NYU School of Law Professor Kenji Yoshino on Identity, Diversity, and Justice
April 2023
Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law and Director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law, joined Bridgewater’s Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jay Baeza for a fireside chat.
Professor Yoshino discussed the learnings from his latest book, Say The Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice (co-authored with David Glasgow). It offers practical tools based on extensive work in the field for constructive interactions around identity, diversity, and justice. The discussion covered democratizing discomfort, why he thinks cancel culture is failing us, the importance of a growth mindset, as well as his perspective on one of the major obstacles to effective allyship: the fear of saying the wrong thing. Throughout the discussion, Professor Yoshino offered several practical approaches to interactions that we all increasingly confront in our day-to-day lives. This is his second visit to Bridgewater, following his 2019 conversation on “covering” and downplaying difference in the workplace.
Professor Yoshino discussed the learnings from his latest book, Say The Right Thing: How to Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice (co-authored with David Glasgow). It offers practical tools based on extensive work in the field for constructive interactions around identity, diversity, and justice. The discussion covered democratizing discomfort, why he thinks cancel culture is failing us, the importance of a growth mindset, as well as his perspective on one of the major obstacles to effective allyship: the fear of saying the wrong thing. Throughout the discussion, Professor Yoshino offered several practical approaches to interactions that we all increasingly confront in our day-to-day lives. This is his second visit to Bridgewater, following his 2019 conversation on “covering” and downplaying difference in the workplace.