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›- Cloaking Inequity By Julian Vasquez Heilig
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Cloaking Inequity By Julian Vasquez Heilig - Education & Personal Development
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Is Resigning the Right Thing to Do? – Cloaking Inequity
Is resigning the right thing to do? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself—and not just in quiet moments of reflection. It’s a question that people ask me in inbox threads, text messages, and hushed conversations in conference hallways. It’s no longer theoretical. It’s personal. It’s political. And in 2025, it feels like it’s urgent.…
They Want to Trigger You. I Choose Action Instead. – Cloaking Inequity
I recently told a family member who has been reading my blog: I don’t hate Donald Trump. I don’t hate the Proud Boys. I don’t even hate the Christian nationalists who shout Bible verses while clenching AR-15s and making muscles. Hate is what they want. Hate and grievance is what they feed on. It’s the…
The Fog of Lies: How Instagram Reels Became the Gospel – Cloaking Inequity
How do you know what information to trust? It’s a deceptively simple question. And lately, it’s one I hear more and more—especially from Right Wing-leaning friends and family who claim that “you can’t trust any of it anymore.” They talk about fake news, media manipulation, and digital censorship. They doubt the Census, question school data,…
The Uppity Minority: Radioactive or Ready for this Moment? – Cloaking Inequity
They don’t always say it out loud. But if you’ve been a leader, you learn to read the signs. The soft smiles. The slow blinks. The way people praise your convictions in private—right before distancing themselves. It’s the same pattern that leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced: celebrated for their ideals, shunned for…
Free Speech for Right Wing, Punishment for Protesters: A Two-Step of Hypocrisy – Cloaking Inequity
According to media reports and other sources circulating widely on the internet, a disturbing and deeply revealing incident has taken place at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. A student has allegedly submitted a final paper in a constitutional law class arguing that the U.S. Constitution applies only to white people and Jews—and…
From Moscow to Tallahassee: The Global Authoritarian Playbook is Being Executed – Cloaking Inequity
Turkey, Hungary, China, Russia, Egypt—and Florida. The names of these places might evoke different geographies, languages, and histories, but in one crucial area they increasingly speak the same language: authoritarian control over universities. In each, political power has been used to reshape higher education into a compliant tool of state ideology. Once autonomous institutions—grounded in…
Code Red: How AI Is Set to Supercharge Racism, Rewrite History, and Hijack Learning – Cloaking Inequity
Artificial Intelligence didn’t fall from the sky. It wasn’t born in a vacuum or descended from some neutral cloud of innovation. It didn’t arrive pure and untainted, ready to solve all of humanity’s problems. No—AI was trained on us. On our failures. On our history. On our data. On our bias. On the systems we…
Silencing Your Liberty: The De-Civil Rights Movement – Cloaking Inequity
Happy Juneteenth! In the 1960s, brave Americans—many young, many Black, many poor—put their bodies on the line to claim a seat at the table of democracy. They fought for rights long denied: the right to vote without barriers, to protest without fear, to attend school without segregation, to worship without restriction, and to speak truth…
The Blame Game: How Trump, University Leaders, et al. Dodge Accountability – Cloaking Inequity
There is perhaps no figure more adept at the art of deflection than Donald J. Trump. He has turned scapegoating into a political art form, lobbing blame like confetti at rallies, press conferences, and now on his social media platform. Economic woes? Blame immigrants. Public health failures? Blame governors. Electoral losses? Blame rigged machines. Legal…
Recycling Bad Ideas: Right Wing War on Public Education (Again) – Cloaking Inequity
The Republican Party used to tout itself as the party of ideas. But in Michigan—and across the country—it has devolved into the party of recycled failures. This week, Michigan Senate Republicans introduced a package of education bills so stale, so regressive, and so wildly out of step with research and reality that you could be…
Liberty Requires Patriots: Why I Support the NAACP’s Decision Not to Invite Trump – Cloaking Inequity
Let me begin with a clear disclaimer: I do not speak for the NAACP. I speak only for myself—as a scholar, citizen, and patriot committed to constitutional democracy and civil rights. But I unequivocally support the NAACP’s decision not to invite Donald Trump to its 116th National Convention. The organization’s stance is not partisan. It…
The Uppity Minority: When the Betrayal Comes From Inside the House – Cloaking Inequity
In every movement, there are enemies outside the gate—and then there’s Stephen. You may remember him. Samuel L. Jackson’s unforgettable character in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained—not just the most dangerous villain in the film, but perhaps the most haunting. Because Stephen wasn’t the slave master. He wasn’t the bounty hunter. He wasn’t the man with the whip.…
The Big Lie: What They Say in Public vs. What Happens Behind Closed Doors – Cloaking Inequity
We’ve come to recognize gaslighting in politics with unsettling clarity. It’s the classic authoritarian sleight of hand: say one thing while doing another, accuse your critics of the very abuses you commit, and weaponize language to invert reality itself. Donald Trump has elevated this to a political doctrine—claiming to be the champion of free speech…
