Schools, businesses, government organizations and individuals are discarding diversity, equity and inclusion practices, confirming suspicions that many never really valued case for DEI and instead prioritize grabbing opportunities from the status quo. The result is that DEI experts within organizations and employees of color have less power to change discriminatory practices and may fear that speaking honestly will jeopardize their livelihoods.
Since last summer, the Supreme Court tipped over race-based affirmative action in college admissions, Harvard University's Claudine Gay was pressured to resign as part of a right-wing campaign to undermine DEI efforts, and the University of Florida finished all DEI positions. In March, Johns Hopkins Medicine's chief diversity officer give up after a fierce backlash to his definition of “privilege” in broad, widely accepted terms (as “unearned benefits” often conferred on white, male, able-bodied, heterosexual people and other people from dominant groups).
That same week, a federal court judge in texas ruled that a 55-year-old federal agency's mandate to create opportunities for minority-owned businesses was unconstitutional. Unless overturned on appeal, this ruling is about to send shockwaves through local, state, and federal agencies, invalidating legitimate conclusions that people of color are disadvantaged in quantifiable and concrete ways.
The private sector is also increasingly plagued by victims of the diversity department. eliminations, layoffs, resignations and budget cuts. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, a nonprofit organization headed by Edward Blum, who led the fight to overturn affirmative action in college admissions, defendant a Black woman-owned venture capital firm called Fearless Fund to stop it from providing exclusive seed capital grants to Black women entrepreneurs. The AAER also sent threats letters to law firms demanding that they cancel diversity programs, leading some to withdraw. financial world is largely abandoning DEI, which will reverse progress at inexcusably low-diversity institutions. (Only 5% of senior managers at JPMorgan Chase and 3.7% of managers at Goldman Sachs are black, respectivelyAnd alone Seven of CEOs of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies were people of color in 2023).
While legislation to end DEI has proliferated in a matter of months, it took decades to create a diversity infrastructure. It was not until 1991For example, that Congress modified the Civil Rights Act of 1964 correct loopholes that prevented legal redress in some cases of racial discrimination demands. Over time, steps were taken to institute federal laws inform requirements for large companies to ensure compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, assign government funds in federal contracting and assignments for minority groups, mitigate discrimination housing and banking practices and force universities to develop recruitment strategies to counter de facto white affirmative action (e.g., legacy admissions).
The objective of these programs is to remedy past and present discrimination. Racial wealth and achievement gaps are largely byproducts of the period from 1934 to 1968, when 98% of all government-backed mortgage loans went to white families, leaving the wealth of black households in $6,674 compared to $70,786 for white households (adjusted for inflation). In 1961, President Kennedy implemented “affirmative action” to limit discrimination in government hiring, a recognition of centuries-old racism that restricts equitable economic, professional and educational opportunities. Black farmers receive financial reserves from the government, including access to financing through Inflation Reduction Act of 2022because the Agriculture department has discriminated against against them for decades.
The need for these policies is equally critical today. The average income in 2021 was $77,999 for white households and $48,297 for black households, and black American families have 13 cents of wealth for every dollar that white families own. College-educated African Americans have less wealth than white Americans with high school diplomas.
There is also a modern redlining in housing: Borrowers of color pay more for mortgage loans regardless of their wealth or credit score and are more often victims of predator banking practices regardless of income. The unemployment gap between whites and blacks has remained approximately 2 to 1 since 1972. Black college enrollment lasts for years. decline This will be exacerbated by the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision. After Michigan banned race-based affirmative action in college admissions in 2006, black enrollment declined 44% for 2021. This data shows how racist and discriminatory practices continue to shape employment, school admissions, banking practices, wages and housing.
Even if imperfect, diversity initiatives are necessary efforts to offer corrective solutions that provide more equitable access to jobs, education, business opportunities, homeownership, and the American dream. And they are meaningless if we cannot consider race.
Furthermore, these efforts don't just benefit people of color. White women have been the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action; Studies have shown that the policy has given them jobs and promotions at higher rates than people of color. Over time, DEI initiatives have expanded to eliminate chronic barriers to entry for a broader set of historically disadvantaged groups, including LGBTQ people, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Dismantling affirmative action and weaponizing race-neutral thinking is setting us back in the fight against historical discrimination. We need to fight back, leaving behind apathy and cowardice and going on the offensive. In the long term, that means filing more lawsuits to challenge censorship of history in schools and of race consciousness in workplace training. In the short term, it means boycotting and expressing opposition to businesses and other institutions, including education and government, that actively defend racial discrimination and roll back DEI policy.
Now is the time to show that allyship is not performative, especially among white people. Americans must recognize that supporting people of color to safeguard inclusion means safeguarding the rights of everyone, including their own.
Fatimah Gilliam is the author of “Race Rules: What Your Black Friend Won't Tell You” and a diversity, negotiation and leadership expert, lawyer, consultant and speaker. On Instagram: @fatimah_gilliam.
