DEI: Is it time for it to DIE?

DEI: Is it time for it to DIE?

Diversity programs have been part of the political, corporate, and educational landscape for decades. Many consultants, specialists, and staff were hired to address diversity issues within the respective organizations. In the early 90s, I was an equity consultant for the Dubuque Community School District. During this time, there were many cross-burnings and racial tensions in the schools and community were present. My job was to make the curriculum more inclusive and educate colleagues and students about bias. I was also a community liaison and facilitated many diversity conversations. My colleague Tom and I collaborated as we poured over textbooks and the k-12 curriculum. Back then, my focus was on racial, gender, and disability issues. Religion was a distant fourth. My contributions landed me in the Encyclopedia of Dubuque.

Our approach was a no guilt, no blame, no shame. For example, when slavery was discussed, there was never any instruction that whites should somehow apologize for being white or be responsible for what happened generations ago. We also discussed that economics dictated slavery. It was not a black-and-white thing. We also mentioned that some free Black Americans owned slaves. In the 1840 U.S. Census, the number of black slave owners was around 4,185.

The first black slave owner was named Anthony Johnson. He was initially from Angola. After he completed his time as a laborer, the colony gave him 250 acres. He farmed tobacco. This required lots of labor to be successful. As a result, he bought slaves. It appears blacks owned slaves for the same reason whites owned slaves. Economic reasons and, to some extent, status. Some Black Americans were also involved in the buying and selling of enslaved people in the US. Reprehensible as it was, it seems that both whites and blacks who engaged in slavery saw it as a business transaction. This is far removed from diversity training today, where white people are told they are accountable for what other white people did generations ago and to be ashamed and blamed for being born white. ?

Over the decades, I have facilitated many diversity workshops and taught many classes on diversity. My approach is so different from that of other diversity advocates. I don’t recognize much of what now falls under diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In some circles, it is now DEIJ (Justice) and DEIB (Belonging). For many, the DEI space has become so toxic that DEI is now labeled Divide, Exclude, and Indoctrinate. The toxicity has forced some to post signs saying, “It is okay to be white.” ?Many DEI folks see this as systemic racism on display. I see it as an expression of utter frustration. This is not to say some racists may not find comfort in the sentiment.

After George Floyd’s death and the subsequent riots, DEI became a front-burner issue for many liberals, progressives, politicians, and activists. As a result, many companies and educational institutions spent tens of millions of dollars on DEI initiatives to placate the activists. They feared being picketed or canceled. Many consultants were hired to educate the employees on their racism, sexism, and all the “isms” they suffered from. Many on the outside saw this as virtue signaling. Many employees saw it as a distraction that did not affect the organization’s efficiency in a positive way.

Many saw DEI training as a form of corporate punishment. As a result, many participants quietly mocked the training. Those who couldn’t laugh at the “punishment” became angry. They did not appreciate being labeled the oppressive class and are somehow responsible for disparities between whites and blacks. As a result, DEI training was having the reverse effect on company morale. People are now pushing back. It seems the tide is turning against corporate punishment in the form of DEI training.

In the last few weeks, DEI has faced some severe headwinds. In Florida, there is a ban on using state funds to support DEI initiatives. Many companies have cut their DEI staff and budget. Here are some of the titles I read, “DEI Is Under Attack” (Harvard Business Review), “The Assault on DEI” (The Chronicle of Higher Education), “The War on DEI” (Insight into Diversity), “DEI Is Under Attack At Colleges And Universities” (Forbes), “Attacking, and Defending, D.E.I. in America” (The New York Times), and “2024 might be do-or-die for corporate diversity efforts” (The Washington Post). Now, this could be seen as a good or bad thing. It all depends on perspective.

From my perspective, it is six of one or half a dozen of the other. I am ambivalent because there are many good things about discussing diversity issues in an organization. Society does have many problems and a forum for healthy discussions is needed. We also live in the age of outrage. So, healthy diversity training is an opportunity to have productive discussions, not indoctrination.

Indoctrination is how I would label the majority of DEI training. I am stunned when I hear what happens in many corporate training programs under the DEI umbrella. I have also attended a few indoctrination sessions that left me feeling hopeless.

Much of the training and reeducation have nothing to do with academic or intellectual discussions. It is all about blaming and shaming messages. Most often, the facilitator is a BIPOC member or member of a group that has been identified as marginalized. On some occasions, it will be a majority member who is suffering from white ancestral guilt coupled with a high dose of paternalism. The message to white people is your success is due to systemic racism. ‘You earned nothing. Your success is due to white privilege, an unearned right. You are evil if you don’t believe what I tell you. The ‘white’ rules under which you operate are oppressive, and if you agree with them, you are an oppressor.”? Whites are then told to be less white and to check their privileges.

Here is an interesting observation: I have worked in both corporate and educational settings, from kindergarten through university at the doctoral level. Never once did I feel any of the rules for success were race-based. On top of that, I am a melanated foreigner from a developing nation, and I don’t see the rules and regulations as having anything to do with one’s pigmentation.??

As mentioned, DEI training focuses on blaming and shaming. It is never about solving problems and leveraging opportunities. Regarding rules for one and not the other, I cringed when I heard of an example that has gone viral. The DEI trainer was telling a primarily white audience that expecting BIPOCs to be on time was a form of systemic racism. She went on to say that BIPOCs are flexible in interpreting time. Time is an approximation. So much so, within the BIPOC community, there are endearing terms like POC time, black people time, African time, Island time, etc.

