What Happens to the Rainbow During the Storm? TQ Center(ed) Diversity Workers’ Strategic Navigation and Freedom Dreaming During Sociopolitical Turmoil

The intention of trans and queer (TQ) center(ed) diversity work is to address the persistence of heterosexism, trans oppression, and other manifestations of oppression in higher education. Yet, TQ center(ed) diversity work has often been in a precarious position of understaffing and limited resources. In the current moment, the impact of anti-DEI legislation on TQ center(ed) diversity work is evident by the recent shutting down of centers and services across the United States. Yet, how do those in these roles navigate these challenges and still imagine liberatory futures in the face of such legislation? This paper stems from a larger participatory action research project, which explored the narratives of 14 TQ center(ed) diversity workers as they navigated the tumultuous sociopolitical climate that seeks to disrupt and/or defund their work. Our findings underscored how TQ center(ed) diversity workers found ways to subversively navigate their practice in the face of anti-DEI legislation, including empowering students to engage in the action of ‘complaints.’ Additionally, their stories revealed the challenges in being able to think about liberation within an institutionalized role, especially given the spectrum of sociopolitical contexts where they were present.