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Framing with Interest Convergence
Module 5: Advocating for Inclusion and Justice*
From Ways to Incorporate DEI into Your Courses By David Luke, Chief Diversity Officer, University of Michigan, Flint
Framing with Interest Convergence
This set of modules began by describing several rationales for DEI, including utilizing interest convergence, better decision-making, an enriched academic environment, preparing students for a global workplace, reducing prejudice, and the fact that it’s just the right thing to do. It’s worthwhile to revisit these and think of other potential rationales, because as someone advocating for justice, equity, and inclusion, you will undoubtedly come up against opposition. Let’s dig a little deeper into one of these strategies—interest convergence.
Interest convergence is a concept that emerged in the critical race theory tradition through the scholarship of Derrick Bell. Bell essentially argued that civil rights gains happen when the interests of Black people converge with the interests of whites; these are times when whites support civil rights. He used the example of Brown v. Board of Education, which broke with legal precedent in many ways; he argued that white people only supported Brown when they could see how desegregation would benefit them.
Often, members of privileged groups feel threatened by the societal advancement of those from marginalized groups, as though one group’s gain is another group’s loss. This zero-sum game mentality hampers a great deal of progress when it comes to seeking equity. It is fundamentally flawed thinking, as everybody loses out when there is inequity. With respect to race and racism, we see this mentality running rampant. This is why targeted policies, like affirmative action, have never been supported by the majority of the public, and some scholars have suggested universal programs, instead, are the solution.
We know, for example, that white racial anxiety motivates the voting choices of some white Americans who fear the rapid demographic change we are experiencing. Those voters may see the possibility of white elected officials being replaced by people of color as a loss of power. However, this shouldn’t be the case, since ideally, elected officials should represent their diverse constituents regardless of their own identities. Group divisions are driven by social constructs, which generate real consequences. We can benefit from viewing our interest as a collective, identifying where our interests converge, and leveraging that rationale to generate more buy-in for the collective good.
*Published 07/22. © 2022 Sage Publishing. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.