I wanted to take some time to parse out my thoughts regarding this administrations order to disappear everything related to DEI. I started writing with a commitment to longform- not even attempting to keep this short. Before I knew it, I was way beyond newsletter length. So I have attached a pdf of my thoughts to this post. Break out your highlighters, pens and stickie notes.
Here is a preview. You can find the rest by downloading the “DEI Oh My” pdf at the end of the preview.
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How did we get DEI programs in the first place?
So, first of all, let's start with the origins of DEI. Not so long ago in America, Black folks were barred from access to education, corporate jobs, colleges and universities. Segregation wasnt just water fountains, buses and swimming pools- it was a system that kept Black Americans from becoming full citizens with all the rights thereof. We were excluded.
We largely could not work in the corporate world, except in the most menial of jobs. We had to form our own colleges and universities because we would not be accepted into white institutions of higher learning (unless run by Quakers). And when we did succeed at forming our own successful business, white mobs often destroyed them and/or lynched the owners. It was dangerous to be a successful Black American.
But with integration, came greater access (after very long, hard battles). Little by little Black folks gained access to spaces that had previously been exclusively white. And as you can imagine, we very quickly formed our own clubs, networks, and communities within these institutions. We did so for a sense of our own culture. We did so for a sense of belonging. We did so to combat isolation. We did so out of pride for who we are. And we did so hoping that those who came behind us would have an easier time navigating these spaces.
We started doing this early in our history in America. The Alpha fraternity was formed in 1906 in Cornell University. But in the 70’s, following nationwide integration orders, there is an explosion of Black folks writing themselves into the narratives of schools, colleges, corporations, and the government.
We were so good at creating institutions within institutions that other marginalized folks (and Black people who carried additional marginalized identities) used our programming as a model for building more. Over decades those models have proliferated, become creative, been have been added to the fabric of many institutions, mostly under the heading DEI. DEI offered a home if you will to house all the programming that created a sense of belonging for students that the institution didn’t know how to support.
And we start to change systems. We create Black studies programs. We add gender studies degrees. We have houses and dormitories. We raise expectations around accessibility. We fight for budgets and offices and work hard to prove to institutions how valuable our contributions are. There is still a long way to go at many (most?) institutions, but our impact is undeniable. And that’s why they are being attacked.
There is nothing whiteness loves more than rewrite history. And one way the right is desperate to re-write history is to tell itself that white people did some bad things in the past, but that after the civil rights movement, everything has been equal and now its time to move on. Whiteness has no desire to make restitution, to make space. It has no curiosity. And it really hates to share. It doesn’t want to share space. It doesn’t want to change its language. It doesn’t want to reach for better and better and better. It really wants marginalized voices to shut up, sit down, and stop changing everything.
And that’s how we come to this present moment.
What caused this wave of rollbacks?
Both DEI and Affirmative Action have been rewritten from programs that help stem the tide of racism and bias… and instead calls it reverse racism. Whiteness really wants you to belive that both affirmative action and DEI programs give institutional access to undeserving Black people who have not earned it. And furthermore, it wants us all to believe that a white person is inherently the most qualified and therefore, any advancement given to a Black person is not merit based.
But we know this not to be true. Study after study has proven that racial bias and discrimination continue to exist (which means white people are the ones entering institutions not based on merit but on who they know or a shared culture with interviewers). And Affirmative Action and DEI programs are an attempt to correct course and come closer to equally evaluating everyone, before giving it to someone’s niece or someone who reminds the interviewer of their niece, as I never will.
The reason we are experiencing a heightened version of this is because the Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action. This legal precedent has given legal and political cover for those who want to erase DEI programming. But not only has it given cover for any organization that is uninterested in DEI… this administration is taking things one step further. It is punishing organizations for investment in DEI programs…
You can read the rest below.
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MOVING TRUCK
This will be the last post I send through substack. I am moving to a new platform. You can read about the reasons here, if interested. Im excited about this move, because I’ll also be giving this newsletter a little refresh… I cant wait to show you.
What do you need to do? Nothing! We’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is open the next post.
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SAVE THE DATE
In addition to writing, I want to make sure I am showing up in this political moment. One thing I feel led to do is host a free virtual event to offer community care for those impacted by the DEI bans. Everyone is invited to attend, just know that my message is specific to practitioners who are losing their jobs, watching their programs get cut, or are fighting like hell to keep things on track.
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, February 11 at 8:00pm eastern. A registration link will be coming your way soon!