Anti-DEI & The Elephant In The Room (Issue #18)

No one should have ever mistaken corporate diversity for liberation.

For the anti-DEIB (formerly DEI, the B is for belonging) crowd, there’s an idea that your identity can be weaponized as the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. A card inscribed “I'm a victim” that garners extra sympathy cookies and bestows the power to dodge bullets you actually deserve.

I’ve struggled with this idea. Once upon a time, me and my roommate threw a house party. It was lit. Meant to have more of a lil’ pre-game type of vibe, the shit quickly turned into a full-out rager. The lady who lived below us eventually got tired of said rager. Opening the door to our apartment, she screamed, “Everyone get the fuck out! Party is over! I am trying to sleep!”

The cops arrived shortly after that. When my roommate (a Black man) and I were asked to step outside to speak to them, he did what any self-respecting Black man would do in that situation: He lied to the police. With no hesitation, my roommate told that cop that the lady below us, a white lady, called us, and everyone at the party, a “n****r” in the middle of her rant. Now I was there and witnessed the full breadth of the caucacity she displayed in stepping into our house in the middle of an epic party to disrupt our vibes. BUT! I also clearly remember her decidedly not calling anyone a “n****r.” 

That doesn’t mean she hadn’t said it before. She was giving strong Karen energy of the Boston variety. But my roommate’s accusation wasn’t about conveying the literal truth. It was a tactic, one designed to deflect via stress and confusion, knowing that the cops definitely didn’t want a routine noise complaint to turn into a hate crime situation. 

Was my roommate’s tactic justified? I don’t know. We didn’t get a ticket and the cops ignored the heap of marijuana smoke billowing out of our apartment. So in that case mission accomplished. Besides, Boston, if you weren’t aware, is racist AF, and we dealt with that shit every day. As a green American, I understand. You gotta do what you can to survive in an oppressive environment, and that sometimes means using your identity to your advantage. (My boy Kermit spoke the truth when he said It’s Not Easy Being Green.) But I also recognize the broader consequences when this is done at scale. 

Identity can be used to manipulate narratives, framing issues in a way that benefits one group at the expense of another. When this phenomenon of identity manipulation spirals out of control, it can easily lead to one group justifying harm and destruction against another, all under the guise of their own grievances, even when those grievances are justified, especially when the status quo is threatened. That’s when bad-faith accusations fly with abandon, and identity is twisted so grotesquely it can be used to justify the murder of civilians on the other side of the world.

Pauses for the inevitable awkward silence. 

Hey, you're the one thinking it—I'm just calling it out.

What we talk about when we talk about identity
So, Grinch, are you suggesting that DEIB as a whole has been twisted by victims into something disingenuous, or even worse, harmful? Absolutely not! This isn’t a DEI must DIE, type of situation. I've witnessed the progress, the hard work, and the dedication of people in the equity space (and sorry for saying “equity space”). However, in the midst of all this anti-DEI rhetoric it would be a missed opportunity for those who are entrenched in this work to not be self-reflective about the reality.

When you're on the receiving end of criticism, taking a moment for some self-reflection can be the catalyst for more resilient and adaptable strategies. This approach allows you to weigh the validity of the feedback and use it to your advantage. Normally, the first impulse is to robustly defend DEIB initiatives, because, naturally, we want to protect what we believe in. This defense is often an instinctive move to shield our identity, a kind of psychological armor that preserves our sense of self.

But our collective obsession with identity and culture wars is undeniably distracting. I can’t dismiss all the times I've questioned whether we're truly the best stewards of our own time and resources when I see some of the silliness and deceit we engage in.

Distractions are a motherfucker

The issue is that distractions lead to unfocused and often performative responses, typically catering to the loudest voices, who are frequently the privileged rather than those most in need. If we're being honest, we sometimes even welcome these distractions as a way to soften the reality that we're grappling with truly complex and hard issues.

