Minnesota State Terms of Equity and Inclusion
Page 3 of 31
explanation for higher dropout rates among Blacks, Latinx, and Indigenous populations; for
their increased likelihood to be placed in remedial education courses; and for their segregation
in the lowest-funded sector of higher education: community colleges. Serves as evidence of the
inferiority of racialized minds (Bensimon E. M., 2020, p. 8; Kendi, 2019, p. 101) . Equity-
practitioners opt to not use this term as it reifies student-deficit assumptions. Opportunity gap
and the recognition of institutional educational debt are preferable notions.
ADOS – American descendent of slavery. Used by Black Americans who have been cut off from
their cultural roots due to the capture and enslavement of their ancestors.
AI/AN/I –Indicates American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Indigenous. These series of terms are
commonly used in the United States to further specify “native” or “Indigenous” people. Canada
distinguishes First Nations as a term to indicate sovereignty and prior claims to land dwelling.
advocate - A person who actively works to end intolerance, educate others, and support
social equity for a marginalized group; to actively support or plea in favor of a particular cause,
the action of working to end intolerance or educate others. (The Safe Zone Project)
adverse impact - A substantially different rate of selection in hiring, promotion, transfer,
training, or other employment-related decisions for any race, sex, gender, or ethnic group in
comparison with other groups.
AFAB/AMAB- Assigned female at birth / assigned male at birth.
affirmative action - A set of policies and practices designed to eliminate unlawful
discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent
such discrimination in the future.
agender - A person with no (or very little) connection to the traditional system of gender, no
personal alignment with the concepts of either man or woman, and/or someone who sees
themselves as existing without gender. (The Safe Zone Project)
ally - Someone who possess the power and privilege (based on ethnicity, class, gender, sexual
identity, etc.) who stands in solidarity with and is supportive of marginalized groups and
communities.
American Indian or Alaska Native – A person having origins in any of the original peoples
of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification
through tribal affiliation or community attachment (U.S. Department of Education, 1997).
Asian – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or
the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam (U.S. Department of
Education, 1997).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - Enacted in 1990, the ADA is a civil rights law that
prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including
jobs, schools, transportation and all public and private places that are open to the general