“Inclusivity” by DJ J. — School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Graphic Design, Illustration, and English

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I remember when I was in High School, I used to take my bike across this bridge on
Ogden Avenue and make a left turn to reach my way into the well-off suburb of La Grange, IL. It
was quite the night and day appearance. Riding through and past the low income housing to
stretch the other side of the redline that marked middle-to-upper white class society from lower
income predominantly black neighborhoods. The western Chicago suburbs are egregiously
segregated.

Around 2019 there began a phenomena in the upper class neighborhoods of La Grange
that really boggled my mind for a minute. Every white picket fence and brick layered house had
these clean graphic lawn signs reading “Hate Has No Home Here,” in what felt like the most
performative attempt at inclusivity. It wasn’t something I had immediately noticed, but these
signs took over the space one by one until you couldn’t walk a block without pointing one out.
On my bike ride to and from school, I began wondering what that meant to me.

Sometimes I wonder if Inclusivity is even achievable in the understanding that racism,
homophobia, xenophobia, and all the works are so deeply ingrained in the American social
space. And to be honest, the word itself begins to get stale the more I hear it. From the
perspective of a nonbinary gay person, I’ve come to understand that inclusivity is simply the
bare minimum one should be upheld to perform as a person no less a company or collective.
That it isn’t so much an imposition to accommodate for others necessities; that how much this
ideal falls into question in politics is unbelievably disappointing sometimes.

Inclusivity and equity is the forefront of this nation, in written word, but even with that
understanding it’s really hard to believe in that script when those words were written by men
who believed black people are only 3/4th an actual human being. In reality, inclusivity is
extremely hard to see being legitimately practiced in this nation. And I wonder if I’ll ever see true
equity in my lifetime, that which our global economic structure simply disallows.

This highlights the importance of why we as a generation push for it so emphatically. We
see that inclusivity is not an actual thing that exists in America, that there is always some
controllable factor distinguishing social groups from other social groups. We see this patriarchy
we live under and the disturbing effects it has on queer life, as well as the lives of women. We
see this colonial society we live under and the disturbing effects it has on people of color, as well
as indigenous groups.

Inclusivity and equity is actively taking a step forward to dismantle that. To be actively
anti-bigotry. I may seem pessimistic on this front, but that is the reality of being in and a part of a
group that is actively villainized for sometimes wanting to use a different pronoun.

In the midst of this Rainbow Scare. I went to Chicago Pride in fear of the next mass
domestic terror attack on queer and transgendered life. But even in this terror of not one, but
two public figures stating they wanted to execute and try LGBTQ+ people for treason in a court
of law to national news outlets; I am oddly grateful of the strides we’ve made to get this far.
Though this change may not be as swift as necessary. My life is made possible by the
predecessors who have endured countless acts of violence and aggression. Inclusivity is made
possible by the people who have championed it before me, and that torch is not going to be
dragged this far to be dropped.

Those “Hate Has No Home Here” signs didn’t reflect the years of homophobia I’d
endured in High School and Middle School. It didn’t reflect the demographics of the clean cut
redlined Chicago neighborhood. It didn’t make me feel safe in the suburb that had just had its

Pride flag snatched and burned from the church’s front steps. Every action states that I’m
unwelcome, but every house reads the opposite. La Grange couldn’t craft the image of being an
inclusive environment. Pretty graphics and words didn’t actively help anybody, but action is what
will.

Inclusivity has made not only me, but countless others feel safe in an environment that
doesn’t really want us. Inclusivity has made me proud of the opportunities I now can receive in
wake of others who never had the chance for this ideal. I, and I hope you as well, will continue
to push aggressively and unapologetically to craft a space that everyone can feel their true
identity in. Without the experience of being invalidated, or the experience of being injured or
even killed for simply existing. I believe we still have a long way to go to create this ideal.
But it’s truly achievable given time, and unwavering energy.