Anti-DEI movement is afraid of facts

Our nation should reflect on our nation’s long overdue Diversity/Equality/Inclusiveness initiatives. Let’s look at how the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines each term.

Diversity is defined as “the inclusion of people of different races, cultures, etc. in a group or organization.”

Equality is defined as “the quality or state of being equal” (equal is defined as “like for each member of a group, class, or society”).

Inclusion is defined as “the act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability).”

So, is the MAGA movement saying that the U.S. should not A.) include people of varying races and cultures; B.) strive for equality; and C.) acknowledge that there has been discrimination based on race and gender? The answer is a resounding “yes,” that certainly is MAGA’s view.

MAGA wants to naïvely bring us back to the “Father knows best” 1950s. They think we should stick our heads in the sand and make believe that the U.S. has always been a merit-based society in which everyone has historically had an equal opportunity to succeed.

Let’s look at reality and facts, using our own state. In Georgia, Black families currently make much less, $57,000, than white families, $82,000. Plus, Black families have far less inherited wealth. Per a Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund study, “white households have 8x, and in the City of Atlanta, white households have 46x as much wealth as Black households. The wealth gap is as large in Atlanta today as it was nationwide when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.”

The long history of U.S. racism cannot be summarized in a short column but must be accurately taught in our schools. The anti-DEI movement does not want facts taught because they might upset students. Baseball became integrated when Jackie Robinson (a Georgia native) decided to join the white Major League Baseball (MLB), a fact taught in our schools. But Georgia’s school books must also state clearly that he and all other players were previously barred from joining the MLB.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

When asked why he stated that the airline/helicopter crash on Jan. 29 at Reagan Washington National Airport was caused by DEI, the president replied, “Because I have common sense.” In other words, people with physical disabilities or Americans of color who were flying it are just plain incompetent.

This president has also stopped all federal DEI efforts, putting these employees on leave or terminating them. Prior executive orders by Clinton and Biden, which guaranteed that there was no discrimination in contractors, were rescinded. Plus, the federal government has been scrubbing events, such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance, Women’s Equality Day and National American Indian Heritage Month.

The MAGA movement has made discrimination the unofficial policy of the federal government. This administration is reversing decades of racial progress. It is up to each of us, especially white men, to resist efforts to divide this nation along racial lines.

Jack Bernard, a retired business executive and former chair of the Jasper County Commission and Republican Party, was the first director of health planning for Georgia.