DEI Training is Un-American, and that’s the Point: Diversity Talks’ Response to Executive Order 13950
On September 22 2020, the White House announced Executive Order 13950. The first line of the Executive Order 13950 reads,“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America…” before stating that the subsequent words are meant to “combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating”. What this act manifested into was a ban on government Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training across the board, and further, implied that trainings that directly address systemic racism and bias are deeply un-American. In truth, they are. Anti-racism work IS un-American, because America was founded on the very notion of white superiority.
January 6, 2021 provided white people with concrete examples of white supremacy in the United States. It amplified the institutional racism that exists without having to use numerous videos showcasing the murders of Black people at the hands of police. We all inherently know that if the mob consisted of Black and Brown faces, the outcome would have been different. We all are aware that privilege protected those present from mortal danger in ways that are never afforded to people of color. We watched as “Blue Lives Matter” conveniently disappeared, because it was never, ever about “blue lives”. On January 6, 2021, white people had to grapple with their whiteness in a way that no Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training or anti-racism training could achieve. White people had to take a close look in the mirror and sit with not just the truth that all white people benefit from white supremacy and the comfort it provides but also that their neighbors, coworkers, and even family members stormed the United States Capitol in attempt to preserve white privilege, white supremacy, and racism, in exchange for democracy. They were willing to trade our most valued American ideals to preserve their perceived power. And they did all of these things at the behest of the sitting president.
Calling a Thing a Thing
How can we productively discuss the events of January 6, 2021 without calling them out for what they truly are? This executive order aims to do that — to obscure the language and the understanding of white supremacy in hopes of making it harder to identify. The Executive Order 13950 quotes the Declaration of Independence and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but disregards the timeline between when the Declaration of Independence was signed and that said dream. It eliminates our ability to discern the agent behind what made the Montgomery bus boycott and the Selma marches necessary in the first place. Executive Order 13950 benefits no one other than white people. It relieves the oppressor of all faults and makes a mockery of the lived experiences of Black people and other people of color. It diminishes the impact of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia by banning educational resources for entities utilizing federal funding in order to maintain white power in the United States.
Executive Order 13950 also puts institutions in a situation where to implement the order we have to develop even more problematic guidelines and evaluation tools for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training that is readily available. It argues that teaching about different identities amounts to race and sex stereotyping. We, at Diversity Talks, believe that cultural blindness does not ensure fairness, but rather disregards how different identities affect our experiences and outcomes. “Diversity Talks understands the need for humanity when having conversations of anti-racism work but also doesn’t shy away from hard truths that need to be heard to help us shift towards a more equitable culture.”
Diversity Talks’ professional development services aim to create community by raising awareness of the diversity of our identities and their complexity, increasing cultural understanding, and identifying concrete ways to empower the most marginalized. In collaboration with PR(iSM) Resistance Coalition, Diversity Talks has led anti-racism training for over 1500 participants in the past 6 months. We intentionally titled the anti-racism training White Folks (Part 1): We Have to Talk About Race and White Folks (Part 2): A Call to Action to highlight the importance of white people’s role in dismantling white supremacy. Yet still, we receive requests from individuals and organizations who are not quite ready to admit their contributions to injustice or systems of oppression to change the name of the training or alter the content in order to appease white people. A pervasive narrative has begun to circulate from white people, “This is not who we are.” But it is. If we follow Executive Order 13950 as written, the work of building an anti-racist society will continue to fall on the backs of Black people to consistently hold entities accountable with no awareness from their white peers. Not only is this who we are as a country, it’s who we’ve always been, and who we will continue to be if this executive order stays.
Collective Accountability
Executive Order 13950’s criticism is a reversal of the meaning of anti-racism. Pointing out white people bear collective responsibility for creating and institutionalizing white supremacy is no more race scapegoating than pointing out Germany’s role in WWII is anti-German. It is merely teaching historical facts about slavery and its aftermath in United States society and acknowledging well documented inequalities, in everything from salaries and healthcare access, to banking and housing on a micro and macro level. Executive Order 13950 argues that teaching about the ways that the United States was and is racist is divisive. But naming where we can improve is not denying progress made. Anti-racism is not about making the word race a taboo. It is about having the courage to admit that there is a long road ahead “toward realization of our national creed”. “Dismantling systems of oppression is more than theory. While it is a piece of the pie, it is the works of bell hooks, adrienne maree brown, and Kazu Haga that convey the importance of embodied, every-day anti-racism through our relationships.” We know from our work at Diversity Talks that collective responsibility and accountability is possible when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training is executed with fidelity.
A Call to Action
Black people are tired. We’ve been tired. And we’ve been at the frontline of this work for centuries in saving America from herself. The past year has amplified the ways in which white supremacy and racism exists within our country. We can no longer hide behind democracy or unity for the sake of white discomfort and guilt. While Executive Order 13950 applies to government agencies and entities utilizing federal funds, it is imperative for us all to reconcile with the fact that racism is woven within the threads of the United States, as unspoken or unresolved trauma will continue to repeat itself.
Diversity Talks asks that you join us in calling a thing a thing. We cannot wait for the newly-elected president to rescind the executive order. We must hold those in positions of power accountable and that work first starts with holding ourselves accountable. Through our anti-racism training and other Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion services, we have witnessed firsthand the power of explicitly confronting bias, racism, and white supremacy. We have watched white people grapple with their identities and contributions to injustice. And we have explicitly stated the reality that dismantling white supremacy is the sole job of white people. During these trainings, white people have acknowledged that truth and stepped up to the call to action. They are changing their practices in their personal and professional lives. They are recognizing the varying levels of white privilege and how it manifests in the United States. If we eliminate one of the very mechanisms working against our unjust system, we will continue to see an oppressive system operating as designed. So, if you are a white person, ask what Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work is being done in your company, your church, your child’s school, your homeowner’s association. Start to question and to push and to prioritize this conversation and the actions to follow.
