Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is one of the more polarizing topics on the tongues of politicians and education professionals at the moment, but it is far more than the racial narrative that is being pushed by President Trump, certain media outlets and the Department of Education.
In the Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter, which was released on Valentine’s Day, the focus is exclusively on the racial component of DEI policies and programs, and it claims they create an unfair advantage for certain minority students.
“In recent years, American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia,” the letter states.
Dr. Jennifer Black, Associate Professor of History at Misericordia, was concerned when she first read the letter.
“Yeah, so, I thought it was scary, I will say that. It was deliberately broad, and I think that it will provoke a lot of people to act out of fear, which I hope isn’t the case, but I suspect it may do that. I think, unfortunately, that diversity, equity and inclusion has become sort of like a buzz word for people to rally around in a negative way,” she said.
Kas Williams, Associate Vice President for Mission Integration and Institutional Diversity, agrees with Black that the term DEI has become weaponized by certain politicians. Williams worked for the Multicultural Affairs Department at South Dakota State University before taking her current role at Misericordia, and during her time there she says she witnessed the evolution of the negative perception of the term DEI first-hand.
“In South Dakota, with the governor at the time, who is now the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, it was very much a red state. So, anything they wanted to get done was basically rubberstamped all the way through, so I dealt with some of that then, but then they weren’t calling it DEI, they were calling it ‘wokeness.’ So, I think at that time they were rolling it out in red states to see how this anti-woke campaign would work.”
Black, hopes that the negative stigma surrounding DEI comes from a lack of knowledge rather than a place of hate.
“So, as a historian, it troubles me that it’s become something that people are rallying around in a negative way, and maybe this is naivety, but I hope people are rallying around it because they don’t understand, that it’s just a lack of information, and that if people did understand what diversity, equity and inclusion can be, is that it’s a positive thing,” she said.
Whether or not DEI programs and policies create an unfair advantage for students based on race is up for debate, but, according to Black, what is not debatable is that the DEI umbrella is much larger than race.
“It’s not just about race or gender, right? It’s for students with disabilities, students from socioeconomically low-income places or regions, it’s language support for students who are English as a second language speakers. It is a broad range of things, and in the K-12 realm it has a lot to do with learning support,” she said.
Williams echoed Black’s thoughts on the broad nature of the DEI community that extends well beyond race.
“Do you know we are talking about veterans? Do you know we are talking about people with disabilities? Do you know we are talking about neurodiversity? Do you know we are talking about women?” she said.
DEI policies and programs can have a significant impact on the lives of students, and they have had a particularly large impact on Williams, who has made it her career.
“Oh, well it’s the reason why I am in the profession I am in. My undergrad degree is in criminal justice, but my graduate work was in student affairs. My lifelong dream was to become an attorney, but then when I started with student affairs I got hooked on this area,” she said.
Williams leaned on DEI support programs during her years in college, which she says helped her feel like she belonged in higher education and provided comfort for her while she was a college student.
“I got connected with my diversity officer on campus and that’s where I really grew into who I was as a person, and that was very empowering because I was at a predominantly white university, so to have a space with people who thought like I thought, when I could see another African American female on campus that was having the same challenges as being one of the few Black females. [Who was] understanding being [a] first generation [college student], understanding not having food. Those things were very real to me, so that office was very supportive for me in that space.”
DEI continued to have an impact on Williams after her college years, when she relied on her DEI support system during a trying time in her professional life. After being turned down for a multicultural officer job, she took the advice of one of her diversity mentors.
“One of my mentors said to me, ‘Kas you can do diversity in any role that you do. It doesn’t have to be that title.’ So, I started working in housing, but I always had a diversity impact. I worked in student conduct, but I always had a diversity impact with it. I’ve always had that as a part of my life. So, yeah, it’s had a huge impact, that’s why I do the work that I do.”
DEI is partly under attack from a legal standpoint due to its ties with Affirmative Action, which has been a hotly contested policy since John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order in 1961 making it the law. Affirmative Action’s purpose is to create equal opportunities for minorities in education and employment, which historically they have not received. Affirmative Action initially had diversity quotas that companies and universities had to reach, but that was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1978. Colleges and places of employment still engaged in their own private diversity goals after the 1978 ruling, but in 2023, the Supreme Court ruled Affirmative Action as a whole is unconstitutional, due to its potential to discriminate against white students during the admission process.
DEI policies and programs have essentially replaced Affirmative Action programs since 2023, creating a controversy that was the basis for the Department of Education’s Valentine’s Day letter. DEI’s roots in Affirmative Action have made it a scary term for some, but Williams said it accomplishes much more than diverse environments. It also provides administrative support and education for all students.
“I think it’s important because who benefits from this work? And I say that tongue and cheek, but I really mean it. The education is not for the African American students that come into this office, or the LGBTQ students that come into this office, it’s for the predominant culture. This office is for them. If there was no diversity office, where would these students go to get this education?”
Williams described a particular situation involving a student that reminded her why her work is so important.
“I had a student who wanted to do his internship here, and he said, ‘I don’t want to go out into the world and not have this experience.’ He did it on his own. When he left, he said, ‘Hey, Miss Kas, if you ever need me to come back, I’ll do stuff for free,’ but I said, ‘No I’ve done my job.’ That’s the work that we do,” she said.
Williams and Black believe that the mission, charisms and core values of Misericordia align with DEI programs.
“Inclusion to me is very much embedded in the mission of Misericordia. The idea that all are welcome, right? We embody the values of mercy, service, justice and hospitality. The critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, right? To care for the poor, to help women, to care for the environment. We can’t do those things while also turning our backs on people that have been historically disadvantaged,” Black said.
Williams took it one step further, saying the critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy could replace the sign outside of her office. “They are the mission of the University. Take away this title, ‘Office for Institutional Diversity and Multicultural Programming,’ and put the critical concerns outside of the door and I am fine with it,” she said.
Black, who also oversees the University’s Women’s History Month events in March, is excited about the events planned to honor women this month, which is another example of how DEI goes beyond race and Affirmative Action.
“Rose Daniels is doing an open mic night, and she is an incredible spoken word poet, an incredible artist, really a thoughtful person, just really provocative work. We have a film screening about Flannery O’Connor later in the month, and the six women who changed the world is always a great event because we bring in several different faculty members and everybody talks about a different person.”
Black believes if others across the nation took a similar view to the University’s mission, the country would be a better place.
“I think that diversity can really make us stronger. To go back to the mission of Misericordia, all are welcome. We aren’t afraid of what’s different at Misericordia. We embrace it, so as a nation I think that would make us stronger.”