DEIA Work Discussion on the Documentary The Human Trail
One of my old jobs had a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) group that met monthly. We talked about current events, DEIA related topics, and DEIA topics related to our job. It was a nice community of people that met and had meaningful and insightful discussions. I was very glad to be a part of it while I worked there.
Finding the Documentary
During this time, I found out about a documentary about a clinical trial trying to find a cure for diabetes called The Human Trial. “In 2011, filmmaker Lisa Hepner heard about a radical stem cell treatment for diabetes, a disease that kills more than five million people each year. Driven by a desire to cure her own type 1 diabetes, the filmmakers secured unprecedented, real-time access to a clinical trial in San Diego —only the sixth-ever embryonic stem cell trial in the world. What follows is an intimate journey with the patients and scientists who put themselves on the line to be first. In the world of biotech and medical research, there are no tidy solutions.”
Could I Lead a Discussion?
One day I was talking to the person in charge of the DEIA group about this documentary. She asked if I would be willing to lead a DEIA discussion on it at an upcoming meeting. (Only if we were able to get a free copy for our workplace to watch.) I needed to watch it before I could answer. It might be too emotional for me to be able to lead a discussion about it. At the time of this initial conversation with the DEIA leader, I had only read the synopsis online (see above). I told her that I would have to watch it over the weekend first to see if this was something I could handle.
That weekend I watched the documentary and, unsurprisingly it did have some emotional parts. But I believed I would have enough time to sort through these emotions and lead a discussion about this film. I informed my coworker and we got a free copy for my workplace to watch and set up the meeting.
Addressing a Problem Participant
A week before the DEIA meeting one of the group’s members sent an email to the leader expressing her concern about the film. She was worried that the film and the human trial talked about within used stem cells obtained in “harmful” ways. She was worried the stem cells used were not obtained in a way she believed was right. This person was also confused about how this film was a DEIA matter and deserved a discussion.
The leader responded and gave her all the reasons why The Human Trail is a DEIA matter and that it would still be happening. If she didn’t want to watch or attend, she didn’t have to, this meeting is not required by anyone. We did assume (correctly) that she would attend as she attends every meeting. This isn’t the first time this particular employee has (hopefully unintentionally) derailed these meetings. She was a known problem by many of the other members.
The leader of the group told me about this just so I could better handle the discussion and be ready just in case she brought anything up during the meeting. (Spoiler – she did.) I was thankful for the heads up and was able to talk more with the leader and brainstorm the best ways to respond to some of these comments.
Leading the Discussion!
By the time it got to the discussion I was ready and excited to lead. I had rewatched the documentary with some friends and got to hear what they thought about it, and got some more talking points and differing opinions.
Sadly, I didn’t get as many attendees as I was hoping, but the lower attendance made for a more in-depth discussion. Everyone had time to share their thoughts and opinions on the film.
Other than one of the members trying to derail the meeting, it was very successful. It turned into a talk about how our work could help me and others with invisible disabilities. It was something that I wasn’t expecting but it was incredibly touching that everyone wanted to help. Someone mentioned trying to get a training on how best to help those with invisible disabilities in the workplace.
It’s times like these that make me happy for the future. There are a lot of barriers for diabetics and people with other disabilities. But there are things that others and society can do to make everyone’s lives easier.
