NEW YORK – At the National Action Network (NAN) Convention in New York City, social justice leaders gathered to discuss the impact of anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bills introduced or enacted in states including Texas, Florida, and Florida. And Alabama. Public agencies in these states are laying off DEI-focused employees or switching roles in an effort to become compliant.
“It is clearly an all-out attack and an effective attack. We have to be more effective.” said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Research, a Black think tank focused on the future of work and quality of life in minority communities.
The panel, moderated by higher education journalist and professor Dr. Jamal Watson, included Kimberlé Crenshaw, a pioneer in the fields of intersectionality and critical race theory (CRT), and journalist Stephanie Rule, host of The 11th. It consisted of prominent thinkers such as Ruhle. Hours on MSNBC. Crenshaw said he wanted to speak on NAN because of the network's reputation for actively organizing on the issue.
Reverend Al Sharpton started NAN in 1991 and continued to promote civil rights in his spirit. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. NAN has chapters throughout the United States. Recently, NAN members have been protesting every Thursday at the New York offices of Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager who has become the face of the anti-DEI movement.Dr. Jamal Watson is leading a panel on attacks on DEI at this year's National Action Network convention, sponsored by Reverend Al Sharpton.
Crenshaw urged attendees to participate in the Freedom to Learn (F2L) National Day of Action. May 3 F2L — A group of educators, artists, advocates, and policymakers opposing book bans and attacks on educational curricula. — On that day, we want everyone to be vocal about what they're doing, whether it's resisting the anti-DEI movement and reading banned author Toni Morrison, or participating in more active protests.
“Permit [May 3] This will be the first day of Freedom Summer 2024,” Crenshaw said. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, the voter registration drive that “transformed the civil rights movement.”
“We’re hoping this summer will be where we draw a line in the sand and step back,” Crenshaw said. “We saved this democracy, but we want more after that. We want a true democracy where our votes really matter. We cannot save democracy and leave anti-racism aside. “The two must come together,” he said.
Dr. Alvin Tillery, professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University, said of the anti-DEI bill: USA. The Supreme Court's affirmative action ruling, criticism of CRT, and Nicole Hannah Jones's “1619 Project” are all part of a larger conservative campaign to “reawaken the racial order of Jim Crow.”
“Much of this is a response to the George Floyd protests of 2020. Many powerful people in the ruling class have seen their grandchildren and children taking to the streets in multiracial protests to demand police accountability,” Tillery said. “Equity is not optional. This is enshrined in the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act. [the right wing] We are trying to alleviate the consciousness of citizens who think it is okay to ban equity. “We are fighting for our lives through this election,” he said.
Tillery said it was ironic. Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders are actually saying, “We are not woke enough! “We need to wake up right now and exercise our political power,” he said.
Much of the effort to combat anti-DEI sentiment must come through intentionally correcting the flow of misinformation delivered to Americans every day by right-wing media outlets, Ruhle said.
“There is a mountain of misinformation that we have to combat every day. We need to stop these lies because they affect the American zeitgeist,” Ruhle said. “We need to start from a place of truth and realize that those who attack DEI are not playing fair, they are playing dirty. “I’m not saying you have to fight filth and filth, but open your eyes and bring your weapons to the fight.”
Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, author and professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, did not hold back.Pastor Al Sharpton introduces the panelists.
“We know what the deal is. DEI is the new N word,” Dyson said. “DEI, Black Lives Matter, MLK, NBA, NFL — all places that identify Black excellence against the historic assault of white mediocrity.”
Dyson emphasized that DEI is the floor, not the ceiling, of achieving racial justice and equity. He said DEI and other racially progressive movements, such as affirmative action, have helped address inequality, but larger problems remain.
“If we close the opportunity gap, [at elite institutions], it is true that we can better represent what American society is like.” Dyson said. “But the problem is that the majority of our white brothers and sisters do not have the ability to identify with those who are isolated. They see themselves against the black man who ‘took my job and took my place in school.’ What they don't understand is the need for solidarity to ensure that everyone benefits. “We can all benefit.”
That's why Crenshaw and others agree that it's time for marginalized populations to stand up and for white allies to speak out. For now, the voices of allies seem to be silenced, she added. Pressure to sustain DEI programs must come from all sides, she said, and the consequences of inaction against right-wing agendas must be visible.
“If we want to dismantle educational segregation, if we want to make sure that our children in Florida are learning the same things as our children right here in Harlem, we have to put pressure on all the appeasers who are actually promoting it,” Crenshaw said. . “That’s the only way we can change this on the ground.”
Liann Herder can be reached at: [email protected].