Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenessa Jimoh.
Jenessa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My passion for social justice and equity ignited in 2018 during my senior year of high school. I was taking an advanced placement government class; and my wonderful teacher Ms. Pughe was very passionate about teaching us about legalized discrimination, such as gerrymandering. As a Black person, I knew racism existed and that it was a huge issue in this country; but I didn’t know nor understand the depth of how racism is written into the laws that govern our society. For example, voter registration laws; all of the treaties between the United States and Native American tribes that were never ratified which means they have no real legal standing; and the colonization of Hawaii.
One thing about me is that I try to understand things from as many perspectives as possible. It is a gift of mine. With this work especially, I think it is so important to have a variety of sources from different cultural backgrounds and to be open to dialogue with people you disagree with. One of my favorite quotes is “If you cannot intelligently argue for both sides of an issue, you do not understand the issue well enough to argue for either”-Unknown. Conversations about race; ability; sexual orientation; cultural differences; politics; etc. are not easy but they are necessary. Having hard conversations is my favorite pastime and through these hard conversations with my friends, family, and colleagues, I realized that people in Utah needed a safe space to come together and have conversations about what it is like navigating Utah, a White-majority state (90% White according to the Census Bureau 2020), as a marginalized person.
This is where my idea for D.I.V.A. started. In December of 2019, it took me days to come up with the acronym, but I knew I wanted to lead conversations centered around diversity and inclusion. I wanted the space I was creating to be education-based and focused on taking action; which is where I came up with Diversity. Inclusion. Values. Action. We define diversity at D.I.V.A. as “cultural diversity helps us recognize and respect ‘ways of being’ that are not necessarily our own. Inclusion to us means “the support for a collaborative environment that values open participation from individuals with different ideas and perspectives.” When we say Values, we mean “moral principles that guide our behavior,” and Action is “applying “our values to our perceptions, conversations, interactions, and decision making.”
Unfortunately, but to my luck, the pandemic and the global proliferation of Black death in the media was placed right before us in the summer of 2020. I only say to my luck because the events of the summer of 2020 (which I now have to emphasize are events that have been occurring within and to the Black community for centuries and is nothing new) created the perfect platform for me to launch D.I.V.A. as a community organization. My very first event was a virtual conversation titled “Authentic Allyship: How to Stand in Solidarity With the Black Community at this Time.” For this event, we had one Vietnamese-American panelist, Uyen Hoang, discuss how people of color who are not black can support the Black community during such a tragic time. Additionally, we had two White women, Averiel Bailey, and Jordan Zapp, speak to White allyship and how important it is to do the research to understand White privilege and White fragility as well as how to be an advocate for the Black community.
I ran D.I.V.A., lead, and organized four events alone in 2020, but in June of 2021, I finally hired a board of directors to start the transition of D.I.V.A. from a community organization to a nonprofit organization. I thought that hiring a board of directors would take a lot of weight off my shoulders, but it did just the opposite. Now I had to manage a whole team and divide responsibilities accordingly. Our board of directors started with eight members and now we have a total of three directors, including myself. The two other board members on D.I.V.A. are Miyalla Tarver, our director of inclusivity and equity, and Deaun Saxby, our Treasurer. With their support, D.I.V.A. completed six events and assisted two policy initiatives in 2021: Senate Bill 244 ‘Utah’s Ethnic Studies Bill’ and House Bill 428 also known as Izzy’s Bill.
In 2022, D.I.V.A. applied for and obtained 501(c)(3) status in the state of Utah which means that D.I.V.A. is an official tax-exempt nonprofit organization; we applied for and received our very first grant from the B.W. Bastian foundation; and we launched our first in-person series ‘We Are What We Need.” The title of this series is supposed to be self-explanatory. We reached out to our local community and asked people “What type of conversations do you want to have?” “What events would you like to attend in Salt Lake City?” During this series, we hosted seven events from July 2022-January 2023. My two favorite events from D.I.V.A.’s We Are What We Need Series were “Untold Stories: Unveiled Truths About Pioneer Day” which was held on July 24, 2022, and the “Rainbow Revolutionaries” event we lead in collaboration with Club Verse, a local LGBTQIA+ club in Salt Lake City on December 17, 2022.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I spoke briefly about the challenges of hiring a board of directors and managing a whole team. A board position on a nonprofit is a volunteer position– these positions cannot be compensated. That being said, it has been difficult finding people who are passionate about diversity and inclusion and who have the bandwidth to work without pay. Deaun, Miyalla, and I have all experienced a great amount of burnout trying to throw events that are educational, impactful, intersectional, and enjoyable. It is quite a daunting task especially while juggling navigating society as Black women who are college students, who have big families, who have multiple other jobs, and who deeply care about societal issues. To this day, I have not made one dollar off of D.I.V.A. because we give everything back to our communities. I want to make D.I.V.A. my career but putting a price to this work is really difficult for me.
