled in the course.
For more training from Allen, download her instructions for Taking Implicit Association Tests.
Lindsey Ford is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at lindseyford@rmpbs.org.