“Day One” Was a Lie: The Goal of Conflict, Abroad and at Home – Cloaking Inequity
Donald Trump said there would be peace on Day One. That’s what he promised: an end to war in Ukraine. A ceasefire in Gaza. Diplomacy with Iran. Calm in American cities. Trump declared he’d bring strength and unity back to the nation and the world. But now that he’s been reelected and is firmly back…
They’re Coming for the Colleges: IRS Issues More Threats – Cloaking Inequity
What if I told you that the next front in America’s war on student success isn’t a classroom—but a tax form? This week, Bloomberg broke the story: the U.S. Treasury Department is weighing a proposal to strip tax-exempt status from colleges and universities that “favor any racial group” in admissions, scholarships, student services, or even the use…
The Drip of Authoritarianism Becomes a Flood: Democracy at a Crossroads – Cloaking Inequity
If you’ve ever wondered how authoritarianism creeps in—how democracy dies not with a bang, but a series of rationalizations and repressive policies—then stop wondering. Watch this or Read this. And understand: it’s happening here. This is why I’ve been writing furiously. This is why I cannot stay silent. Because we’re in the middle of the slow,…
They Want to Use My Ex-Girlfriend’s Awful Cookie Recipe—And Call It Equity – Cloaking Inequity
This title will make sense by the end of the article. I promise. I recently faced an ideological struggle—not the kind that makes headlines, but the quiet, deeply personal kind on Zoom that unsettles your spirit. It wasn’t marked by shouting matches or viral soundbites—just the slow, sobering realization that people who meant good were…
A Birthday Manifesto: What I Will—and Won’t—Do at 50 – Cloaking Inequity
Today, I turn 50. And while I could use this milestone to share a baby photo highlight reel or reflect on my personal journey (don’t worry, there will be cake), I want to mark this birthday in a different way. Because I haven’t made it to 50 by staying quiet—and I’m not starting now. Turning…
Fail Fast, Learn Deep: Reckless vs. Responsible Failure in Education – Cloaking Inequity
The opening question at our Schott Foundation governing board meeting stopped me in my tracks. It didn’t come from a superintendent or a consultant. It came from Kyle Serrette, a national education strategist with the NEA and someone who’s spent decades pushing for equity-centered systems change. He asked: “What have you failed at?” Let that…
The National Guard Has Arrived to Make Sure You Shut Up Safely—Survival Not Guaranteed – Cloaking Inequity
They show up during floods. They show up during wildfires. And if you're really lucky, they show up when you're holding a cardboard sign asking not to be tear-gassed. Yes, we’re talking about the National Guard—Trump’s most predictable tantrum accessory since Sharpie edits on hurricane maps. The National Guard is once again making headlines by…
Hunting the Uppity Minority: Surveilled and Secretly Recorded – Cloaking Inequity
In the 1987 sci-fi thriller Predator, a group of elite soldiers enters the jungle expecting a standard mission. What they encounter instead is a hyper-advanced alien killer—a being with cloaking technology, thermal vision, and a twisted code of warfare. The Predator doesn’t fight head-on. It tracks. It records. It studies. It waits. Then it strikes—one target…
Exposed: University of Michigan Hired Undercover Spies to Target Students – Cloaking Inequity
As a second-generation alum of the University of Michigan, I’ve often reflected on how this institution shaped my life. The Diag, the center of campus with its steady hum of voices calling out injustice. The lecture halls, alive with challenge and possibility. The long nights spent reading, debating, dreaming. It’s where I forged lifelong friendships,…
“No Honor Among Thieves”: What the Trump–Elon Feud Teaches Us About Education Reform – Cloaking Inequity
There’s an old proverb: “There is no honor among thieves.” I believe it is meant to warn that alliances built on self-interest rarely survive when power, money, or ego is at stake. In public policy, we’ve seen this play out time and again—especially in spaces where opportunism, not principle, is the glue holding coalitions together. When…
Boulder Attack Shows Racism Is Still on Fire in America – Cloaking Inequity
Let’s be honest about something uncomfortable. Racism is still on fire in America. On June 1, 2025, Boulder, Colorado became the latest site of a horrific act of violence in America. At 1:26 p.m., a group of peaceful marchers—many elderly—were walking through the Pearl Street Mall in their regular weekly gathering. In broad daylight, a…
Why Everyone Needs a Place to Go Home—Before It’s Too Late – Cloaking Inequity
There’s a phrase I’ve been sitting with lately: Go home. Not in the literal sense—though sometimes, yes, it means exactly that. But more often, it’s something deeper. Something ancestral. Spiritual. Necessary. Because if you’ve ever been in the trenches of the field—work that demands your soul—you know how easy it is to lose track of where…
Judas in a Suit: Santa Ono Took the Deal—And Still Got Denied – Cloaking Inequity
There’s a photo of me on the internet with Santa Ono that I regret more than any other in my life. At the time, I stood beside him with pride. He was a fellow academic, a university president who championed diversity, equity, and inclusion at one of the most visible public institutions in the world—my…
Judas in a Suit: Betrayal in the Halls of Educational Power – Cloaking Inequity
