“Everyone has to learn everything, or: emotional labor” is a reflection of the action-based research project “WdKA makes a difference” which took place between 2015 and 2017 at the Willem de Kooning Academy (Art School) in Rotterdam. Based on her personal observations, Adusei-Poku analyzes the systemic forms of exclusion as well as the complexity of work in the field of cultural diversity. In particular, she examines the question of emotional labor, which is closely tied with decolonization. She considers how such labor is largely left to women of color, who are not only put into a precarious position but also subject to the systematic mechanisms of exclusion inherent to institutions.