Guide to Expanding Mitigation, FEMA
June 30, 2021Guide to Expanding Mitigation: Making the Connection to Equity, FEMA…
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Building Alliances for Equitable Resilience, FEMA
April 26, 2021Building Alliances for Equitable Resilience, FEMA The Institute for Diversity…
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Emergency Preparedness Amidst COVID-19: A Guide for Local Governments
April 26, 2021Emergency Preparedness Amidst COVID-19: A Guide for Local Governments As…
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Conversation with Communities: Considerations for Equitable Flooding and Disaster Recovery Policy
April 26, 2021Conversation with Communities: Considerations for Equitable Flooding and Disaster Recovery…
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Dual Disaster Handbook: 6 Recommendations for Local Leaders Responding to Floods During COVID-19
April 26, 2021Dual Disaster Handbook: 6 Recommendations for Local Leaders Responding to…
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As the response and recovery continue for the devastating wildfires impacting the Hawaiian Islands, I-DIEM understands that disasters such as this impact the most marginalized communities the hardest. On Maui, this is the disproportionately large unhoused Native Hawaiian population. Those individuals who did not own the […]
TAMPA – August 11, 2023 – The Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) announced Tamara Doss, Qwantaria Russell, and Lillian Evasew as recipients of the highly-coveted 3rd Annual Lt. General Julius Becton Jr. scholarship. Tamara Doss is a Ph.D. Student at Jacksonville State […]
In 2001 and 2002, President George W. Bush signed a series of Executive Orders which in part, established the Office for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, provided equal protection under the law for faith-based organizations and importantly, increased their access to federal grants. While this action was […]
Tuesday US President Joe Biden designated a three-part national monument to memorialize the racist and brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till by two white men in 1955. Till was accused of grabbing a white woman, an allegation recanted 62 years later in 2017. The monument sites […]
As an intern, most wouldn’t have the opportunity to travel with an organization in the early days of their internship. I was given the monumental opportunity to capture content for the HERricaneNC program. My perception on the emergency management field changed immensely. Prior to the trip, […]
This #WorldOceansDay, Waterkeeper Alliance is celebrating the #30x30 movement - a global call to action to protect at least 30% of lands, waters, and ocean by 2030! Congratulations to Waterkeepers Bahamas and BREEF for garnering support from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas Philip Davis to issue a proclamation to declare a National Ocean Protection Week for June 8th to 14th, 2023!
The Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) recently participated in the recent Native American Commission meeting in Baton Rouge, LA. Opportunities where marginalized communities are prioritized within the government are key examples of how we can empower our communities toward a resilient future. […]
WASHINGTON — FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled to southern California and participated in two events on Friday, Aug. 5 — the HERricane Los Angeles conference, followed by a Women in Homeland Security SoCal Chapter meeting. Both events celebrated women working in emergency management and encouraged the nation’s […]
ATLANTA – August 2, 2022 – The Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) announced Brittany Giles-Jones, Jacob Zamorano, and Taylor Nicks as recipients of the 2nd Annual Lt. General Julius Becton Jr. Scholarship Program. Brittany Giles-Jones is a Ph.D. student in humanities at […]
The Leflore County Board of Supervisors learned valuable EMERGENCY management skills in a tabletop exercise Tuesday at the Leflore CountyCourthouse. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson chose Greenwood as one of five locations within the state for the exercise. Thompson’s choice was made in part to aid the […]
On July 20, 2022, the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) was invited to testify before the 117th Congress’s House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery on the topic of “Supporting Underserved Communities in Emergency Management.” I-DIEM’s testimony focused on the impacts […]
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) hosted a briefing on how the federal government as well as states and cities around the country can better incorporate equity into emergency management. Climate change is driving more frequent and severe impacts such as polar vortices, sea level […]
This article was originally published on Politicopro.com He grew up in the segregated South attending elementary schools with no indoor plumbing, no cafeteria and no white students. Later, he went on to lead efforts in Congress to make the federal response to disasters and climate change […]
African Americans and people in lower socioeconomic groups are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to speakers on a coronavirus webinar hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University and the American Society for Public Administration. Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D., dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School […]
Ida made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on Sunday. Reports of damage are still coming in, but the recovery for Louisiana and other Gulf States is expected to be lengthy based on the devastation seen so far. We’re approaching the peak of a […]
Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in the United States are disproportionately affected by disasters. This disparity stems from decades of historical and systemic disinvestment and discrimination in communities of color, resulting in socio-economic inequities, poor health outcomes, high incarceration rates and environmental justice issues.