When I was growing up, there was a flexible interpretation of time. It was more akin to island time. If you invited people to a party starting at 7:00 pm, we expected people to show up a lot later. However, if you tell someone the church service begins at 8:00 am, the service starts at 8:00 am. People were smart enough to figure out when to have a flexible interpretation and when to be on time.

We may want to consider the flexible interpretation of time as a BIPOC thing. To my surprise, when I was in Ireland a few years ago, we were told that the ferry to an island would leave at 10:00. Ten o’clock came and went, and there was no ferry in sight. At 10:15, I asked the lead check-in person when the ferry would arrive. He casually responded, “It could be any time. It is island time.” I was shocked by his island time comment. I thought this was a Caribbean or Hawaiian or Pacific Island thing. I asked him what he meant by island time. He replied, “Depending on the conditions, the ferry may be delayed. Some days, we don’t know. Many variables affect the time a ferry comes in or goes out. There is wind speed and direction, tide, swell, wind direction, etc.” I don’t know if other Irish folks use island time about when a ferry comes and goes, but it makes perfect sense. On a calm day, the ferry may arrive at 10:00, but on a rough day, it may be delayed. The trip may even be canceled as ours was. The water was pretty rough.? ?

So, to hear that expecting people to show up on time is somehow systemic racism is complete nonsense. An appreciation for being on time is not racial. It is cultural. Unfortunately, most people conflate culture with race.

For example, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had more in common with Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. than he has with Jay Z or Waka Flocka Flame, even though all three of them are black men and John G. Roberts is a white man. Similarly, Eminem is more culturally similar to Jay Z and Waka Flocka Flame than he is to President Joe Biden, even though Eminem and the president are both white men. Vice President Kamala Harris and Candace Owens could not be further apart culturally, even though they are both black women born and raised in America.

As mentioned, race and culture are dissimilar. Culture is what you do, your values, and your belief systems. It is fluid and ever-changing. Race is your DNA, your phenotype. It is NOT your culture. DNA changes at a glacial pace.

Culturally, time has nothing to do with one being white or black. It has to do with efficiency. Adherence to a specific time was most likely born in the era of the Industrial Revolution when being on time was essential. For example, if a manufacturing line of 40 people started at 8:00 and one person was late 10 minutes, it was not just 10 minutes lost; it was 400 minutes lost. Time was money. Organizations will only withstand such losses for a short time before they go bankrupt.

Another example I heard was holding people of color to standard English was a form of systemic racism. English is a white person’s language. It is the language of the enslaver. Therefore, businesses, colleges, and education institutions must be more flexible and accept less-than-perfect English from BIPOCs since many did not grow up in communities where standard English was spoken. I have even heard professors say they pay less attention to grammar if they know the student grew up speaking a different language or dialect.

These well-meaning teachers attended one too many indoctrination sessions. To me, acquiring English proficiency has nothing to do with being white or black. It is developing a skill that enables one to communicate effectively with others in an English-speaking society.

Over the years, I've tried my darndest to acquire English skills. Today, I give myself a passing grade. Here is a funny one. A few years ago, I was talking to a DEI consultant. He felt requiring BIPOCs to speak standard English was the enforcement of systemic racism and oppression. I told him he was nuts, and I worked daily to better my English. He then told me my desire to acquire English skills was a clear indication I was mentally colonized. The white man was living in my head and was my puppet master.

The mental colonization comment was an attempt to shame me. Instead of feeling ashamed, I smirked and made a smart-ass comment. He was a bit irritated by my smirking and comment. He then told me the puppet master now had me doing his bidding.

If acquiring English skills to function successfully in society is mental colonization, is it any wonder we have all the achievement gaps? We have to look no further when an essential skill for success is seen as mental colonization. We will continue to have gaps in racial performance in education and business.

The two examples of being on time and acquiring English skills as systemic racism are superficial and nonsensical. To me, these examples only continue to exacerbate the gap between whites and blacks and success in society. As a result, one part of me is thrilled that DEI programs are being cut because it seems that the cure is worse than the disease.

For DEI to be successful, real problems must be identified and addressed. For example, if writing and speaking English are issues affecting promotion, it would be in the company’s and society’s best interest to reimburse for remedial high school or college courses even though they may not apply to earning a degree. From a gender perspective, if walking to your car late in the evening influences women not to sign up for overtime. If requested, the company could ensure campus security escorts all employees to their vehicles.

Accents or regional pronunciation may also impact one’s effectiveness within an organization. Today, some activists put them under the umbrella of systemic racism. There could also be political ramifications. Years ago, accent reduction programs were popular and were seen as empowering by many. Unfortunately, proper pronunciation training can also be seen as racist. An example I heard was, how do you ask someone to say ask instead of ax? ?I am glad many people took the effort and courage to correct me. One of my common mistakes used to be the absence of the th sound. Teeth would be teat. Thigh would be tie. Think would be tink. Sometimes, they would become dey. Sometimes, I would add an a sound after the word. Right became righta.

Many organizations have provided resources for people to improve their English, reduce their accent, and security escort. The fourth relating to ask vs ax is probably too political from a racial perspective.

Addressing and solving problems is much more helpful than discussing things like being late and speaking standard English as systemic racism in action and being the reason blacks are not succeeding in society.

Dr. Raj Beekie is an associate professor in the DBA department at Saint Mary’s University, MN.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the thoughts and ideas expressed, he hopes they provide a broader foundation for discussion. Dr. Beekie received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and organizational communication from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, master's degree in Intercultural Communication from North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, and a doctorate in Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN.

Dr. Beekie also consults in leadership development, diversity, emotional intelligence, and effective communication. To offer your feedback, he can be reached at [email protected]