Listen to Event Description here.
Listen to Event Contributors here.
Join this virtual (online) Town Hall for a timely debate on what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T. Featuring CeLillianne Green to open the Town Hall.
About this event
“We have to be courageous Reverand. Al Sharpton. We have to continue to make them say the words, diversity, equity and inclusion, not just DEI, because the virtues are in the words. “Diversity. Equity. Inclusion.” Every humane society respects those things.” – US Attorney Benjamin Crump
To address the current state of affairs around EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) in the UK or DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) as it is typically referred to in the US, we will be hosting a virtual Town Hall debate to address what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T. Whichever iteration one uses, our understanding of the essence of this work must continue despite some of the misunderstandings, negative rhetoric’s, and scapegoating of initiatives that seek to re-address inequalities and injustices.
In the advent of US Executive orders that are having an impact globally, to the detriment of the many faces of EDI work and its lasting legacies, we invite anyone who is interested in holding space on this topic, in joining us at our virtual Town Hall, on Thursday the 29th of May 2025 at 3 – 5PM BST, for a timely debate on what EDI IS, EDI ISN’T.
The Town Hall is open to everyone, irrespective of role or position. We want the space to be free of barriers (and ego), so that all participants can deep dive into exactly what is at stake, in our pursuit of the meaning of EDI. Whether you’re an EDI practitioner, work in HR, an academic, student, researcher, activist, creative, a thought leader, a leader in a leadership position, a staff network chair, a network member, or are just curious and passionate about EDI, without any work affiliations – we want to hear from you.
From the anecdotal, to the real, to the lived experiences, and best and worst practices in this area, we invite you to participate in some real talk!
We are honoured to feature CeLillianne Green, poet and lawyer, who will be opening the Town Hall debate. In 2016 CeLillianne Green wrote The Present, a poem to commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). The Present is now a poetic reaffirmation of the importance of the NMAAHC in response to the 3-27-25 Executive Order of the current U.S. President about the NMAAHC. Such orders undo many decades of work that museums, galleries and other educational and non-educational institutions have done in the decolonising project and in making these spaces inclusive to all. You can watch the present here.
We hope that at the end of the Town Hall, we’ll be able to create a 21st century PILAA visual guide on EDI, which we’ll be able to share with all participants. So we welcome you to be part of this diverstory.
To register your spot to participate, please visit Eventbrite here.
We will share the joining instructions and Town Hall rules of engagement closer to the time.
We look forward to seeing you there, for what we think will be a timely and open discussion!
Event Contributors
CeLillianne Green
CeLillianne Green (opening Town Hall) is an internationally known poet, as well as a lawyer, teacher, and speaker. She is a graduate of Drexel and Howard Universities. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Howard Law Journal, and is admitted to the Bar in PA, NY, DC, and MD. Her legal career includes a federal clerkship, Wall Street law firm associate, and an AUSA who tried cases from misdemeanors to 1st degree murders, and presented appellate arguments. She was a partner in a private law practice, served as a legislative counsel, a mediator, and as a law school instructor. In 2003, Ms. Green published her first poem, Because I Love You. In 2005, more poems started, and in 2009, the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity recognized her as a Social Justice Thought Leader for her poem, Lifted. Her first book, That Word, an epic poem was published in 2010. The recording, CeLillianne Says and her poetry collection, A Bridge were published in 2011 and 2015. She has been interviewed on radio and TV, quoted in newspapers, cited in law journals, and in online publications. She has contributed to anthologies, documentaries, and presented at public schools, universities, and organizations. Her 2023 production, CeLillianne Green’s Evening of Poetry & Jazz and other works are on YouTube / www.CeLillianneGreen.com. She is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in the English Department of Howard University teaching Technical Writing Professional / Pre-Law. Ms. Green continues to write poetry and prose about life, love, spirituality, relationships, history, and politics. www.CeLillianneGreen.com
Photo credit: Dr Ope Lori by Ajamu X
Dr Ope Lori (PILAA Founder & CEO)
Dr. Ope Lori (Town Hall facilitator) is the Founder and CEO of Pre-Image Learning and Action (PILAA), an Arts & Diversity company she founded in 2017. Some of their clients include, ACME, Tate, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the Courtauld, the Open College of Arts, Corps Security and GamCare. She is also a practising visual artist; specializing using video and photography in her political practice. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at La Fondation Blachére, France; 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning and at Autograph in London.
She was a Lecturer at both Chelsea School of Arts and Leeds Arts University between 2009-2019, and continued to guest lecture at the Royal College of Arts until 2021, amongst other leading institutions of Art. She completed her PhD in Fine Art in 2013 and held one of the first Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships at TrAIN (Transnational, Art, Identity and Nation) Research Centre UAL between 2016-2018, before fully utilising her knowledge and training in the diversity and Inclusion industry.
She is the author of “Should I, shouldn’t I?’: A self-reflexive study in unpacking ideologies of race while devising a critical studies fine art programme”, in Hatton, K. (ed.) Inclusion and Intersectionality in Visual Arts Education, (UCL Institute of Education Press, 2019). She is also the author of her first solo forthcoming book, Beyond The Feminine: The Politics of Skin Colour and Gender in Visual Culture (Bloomsbury, 2025) due to be released on the 24th of July 2025.
Dr. Lori featured in the first ever UK Black Pride (UKBP) The Black Lesbian Power List 2024, brought together by UK Black Pride CEO Phyll Opoku-Gyimah and supported by DIVA.