When people discuss research in the context of corporate Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), the vast majority of references point to one of two types of findings that allegedly support the value of D&I: (1) studies showing a correlation between various types of corporate diversity and some […]
Injustices like racism and white supremacy extensively manifest in emergency management and disaster preparedness. As the world faces more disasters each year, the need to name, understand, and address racism and white supremacy is all the more needed. We will discuss: •The causes and effects of […]
A House Homeland Security subcommittee examined the coronavirus response and the impact of the virus on minority communities. The hearing focused on the health and equity disparities in minority communities that have contributed to high COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. Witnesses highlighted lack of testing, high […]
The Southeast and Caribbean is a diverse region of people at different levels of readiness for a disaster. Deep and complicated legacies of inequality and injustice along lines of race, gender, and other identities amplify barriers to resilience, recovery, and adaptation. As we concurrently face a […]
On Friday, May 28, 2022, Senators Schatz and Cassidy reintroduced the Disaster Learning and Lifesaving Act which would create the National Disaster Safety Board. I-DIEM provided policy review and recommendations on the legislation which was first introduced in October 2020.IDIEM provided additional Disaster Expert, Scholar and […]
Subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security
After attending a racial equity training session hosted by NLC in 2019, Stevie Freeman-Montes, Sustainability Manager for the City of Sarasota, Florida at the time, returned home knowing that she wanted to share what she had learned with her own city staff. But the timing was […]
The country’s top environmental official, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, joined a panel of health center leaders and other experts to discuss the impact of climate change and a toxic environment on public health. Panelists dEscribed how health centers are responding and working to promote environmental […]
FEMA is making changes to a policy that has disproportionately affected Black homeowners in the South who didn’t have documentation like deeds to show proof of ownership. They will now be able to receive aid after a disaster. Here & Now’s Tonya Mosley talks with Chauncia […]
Internal FEMA documents suggest low-income disaster survivors are less likely to receive some types of housing assistance. Critics point out there are also racial disparities in who gets help. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: An NPR investigation finds the federal government is not providing crucial assistance to some […]
The people who need help the most after disasters are least able to get it from the federal government. Internal records show that FEMA knows it has a problem. AILSA CHANG, HOST: When a hurricane destroys your house, the clock starts ticking every day without stable […]
Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chauncia Willis, discusses the systemic impacts of disaster assistance on generational wealth among African American families and offers hope for new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policies geared toward “heirs properties” embracing the […]
On Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 12 pm Eastern Time, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a virtual briefing on the civil rights implications of the federal response and impact of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. At this virtual public briefing, the Commissioners heard from subject […]
How can emergency management (EM) change? Include different kinds of staff? Better serve diverse communities? Join this Multi-Hazards episode as Chauncia Willis, Co-Founder and CEO of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) and seasoned EM practitioner herself, shows us the joys and […]
Wildfires. Flooding. Hurricanes. These all come to mind when one thinks of natural disasters. There have been many this year including the most recent flooding in Tennessee where at least 21 people died and many more are still missing. But just how natural are these disasters? […]
The enemy of equity is the failure to acknowledge existing inequities. Now more than ever, it is critical that we—as a society—acknowledge the embedded bias that exists within all systems and structures, including emergency management and hazards mitigation.
