Diversity, equity and inclusion are three words that are often misunderstood and even feared, especially when they are used in the context of education. Just what are the real meanings and intent of DEI efforts in the worlds of business and academia? Why are they suddenly creating so much furor in politics?

Diversity is often defined as “the practice or quality of including or involving people of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders and sexual orientation.”  It has in many cases become a goal of workplaces, schools and universities to design training and educational opportunities for the communities of workers and students to widen their understandings of people unlike themselves. At times it has also been a reason for recruiting a variety of people from differing backgrounds with the goal of more closely mirroring the reality that there is no one group whose culture and philosophies should dominate any society or institution. Up until recently efforts to become more diverse have rarely been questioned, but presently ultra conservative groups are expressing their concerns through legislation that limits and sometimes outright bans such programs.

Equity is likewise defined as “the quality of being fair and impartial.” Given our past history there have been efforts to right some of the wrongs and defects of our fairness and justice, particularly in our judicial systems. There are now laws that protect groups in the workplace and strive to insure equal opportunities for all without discrimination. Universities have offered courses that focus on our nation’s evolution of fairness and its impact on particular groups. Such offerings were meant to enlighten workers and and students, to teach them about injustices that they may not have known. Equity became an integral effort not just to become more just but to understand why it is necessary to make changes in the way we view people unlike ourselves, to understand their histories and challenges. Such programs are also currently being challenged particularly in schools and universities.

Inclusion is “the act or policy of providing access to opportunity and resources to people or groups who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.” Inclusion efforts include those with disabilities and minority groups who have often been underrepresented. More recently they have also focused on those with differing gender and sexual preferences.

It’s difficult for me to understand why anyone would think of DEI programs as being dangerous enough to warrant outlawing them in our public educational systems. As I think back on my own lifetime I know all too well that without mandates to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion entire groups of Americans would have little or no access to certain jobs, schools or societal institutions.

I am of a generation that witnessed cruel racial injustice and segregations. I have seen young women being harassed for attempting to prepare for formerly male dominated careers like architecture or engineering. I have lived long enough to know of the cruelty inflicted on those whose sexual preferences were deemed to be somehow evil. I know all too well how isolating and demeaning those former practices often were. It was through the concerted efforts of DEI programs as well as legislation that we became a kinder and more informed society. Through such efforts our worldviews and our institutions were transformed in ways that allowed a beautiful variety of thought and culture to bloom and flourish. 

Democracy for all should be more than just an ideal. It takes hard work and education to make everyone feel respected, understood, part of the great American dream. We are a huge country spanning from one great ocean to another. It is all too easy to simply live in ignorance in our own little bubbles. While it may feel more comfortable not to have our thinking and our beliefs challenged, it is not the way to build a strong and equitable nation. For far too long in our history white Anglo-Saxon Protestant males dominated every aspect of power and opportunity in our country. While that was simply the accepted norm of the times, it created problems for anyone who was excluded from that group. Over time we corrected those errors and it would be a mistake to return to a time when one group was more dominant and valued than others. 

We are a nation of many people with many different histories, cultures, and beliefs. We have slowly and often with great pain become more tolerant of those differences both in our personal lives and our public institutions. Turning back the clock by banning books, disallowing our young to learn about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion will stifle the progress we have made.

Learning truths can be painful but not nearly as much as hiding either our flaws. Having difficult discussions about our differences builds bridges. Avoiding such topics creates walls. We should never be afraid to introduce our young to an honest rendering of history or current events. As an educator I know full well that they are thirsting for truth from us. My experience is that young people are most upset when they learn that we have been hiding reality from them.

Educators rarely force their thinking on their students. In most case they simply introduce them to differing points of view and then allow them to form their own conclusions. Any time I have witnessed “grooming” it has mostly involved sincerely religious individuals attempting to convert nonbelievers to their faith. Most teachers instead encourage their students to debate ideas, to look for the pros and cons of philosophies. They teach students how to question texts that they read. Teachers actively demonstrate the skills of critical thinking by offering multiple points of view. If this widens the horizons of the students all the better, but only a scant few educators have political agendas which they force on their pupils. If the students have been exposed to the ideals of DEI they spot the propaganda immediately just as my seventh grade teacher taught me to do.

I am saddened that my state has passed laws limiting DEI programs in our public schools and universities. These politicians have created a state of chaos and confusion as teachers and professors worry that their curriculum will somehow land them in trouble. Much of the furor is being directed under the guise of parental rights, but all too often those parents most likely to urge the banning of books or ideas are actually wanting to force their own thinking on all students. It is a sad state of affairs when some of our best and brightest teachers and students are looking to move to other states out of fear that somehow our fine institutions have been forced to move backward rather than forward. We had so much of which to be proud that is slowly being dismantled by fear induced propaganda that is so sadly untrue. 

I suspect that the current state of affairs is just one more chapter in our country’s history. My hope is that we will one day come to our senses and move from the restriction of ideas that is currently being forced upon us. It is the product of fears being stoked by individuals who seek power. By creating culture wars among the populace they hope to gain ascendency. They know that if we teach diversity, equity and inclusion well we will not fall prey to their tactics. I believe that they are enforcing ignorance on our young to keep them in line. My seventh grade teacher who taught me to be aware of such things would be appalled.