This work has taught me a lot about boundaries. Miyalla Tarver, D.I.V.A.’s DEI director, and Deaun Saxby, D.I.V.A.’s Treasurer, are close friends of mine, so it has been hard for us to compartmentalize our working relationships and our personal relationships with each other. Recently, we all agreed that when we hang out as friends, no D.I.V.A. talk is allowed. That is so we can nurture our relationship as friends and sisters outside of the important social justice work, we are doing. We all feel overwhelmed at times, but we also all feel like we could never walk away from D.I.V.A. after how far we have come. That’s the thing when you are a marginalized person who gets into this field of DEI; education; and breaking down barriers, you feel like a sellout for feeling overwhelmed; getting exhausted; or taking a break. It is really hard. My identity as a black woman is political so it’s like I can never escape this sometimes-negative loophole of issues to address and educate others on. I have had to create boundaries for myself where on specific weekends, I cannot talk about anything that has to do with social justice and it’s been really hard for me but also very refreshing.
As you know, we’re big fans of Diversity. Inclusion. Values. Action. Incorporated or D.I.V.A. for short. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
D.I.V.A.’s mission is to educate, spread awareness, and create a brave space where people of diverse backgrounds can learn, share their stories, and broaden their life perspectives.
We call D.I.V.A. a brave space instead of a safe space because a safe space is a space that doesn’t incite judgment based on identity or experience and the ultimate goal is support. A brave space on the other hand, is a space that encourages dialogue, recognizes differences, and holds each person accountable for doing the work to share their experiences to come to new understandings which is typically hard and uncomfortable.
D.I.V.A. holds monthly educational forums in downtown Salt Lake at our sponsored venue Ember SLC. The topics of our events vary, but focus on intersectionality and bridging the gaps between communities of difference. Kimberle Crenshaw defines intersectionality as
“The study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination. The theory suggests and seeks to examine how various biological, social, and cultural categories such as gender, race, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion, caste, age, and other axes of identity interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels.” The theory proposes that we should think of each element or trait of a person as inextricably linked with all of the other elements in order to fully understand one’s identity.” For example, none of us are mono-dimensional. We are not only women, mothers, people living with multiple sclerosis, Latina, or seniors. Some of us are aging Latina mothers who are living with multiple sclerosis. We have created a safe space for Black, Indigenous, People and youth of Color, LGBTQIA+ youth and adults, the disabled community, and all identities looking for more representation and affinity groups in Utah. We also hold uplifting and empowering events; such as our Black Movie Marathon at Liberty Park and our BIPOC healing circle at Mestizo Coffeehouse.
In addition to events, D.I.V.A. offers professional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA) as well as LGBTQIA+ Awareness & Education trainings to businesses, corporations, college campuses, schools, and for smaller social gatherings. Our DEIA and LGBTQIA+ training platforms are unique because they were written through a lens of intersectionality; they are designed and taught by people apart of said group; and they analyze and address how to navigate these conversations and ideas in Utah’s social, political, racial, cultural, and economic climate.
What sets D.I.V.A. apart from other DEIA initiatives and organizations in Utah is that we work directly with and within our communities. I created D.I.V.A. because people told me they needed to have more conversations about what is going on in society and that they wanted a safe space to do it. We are constantly asking our communities what they need (whether that is financially or socially) and we follow-through on their asks. Furthermore, we are women-led, Black and LGBTQIA+ owned, and we are a young organization with innovative programs and plans of action that are moving mountains in Utah.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
My hopes for D.I.V.A. in the next 5-10 years is to have a standing D.I.V.A. building that is basically a one-stop hub and resource center for people in need. People in need means anyone lacking access to basic human rights like food; water; and shelter as well as those who do not have familial support nor resources to expand their minds and careers. With D.I.V.A.’s grants and personal donations, I would love to pay the staff that works D.I.V.A.’s resource center a salary with benefits so that D.I.V.A. can offer their resources free of charge. I envision a multi-faceted space with office/study rooms, a business consultant, a college readiness and career coach, a computer scientist, an art press, a grant writer, a loan specialist, and even a showering facility. I believe that many people stay marginalized because of their lack of access to resources and no generational support from their families and close circles of friends. I am the first person in my family to graduate from college, and no one in my family or close circle of friends knew how to apply for college; for scholarships; or for housing. I had to figure it out all on my own. This year I am supporting my eighteen-year-old sister, Jenae Jimoh, with her college application process still with no support from our family or friends. I wish there was a resource center like the one I am planning for D.I.V.A. available now because I personally know so many people who would benefit from having someone who cares about them; their well-being, and their success.
In addition to our resource center, we plan for D.I.V.A.’s DEIA consultation and certificate services to expand nationally as well as attending national and international conferences where we can expand on these important conversations within a global framework.
Contact Info:
- Website: divaslc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diva_slc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divaslc123?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenessa-jimoh-1b84431a9
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@d.i.v.a.saltlakecity5806
- Other: https://account.venmo.com/u/diva_slc
Image Credits
Miyalla Tarver
Deaun Saxby
Sonja Madsen
Sinia Maile
