Today we’d like to introduce you to Anusha Nadkarni
Hi Anusha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a suburban town in Central Illinois, surrounded by agriculture and proud Midwestern tradition. I loved it, and still do. I also spent a majority of my adolescence navigating belonging. For the first 14 years of my life, I either surrounded myself with whiteness or was obsessed with chasing it. Like many children of the immigrant diaspora, I cringed at my mother tongue and wanted to appear as assimilated as possible. My hair was straightened every day, my clothes trying desperately to meet evolving trends. And still, it wasn’t enough to make me feel like I belonged.
I entered my sophomore year of high school virtually, a student of the pandemic. It was in this time spent insularly with nothing but my family and whatever existed online that helped me understand the intricacies of belonging. I delved into literature and theory amidst political polarization, and discovered ancestors of the antiracist movement who had named my lived experience. The issue wasn’t that I was lonely — I had many close friendships and thrived at school. It was that the systems that I existed in were created not to welcome me, but to simply accommodate me. And that could change.
This time coincided with a surge in youth advocacy, which is when I discovered the #DiversifyOurNarrative Campaign. At this time, Diversify Our Narrative (DON) was focused on passing California Bill AB 101, mandating Ethnic Studies as a high school graduation requirement. I joined as an organizer in my school district, pushing for literature and curriculum reforms that prioritized representation and criticality. I then joined DON’s National Curriculum Council, working and leading projects for 2 years before taking over the organization as the now CEO.
The in-betweenness of being a young woman of color is not unique to me. I found an invaluable community in the family and friends who supported me as I pushed for anti-racist curriculum, restorative justice, and equity for students from marginalized backgrounds. As a now sophomore at Stanford, I hope to continue serving my communities in the vision of equity even after my time at DON, working in transitional justice and human rights initiatives.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! Like many folks who work in student-led spaces and anti-racist spaces, I find myself feeling disillusioned and disempowered at times. The complexities of our school systems and overall political climate have taught me a huge lesson in meeting people where they’re at and giving myself, as well as others, grace in our respective learning journeys.
As a student and as someone still working against the grain in many ways, I’ve been met with skepticism, disdain, and rejection. While the curve of justice tends to bend left, it is part and parcel of social justice work to have to push, convince, and keep trying. These barriers to connection are difficult, but the very nature of any social engagement is that conversation and collaboration are still possible.
It is in this sentiment that I choose to center the little victories: every teacher and librarian that sends us a “thank you” email; each student organizer that gets a new book in their school’s curriculum; every student who is empowered as an agent of change because they see themselves represented in their own education. The road doesn’t get any smoother, but the ride is much more fun.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Diversify Our Narrative is a student-run nonprofit dedicated to empowering students as changemakers for an antiracist future. We provide free anti-racist, UDL-certified curriculum and pedagogy resources for educators on our website, including over 60 lesson plans and an Ethnic Studies Curriculum created through a grant from Stanford Accelerator for Learning. We also have high school and college chapters worldwide dedicated to making local change through the actions of its youth. Some of our strongest high school chapters and county partnerships are right here, in San Diego.
We love to work with counties, districts, schools, teachers, and students on anti-racism trainings, student-centered curriculum consulting, and restorative practices. Our work with educators is always free, and we also host paid focus groups for educators who want to work with us. For administrators, we offer extremely affordable collaborations on culturally responsive, student-centered learning solutions customized to each situation. Our newest project includes anti-racist AI integrations and an app to ease the learning process.
Our work has been recognized by the NEA Foundation with the 2024 Student Voices for Education award, as well as the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, The Asian American Foundation, and major news networks. We have over 6,000 organizers in our network, as well as 600 educators and 40 national team members.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
In my lived experience, success is about the depth of change I am able to contribute to. While a lot of nonprofit and organizing work is centered around metrics, I have found it very grounding to also think about how impactful our work might be to even one student. Whether we are reaching 100,000 students or 7, each of those individuals have the potential to change their own lives and the lives of everyone they meet in their lifetime for the better. To me, that potential, that investment in each and every person we can reach, is success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://diversifyournarrative.com
- Instagram: @diversifyournarrative
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BUNNFEybo/?mibextid=K35XfP
- Twitter: @TheDONCampaign
Image Credits
Photo credit to @karen_santos
