Changing Words Without Ending DEI Is Still Only Putting Lipstick on a Pig
On the same day, two stories in The Washington Times at first glance, appeared to be cause for celebration.
Both concerned systemic racism. In this case the systemic discrimination against white and frequently Asian males baked into the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) regime.
Earlier this year President Trump and his administration targeted DEI.
In a letter sent last April the U.S. Department of Education threatened to withhold federal funding from elementary (!) schools refusing to end DEI programs.
The U.S. Department of Justice followed up in August and "issued new federal funding guidance that accused DEI 'programs or initiatives' of violating anti-discrimination laws."
The crackdown is having an effect on language.
"References to diversity, equity and inclusion at K-12 school board meetings have declined sharply alongside Trump administration efforts to purge race-based programs from public education.
"The school tracking website Burbio reported Tuesday that mentions of DEI declined from 38.1% of all board minutes analyzed during the last three months of 2024 to 32.9% in the first three months of this year.
"The topic declined further to 28.3% of school board meetings held between April and June, reversing several increases under the Biden administration."
Keep in mind, just because they aren’t talking about it, doesn't mean they aren't still thinking about it.
Savannah Newhouse, Dept. of Education press secretary, stated the administration's position in no uncertain terms, "Illegal DEI has no place in any school or institution of higher education. Schools are not social experiments — they are settings for children to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and skills to be successful in life."
Harvard University, which is in a DEI battle to the death with the Trump administration, even made what appear to be cosmetic changes, "Harvard University has undertaken a major restructuring of its anti-discrimination bureaucracy, scrapping references to DEI and consolidating its departments as pressure builds to make a deal with the Trump administration.
"The university announced Monday that it has combined its Office for Gender Equity and Office for Community Conduct into the new Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights, and Responsibilities, which will be responsible for handling both Title IV and Title IX enforcement."
So why do we write these developments only appear to be a victory?
Because changing the terminology without ending the program is only putting lipstick on the DEI pig. The Trump administration should not fall for punlic relations efforts that only serve to mask the continuing cultural Marxism of DEI.
Jessica Bartnick, a former Dallas Independent School District board member who started the Foundation for C.H.O.I.C.E. to mentor disadvantaged children in North Texas, makes our point for us, "Schools may drop the acronym, but the ideology often remains under new labels like 'belonging,' 'culturally responsive teaching,' or 'inclusive practices.'
"Any school that eliminates honors classes to fight so-called 'racism,' or adopts grading policies that ignore performance or deadlines, is still operating under the principles of DEI."
And that’s at the local level.
Cornell Law School Professor William Jacobson is just as skeptical of the rebranding in higher education. "Harvard and Cornell appear to be in a competition as to the most ludicrous rebranding of DEI bureaucracies.
"Harvard has reorganized under the awkwardly titled Office for Community Support, Non-Discrimination, Rights and Responsibilities. It’s all just a word game to wait out the Trump administration and rope-a-dope attempts to force change. It also illustrates how recalcitrant higher education will be to reform."
Jacobson has some advice for the administration if it wants to achieve lasting change, "[Trump’s administration] will only achieve its objectives if it has clearly defined benchmarks and if it insists on the complete elimination of all bureaucracies and programming that were part of DEI before rebranding."
In other words, victory will require vigilance and follow through, which was not a trademark of Trump 1.0. We hope that changes with Trump 2.0.
Auron MacIntyre, author and columnist for Blaze media.com, has a more succinct benchmark that we support wholeheartedly.
And that benchmark is . . . Their people fired and our people hired.
That’s why we are skeptical real reform is occurring, because we have seen neither.
Firing their people hiring out people.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.