In 2022, Unscripted Consult was established as a response to the lack of organizational capacity in sustaining anti-racism and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Back in 2017, I founded Diversity Talks, a non-profit organization that specializes in training high school students to facilitate anti-racism professional development for their teachers and administrators.

“It is with much love and hope that I am releasing this message into the universe. After founding and leading Diversity Talks for 5 years, I want to announce my intention to step down as CEO as of June 30, 2023.

Oftentimes when I read Chief Executive Officer resignation announcements, I feel as if there are so many words left unsaid — so many gaps in the story.”

“I was taught to assimilate to whiteness at an early age. I can recall sitting down at the salon on a bi-monthly basis to get my hair straightened. Hot combs and flat irons never competed with rain and humidity, and so, perms (as we called it) seemed like the only option for Black women in the 90s. The damaging chemicals and burns of a perm outweighed the discrimination we would experience for appearing to be unkept or unprofessional.”

generation rising “is a new local public television program presented by rhode island pbs. the reality docuseries focuses on issues faced every day by women, the black community, indigenous communities, the asian community, the hispanic community, and the lgbtqia+ community, and the ways they are pushing our society forward for change”.Description goes here

“When I enter into spaces, I enter authentically. I make it known that I am Black. I am a lesbian. I am a woman. I am a Black, lesbian, woman, who knows what it means to be oppressed simply for living in my truth. However, even while living in that truth, there comes a number of instances where I don’t feel respected, validated, or heard.”

In this session, Dr. Butler will speak on her experience in the DEI world over the past 4 years and why Diversity Talks' unique methods are crucial to their success in shifting mindsets across the nation.

Inspired by the book of the same name by renowned scholar Monique W. Morris Ed.D., PUSHOUT: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools takes a closer look at the educational, judicial, and social disparities Black girls face.

On September 22 2020, the White House announced Executive Order 13950. The first line of the Executive Order 13950 reads, “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America…” before stating that the subsequent words are meant to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating.”

According to ProjectDiane 2018, less than .06 percent of the $424.7 billion in venture funding since 2009 went to Black women. In light of the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Black and brown communities and the renewed focus on the Movement for Black Lives, how has the founding and fundraising environment for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) CEOs changed?

Since COVID-19 has required the closure of schools, we have shifted our focus to the inequities that Black and Brown people have known to exist and, at the same time, we have increased our false charity work, and cognitive dissonance allows us to feel good about it. Reopening schools requires more than free resources. It requires liberation of the oppressed.

Memorial Day weekend for some meant taking the space to acknowledge and mourn fellow battle buddies. Memorial Day weekend for Black people meant waking up from what was considered to be “a long weekend of rest” to seeing white people use their power and privilege against Black bodies on more than one occasion.

Question: What did it mean to you to be chosen to be one of the Forbes “30 Under 30” in education for 2020? Answer: Receiving recognition from Forbes is bigger than me. I carry the weight and the power of my ancestors. I think of my people back home in Mississippi that are rooting for me.

Most fellow 2020 listmakers target students and families, like Kiara Butler’s Diversity Talks, an organization that trains high school students to lead their instructors in conversations on cultural competence.

“This month’s event will feature a roundtable of women and women’s support groups within the ecosystem. During the discussion, participants will share their stories, wins and struggles, trends they’ve seen in the ecosystem, advice for other female and non-binary entrepreneurs and more.”

“I try to model that behavior in my own relationships,” Butler, 28, says as we talk at a teahouse on Providence’s West Side. “I can meet someone and tell them my whole life because I want them to feel comfortable enough that they will do the same. We’ll find the commonalities and the differences. We’ll see each other from another lens, and then we’ll understand behaviors.”

On October 2018, dr. kiara butler was the emcee for TEDx Providence. The theme for the event was “The Time is Now”.

… “But even when she eventually got out and came to Rhode Island, she still felt that many of the professional development sessions on diversity she sat through failed to address the elephant in the room — race, power, privilege and oppression.”

Representatives from the Rhode Island United Way Foundation knew that they wanted to create a conference that was centered around equity and meeting the needs of every student. In doing so, Butler was one of 6 panelists chosen to lead a 45 minute discussion at ALC: Lights on After School 2018.

University of Rhode Island’s Gender & Sexuality Department reached out to Kiara Butler in hopes of her kicking off their annual Big Gay Picnic. Butler deliver a keynote speech at the University of Rhode Island’s first free standing Gender and Sexuality building in the world. It was built specifically for the purpose of serving the LGBTQ community.

“Kiara is a warrior. She has overcome the endless obstacles thrown at women of color who want to be entrepreneurs. She’s survived childhood trauma. And because of her own experiences growing up in and navigating public schools in Mississippi, she has become a warrior for students.”

Butler shared her story on the Everett Company Stage during a series event called Brain Cafe. This event was specifically tailored around topics of Secrets & Silence.