“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”

The term “DEI” is used significantly often in modern politics. This acronym stands for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”. In the 2024 election, Donald Trump used the term “DEI Hire” to describe his political rival, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, who is mixed race Jamaican and Indian. The designation of “DEI Hire” was meant to be derogatory in that it implied Harris was only in office because of her race, that she was a “diversity hire”. Donald Trump is no stranger to being disrespectful to political candidates, but this instance of rallying republican voters against the term “DEI” has been a mismanaged campaign of hate that only leads to the mistreatment of others based solely on their race or orientation.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are three of the most important factors in modern America. America is known as the “Melting Pot” of cultures in the world, which is the concept of Diversity. Throughout history, Civil Rights have fought for the Equity, not just equality, of oppressed communities. Without Inclusion, we cannot be equal—All Men are Created Equal. One key factor that seems to be lost in throwing around the term “DEI” is that “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is entirely synonymous with Civil Rights. The rollback of “DEI” in major government websites and facilities is directly parallel to the rollback of Civil Rights progression.
One of the first “DEI” policies was the Civil Rights Act of 1964: the law that outlawed segregation within public spaces, businesses, and workplaces, which was then swiftly followed by the Civil Rights Act of 1965 that helped overturn the rest of the Jim Crow policies. A more recent example would be the Supreme Court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges, which would lead to the legalization of Gay Marriage.
Every day, especially now, Civil Rights are challenged. Although businesses don’t display signs as they did in the 50’s, people of color, queer sexual or gender orientation, different nationalities, different religions, and other forms of different cultures are consistently being discriminated against—especially still in the South. Forms of modern discrimination can be blatant or, much more commonly, subtle. However, despite subtle discrimination being the more common of the two, the abolishment of “DEI” policies is anything but subtle. The repeals of these policies are erasing decades of progress made by Civil Rights movements. “Erasure of history” is commonly brought up in the discussion of Civil Rights. The destruction of Confederate memorials is seen by conservative parties of people as the erasure of history; at the same time, however, these same people will discredit modern Civil Rights issues because slavery was “in the past” and that they didn’t even live during that time. Just the same as people see the destruction of Confederate memorials, people from other creeds see the discredit of slavery’s impact.
Discrimination is always going to be an issue, and the removal of “DEI” will only contribute to this issue. Without Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, how could we see any progress in Civil Rights? Without Diversity, people will only see from their own point of view— any one person’s opinion should matter just as much as the next person’s. Without Equity, there is no balance—any one person should never have an unfair advantage based on uncontrollable factors such as race or orientation. Without Inclusion, people will be isolated to fall into line without input—any one person should be included within discussions just as much as any other person.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are experiencing unprecedented rollbacks. These rollbacks serve only to exclude the “unwanted” from the “Melting Pot” that is America. Although most citizens are educated enough to know the importance of being impartial and fair, the threat of the government taking away our rights to our own forms of expression, whether it be our racial ties, our cultural traditions, our forms of orientation, or the history that built this country will not go unnoticed by the public.