Because 110,000 readers (and counting) didn’t just read The Uppity Minority series (The Uppity Minority: Executive Leadership, Power, and the Price of Speaking Up and The Uppity Minority: How They Will Come for You, Be Ready) they are telling me they felt it. You saw yourself in it. You messaged me. You reposted it. You told me it was…
Culture Eats Equity Strategy for Breakfast: Five Ways We Must Change Education – Cloaking Inequity
Peter Drucker’s old maxim still rings true: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” But in the realm of K–12 and higher education equity work, that truth doesn’t just ring — it roars. Over the years, I’ve watched countless schools, districts, and universities launch well-intentioned equity initiatives, only to watch them crash into a brick wall of…
When the Middle Fails: What Weak Educational Leadership Really Looks Like – Cloaking Inequity
Let’s be honest. The people who most need this post probably won’t read it. And if they do, they’ll assume it’s about someone else. They’ll skim, nod, and keep on quietly dodging the accountability their position demands. But this post isn't meant to be polite. Because across education—in K–12 districts and college campuses alike—weak middle…
“Hold the Line”: Maria Ressa, Trump, and the Authoritarian Assault on Truth—from the Newsroom to the Classroom – Cloaking Inequity
Maria Ressa doesn’t flinch. She’s a Nobel Peace Prize winner who has faced arrest, harassment, and relentless attacks by an authoritarian regime. She’s been put on trial for doing what journalists are supposed to do—telling the truth. But when I watched her appear on the recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, she wasn’t…
The Uppity Minority: How They Will Come for You, Be Ready – Cloaking Inequity
They’ll shake your hand at the press conference. Applaud your credentials. Post your photo across their websites and diversity brochures. You’ll be celebrated as a historic first—until you act like more than a figurehead. Then they’ll come for you. They’ll call it a “personnel matter.” A “leadership transition.” A “mutual decision.” But what it really…
Few People Actually Change the Future — But You Can: Five Ways to Fight for Public Education – Cloaking Inequity
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” — Dr. Emmett Brown, Back to the Future The year is now. But the stakes? They’re from the future. Imagine stepping into a souped-up DeLorean, gunning it to 88 miles per hour, and landing not in 1955, but in the school district of tomorrow. What do you…
Hurt People Hurt: Why the War on Education Is So Personal – Cloaking Inequity
I’m writing this post while thinking about someone I’ll call Pat Drek. That’s not his real name—but the feelings and contradictions he represents are very real. Pat failed out of college after his first year. Higher education didn’t work for him—or maybe it failed to work with him. And yet, he went on to build a highly…
We Still Can’t Breathe: Five Years After George Floyd – Cloaking Inequity
Five years ago today, the world witnessed a modern-day lynching. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd—a 46-year-old father, brother, and Black man—was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Floyd pleaded for his life. He called out for his mother. He said the words that…
The Muscle of Moral Strength: Maya Angelou, Courage, and the Battle for Public Education – Cloaking Inequity
In an era where public education has become a battleground for ideological warfare, Maya Angelou’s wisdom feels more urgent than ever: “I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while; you can be generous…
A Tie at the Top: Why the Supreme Court’s 4-4 Split on Religious Charter Schools Still Spells Trouble for Public Education – Cloaking Inequity
A quiet decision from the Supreme Court today—one that received far less media coverage than it should have—may well be remembered as a key moment in the battle over the soul of public education in the United States. The justices, deadlocked in a 4-4 split, left in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that invalidated…
A Joyful Journey Through Scholarship: Reflections on The Most-Read Articles – Cloaking Inequity
In the whirlwind of daily commitments, policy debates, and the urgent push for educational equity, I rarely pause to look back. But every so often, there’s value in reflection. Recently, I took a look at the most-read and most-cited articles I’ve published over the years, and I was filled not with pride, but with profound…
Project Esther: Christian Nationalism, Campus Protests, and the War on Dissent – Cloaking Inequity
In recent months, student protests across the United States have occurred in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On campuses from coast to coast, young people—Jewish, Muslim, Christian, atheist, and everything in between—have taken to quads, libraries, and administration buildings to demand that \ their universities speak out against the ongoing violence, divest from…
Respect Is Earned: A Letter to My Daughter (and every student) on Fear, Failure, and Leadership – Cloaking Inequity
Do not fear failure. But, please, be terrified of regret. Giving up is the birth of regret.Deshauna Barber This post is for my daughter (and every student). You are coming of age in a world that sends you mixed signals. It tells you to speak your truth, but punishes you when your voice shakes the…
Apply Here for the Watchlist: Academia’s New Mark of Courage @TPUSA #ProfessorWatchMe – Cloaking Inequity
Preface: A Call to the Courageous To my fellow educators, researchers, and freedom dreamers: It is no longer enough to whisper about injustice at conferences. It is no longer enough to bury our critiques in dense academic journals. If you believe—as I do—that education is a liberatory act, then you are already dangerous to those…