As society grapples with behemoths like climate change and global inequality, our collective anxiety understandably skyrockets. Naturally, we veer towards tackling more bite-sized issues—sort of like opting to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic instead of worrying about that pesky iceberg.  We focus on smaller, more manageable problems, often with lower stakes.

This often leads to what I'll call "inane" conversations—where we chat about anything and everything except the elephant in the room. This approach can foster a misleading sense of progress, masking the persistence of deep-rooted inequities. While zeroing in on the minutiae isn’t altogether a bad strategy—it’s often easier to clean up a spill than to stop the leak—it's crucial we don’t get so lost in the details that we forget about the flood.

But! Let’s also not forget how these culture wars are started. The term “culture war” itself is a whitewashing of the assault on the rights of Black people, trans people, and other popular targets. When there’s, say, an unhinged assault on trans people’s right to exist in a state legislature, the media sanitize the ugliness and violence by referring to it as a “culture war” in the interest of preserving their all-important claim to objectivity. Putting the obfuscation into objective is what they’re doing.     

DEIB consulting market boom
With that context in mind, let’s consider how DEIB became the hottest ticket in town in 2020, and how, yeah, we jumped on the bandwagon too. Started a DEIB blog right after George Floyd's death—the one you’re reading right now. It was a world suddenly starved for content creators, and we were like, “We got you! We got this cute Grinch concept and everything! And we would not say no to a book deal either, just putting that out there!” Though we’ve never made a dime, it has not been for lack of trying TBQH! 

We weren’t alone. Did any of us truly make a lasting dent? Did we really roll up our sleeves and make a difference, or were we all just trying to look good in front of our LinkedIn connections? There's plenty of side-eye to go around in the DEIB circus.  

But if we, the eager content creators, were to some extent playing a game, those in power were playing a different game. They offered band-aids for the tumor of racism rather than the required surgery. They successfully bent the action into another power play to ensure the same old crowd stayed comfy at the top. Real attempts to address discrimination were reinterpreted to fit existing power structures. 

Then there was the DEIB consulting market boom—everyone and their cousin offering consultancy at prices that’d make your eyes water, including firms led by women and POC. And they were bold enough to criticize the company and industries, they actively worked for and sold services to. Most realized their job was not to alter material conditions, just the optics of those conditions. People got paid though. Some are still getting paid. And people do need to be paid.

Party of the elites
Here’s an unpopular opinion: Truth and Justice aren’t on the guest list for the DEIB party. Corporate DEIB initiatives? They’re essentially membership drives for the power-and-resources club. At the end of the day, we have to watch out that these programs don’t just end up serving as golden tickets for the Black Bourgeoisie. They're not here to shake up the system; they're here to handpick a few folks and let them through the door while saying, "Look, we’re inclusive!"

In 2022, Dani Monroe launched the Chief Diversity Summit on Martha's Vineyard. This is a project that fills me with such mixed feelings! I must acknowledge the considerable efforts of Dani and the board members, all of whom have significantly contributed to DEIB. I know some of these folks—they’re legit. 

But let’s zoom out for a second. As the nation grapples with relentless social injustices, our valiant DEIB warriors decide the best battle strategy is to convene on a luxe island. Because nothing screams "Let's dismantle systemic inequality!" like a mimosa brunch, right? Historically, a Black elite playground, this is also a place where the most stressful decision is whether to have the lobster roll or the clam chowder for lunch like you’re in the movie The Inkwell. Imagine Bayard Rustin and MLK plotting the Million Man March from a cushy cabana in Turks & Caicos. “You know what this march needs? Less Alabama heat, more beachfront breezes.” Can you picture this? Because I'm trying, and it's giving tone-deaf AF.

The summit coincides with the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. This is the perfect backdrop for DEIB champions to rub elbows with the stars of Black Hollywood since so many corporations treat their Chief Diversity Officers exactly like celebrity talent to manage industry sentiment rather than empowering them to be real changemakers.