Lisa Joyslin of the Minnesota Association of Volunteer Administrators (MAVA) and Chauncia Willis of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I-DIEM) address racial justice and equity within the emergency management industry.
The “Emergency Management as a Career” panel series introduces students, professionals and those interested in or thinking about a career in Emergency Management to experts in the field. This panel is aimed at those with a background in public administration/the nonprofit space.
The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color requires the urgent integration of equity into emergency management. Disasters amplify existing inequities on a larger and more visible scale. Like a mirror reflecting our imperfections, disasters show us who we really are as people. Disasters present of vivid picture of those who we prioritize and how our most vulnerable are treated. This disaster has once again brought to light the glaring disparities that continue to entrap far too many communities of color in a continuous cycle of tragedy and loss. Institutional racism serves as the fuel that creates the inequities that combust when disasters strike. Discriminatory economic and social policies are the root cause for the vulnerability faced by marginalized communities. Decades of divestments have created impoverished communities across the country that lack basic necessities including affordable, safe, and adequate housing. Federal and State guidance to “socially distance” to limit the spread of COVID-19 is difficult when systemic racism has confined impoverished families to occupy incredibly small living spaces. Environmental injustices have located toxic facilities in and around communities of color contributing to concentration of black and brown people with the same “underlining conditions” (asthma, cancer, etc) that makes COVID-19 so fatal.
Disasters bring to light a hard truth: the poor, minorities, immigrants and other marginalized groups are acceptable losses of life. Rooted within the military, medical and insurance industries, “acceptable losses” refers to the number of expected casualties that are tolerable. We can see this right now with Covid-19, as groups of people already disadvantaged by systemic injustices are dying in greater numbers than those who have been historically privileged.
Goldman highlighted three cities that could be subject to storm surges and could face harmful flooding: New York, Tokyo, and Lagos. It said several others that are less than 11 meters above sea level — including Miami, Florida; Alexandria, Egypt; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Shanghai, China — […]
The U.S. Fire Administration estimates that older adults are more than twice as likely than the general population to die in fires. And a quarter of Paradise residents had a disability, which is more than double the statewide rate. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-camp-fire-seniors-mobile-home-deaths-20190209-story.html
Well before the glass ceiling, women run into obstacles to advancement. Evening the odds early in their careers would have a huge impact. Despite near-parity in entry-level numbers, women are outnumbered almost 2 to 1 by men in first-level manager jobs that are the bridges to […]
Research and Resources I-DIEM supports, promotes and partners with academic institutions, private sector corporations, governments and non-profits to produce social equity and disaster research. https://www.juniahowell.com/natural-disasters Inclusion Still Isn’t Working for Many Women of Color Some workplaces have failed to support many black and Hispanic women, regardless […]
Mission The mission of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management (I- DIEM) is to serve as a resource and an advocate for the value of diversity and inclusion in emergency management (EM). I-DIEM leads efforts to increase the representation of women and people […]
“Racial inequity harms the lives and prosperity of everyone, not just people of color. Curbing inequities is more than the right thing to do—it’s an imperative for achieving the social outcomes grant makers wish to see.” That’s the thesis of a recent article in the Chronicle of […]
More than 130 years from today, in 1886 May 1st, several thousand workers in Chicago city had participated in the massive strike demanding eight-hour working day and several workers sacrificed their life...
A group of Saint James students attended the Baltimore Student Diversity Leadership Conference on Saturday, November 10. The conference develops high school student leaders in the areas of diversity.
Not unlike these early civilizations, modern social protection programs have sheltered those affected by disaster through financial assistance and other forms of support.
On the afternoon that tornadoes ripped through Lee County, Alabama, Ashley Martin was coming back home from Georgia and talking on the phone with her mother.
Edward Graham, President Franklin Graham, recently traveled to Panama City, Florida, to encourage our teams as they help homeowners still struggling to recover after Hurricane Michael.
Multiple counties across eastern Nebraska have been declared in a state of emergency after a powerful “bomb cyclone” pounded the central United States last week.
