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SUMMARY:Dr. Omékongo Dibinga at Harvard Book Store
DESCRIPTION:Harvard Book Store welcomes Dr. Omékongo Dibinga—international speaker\, trilingual poet\, podcast host\, rapper\, and professor of Intercultural Communication at American University—for a discussion of his new book\, Trigger Words: How Political Language Has Made America Less Inclusive (And How to Bring Us Back Together). \nAbout Trigger Words\nTrigger Words examines how language in the United States has been manipulated and politicized to sow division and dehumanization\, rather than to encourage inclusion and equity. From “woke” to “DEI” to “CRT\,” words that once emerged from marginalized communities to speak truth to power have been weaponized by conservative movements—especially the MAGA wing of the Republican Party—to stoke fear\, shut down dialogue\, and preserve systems of oppression. At the same time\, however\, language has been coopted by many in liberal spaces in watered-down ways that remove the overall message that was intended to be communicated by said language\, such as switching terminology from “homeless” to “unhoused\,” “African American” to “BIPOC\,” or “Latino” to “Latinx.” \nThis incisive and thoughtful look at how our language has been dangerously politicized by both sides of the aisle is not just a diagnosis—it is a roadmap. With experience as a university lecturer\, community activist\, award-winning poet\, renowned professional speaker\, and author (Lies About Black People)\, Dr. Omékongo Dibinga charts a path forward to reclaim and reframe these terms in their original contexts and intent. \nTrigger Words is an urgent and hopeful call to action that shows that healing begins when we stop simply repeating these words like ideological mantras or rejecting them out of political fear. Instead\, the book invites readers to understand the deeper histories behind our most loaded social vocabulary\, challenge manipulation and misuse\, and foster authentic dialogue that connects rather than divides.
URL:https://harvardsquare.com/event/dr-omekongo-dibinga-at-harvard-book-store/
LOCATION:Harvard Book Store\, 1256 Massachusetts Ave\, Cambridge\, 02138\, United States
CATEGORIES:Author Events
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