Erec Smith, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, has written and spoken on this before. He provided this comment in reaction to the news:
“The type of DEI in question is not an extension of the Civil Rights Movement, as many—if not most—Americans believe. That movement fought to include people of color, especially Black people, in the pursuits of life, liberty, and happiness. Black people wanted to enjoy the same rights and benefits as white people. They wanted to enjoy individuality, free speech, and private property like everyone else. They wanted to be included. Contemporary DEI, too often, is not that.
Schools should be clear on the ideologies undergirding their DEI initiatives. The DEI programs in question—what the Trump Administration calls “Discriminatory Equity Ideology”—are ones that many scholars, including me, have labeled “Critical Social Justice” (CSJ), a concept that is egregiously divisive and detrimental. In fact, “ineffective” would be a generous term for DEI initiatives; many studies show they such programs make race and gender relations worse in professional spaces. DEI’s underlying goals have been eclipsed by the ineffectiveness, unintended—and intended—consequences, or potential ideological biases of CSJ-based DEI practices rather than the underlying goals implied by the words “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” as they are commonly understood. CSJ-DEI is especially harmful to both white and non-white people, as I’ve previously explained here.”
If you would like to speak with Smith, please reach out to mmiller@cato.org.