Now, joy and self-care are forms of protest. Reclaiming peace and pleasure in a world that blocks marginalized communities from both can be a radical act. And I know better than to question the efforts of a Black Woman. Lord knows they deserve joy and self-care more than anyone. Listen, Queens, I want no smoke, but I gotta keep it real. 

Now, before you call me a hater, consider this: CEOs have their fancy meet-ups in Davos to "solve" the world's problems, so why can’t our DEI leaders enjoy a bit of glam? Fair point. But let’s be real—the optics here are giving Frank Lucas ringside in a fur coat. We took our eye off the fucking ball. Stay low and keep firing. Instead, when the setting of our social justice war room looks more like a vacation catalog, it's hard not to question the urgency and sincerity of tackling these heavy issues.

But you're probably right: I am hater because, first, I am the Grinch, and second … I wasn't invited! I’d much prefer to be digging my toes into the sand rather than being holed up in my musty Grinch cave with my matted-ass dog Max. I’ve been especially awaiting my chance to bump into the stunning Issa Rae. It’s not too late BTW!! We are MORE than willing to Grinch it up at the next summit. We’re not better than anyone! We got bills and we love clout! Co-opt me already!!  

DEIB was never going to make us free

I guess the TLDR of these Grinchy musings is that no one should have ever mistaken DEIB for liberation. This is not exactly an original observation—As Angela Davis said, “I have a hard time accepting diversity as a synonym for justice. Diversity is a corporate strategy.”

Another Angela Davis gem: “Movements are most powerful when they begin to affect the vision and perspective of those who do not necessarily associate themselves with those movements.” Companies certainly didn’t associate themselves with the BLM movement voluntarily. They only did so because they were forced to do it. After all, the streets were full of people calling for justice, and the burning justice of their cause was too much to ignore. They don’t feel that pressure now, and it shows. 

There's no one-size-fits-all agenda for oppressed groups. Shit, I can’t say with confidence that there is even a unified Black agenda. We haven’t seen true unity and organization like that of the civil rights era in a long time. Without that kind of unity, it’s crucial to be clearer than ever about how we focus our efforts and pinpoint where the need is greatest.

To figure this out, we need to get clever with how we choose our proxies for disadvantage. Now, here’s where it gets tricky — enter intersectionality. It’s like unraveling a set of Russian nesting dolls. Just when you think you’ve identified all the groups, bam, another subgroup emerges. Relying solely on identity demographics can oversimplify the complex tapestry of societal issues, leading to broad-brush assumptions that might not hold true for everyone within a group.

Here are some examples of socioeconomic proxies that might help you isolate various levels of systemic discrimination:

• Income and Wealth: Look at metrics like median household income, poverty rates, income inequality (think Gini coefficient), and the net worth gap between different demographic groups.

• Education: Consider factors such as educational attainment levels, graduation rates, the quality of schools in different ZIP codes, and the burden of student loan debt.

• Housing: Examine affordability and the quality of housing stock, as well as issues like overcrowding and neighborhood characteristics, including environmental hazards and access to amenities.

• Food Security: Explore rates of food insecurity and access to healthy, affordable food options.

• Healthcare: Look at access to quality healthcare, rates of uninsured individuals, and disparities in health outcomes by race and socioeconomic status.

Navigating through these layers isn’t just about identifying problems; it’s about crafting strategies that truly make a difference without painting everyone with the same ineffective brush.

What that means as far as what’s next is to remember to look where the original momentum came from—the streets ringing with the sounds of grassroots organizing. Which is a sound you can still hear if you listen closely. And join, even if it doesn’t benefit you personally. The benefit is a lot deeper than that. Let’s turn to Angela Davis one more time to play us off: “I think the importance of doing activist work is precisely because it allows you to give back and to consider yourself not as a single individual who may have achieved whatever but to be a part of an ongoing historical movement.”