Is DEI Dead- Anti-Racism School Is In Session™ Episode 4, with Ashani Mfuko

Is DEI Dead? In episode 4 of the Anti-Racism School Is In Session™ podcast, we're diving deep into the roots of the DEI movement and industry, and dissecting why so many DEI leaders have been saying, "DEI is NOT just about race!". Learn about the DEI industry and it's connections to white supremacy culture, in this episode.

Have you ever heard someone say, “DEI is not just about race?” Have you ever said it yourself? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this episode is for you!

*To Be Crystal Clear: What I share in this episode is about the RULE, NOT the exceptions. There are obviously lots of DEI professionals, of all races, backgrounds, and identities, who ARE addressing racial injustice and racial inequities through their work and initiatives. The point is, that NOT ENOUGH ARE. These people, companies, groups, etc., are the exception, NOT the rule. What I shared in this episode is reflective of what is happening in the DEI industry as a whole, and what needs to change for it to be more effective. Understood?

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Source: White Supremacy Culture in Organizations (as shared in this episode) https://rrapp.hks.harvard.edu/the-culture-of-white-supremacy-in-organizations/

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Transcript

Speaker: 0:01

Anti racism, school is in session, it's in session Anti racism is not a diet, it's a lifestyle commitment 365 days a year, live a life that's anti racist Ashinee, teaching you, giving you that truth With love, straight, with no chasing It's a graceful and mindful. Open your third eye and take off your blindfold. You ain't gotta agree to understand, but understand you gotta take a stand. Anti racism school is in session. What? It's in, it's in session. Anti racism school is in session. What? It's, it's in session.

Speaker 2: 0:41

Ashany Mufuko wants to educate people about racism. She created a family friendly monthly seminar called Anti Racism School Is In Session, and every month she'll be talking about different ways to be anti racist.

Speaker 3: 1:00

Welcome to anti racism school is in session, giving you an uncommon perspective to common issues related to racism. I'm your host Ashinee Mfuko. And on this show, we talk all about how to become anti racist, how to live an anti racist lifestyle and how to raise anti racist kids. Why do we do that? Because we are committed to creating a safer, more beautiful and more equitable world for all people. The topic of today's show is, is DEI dead or alive? Is D. E. I. dead? D. E. I. stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In case you didn't know, there has been this heated debate on social media and even in the media about whether or not D. E. I. should just be focused on race, primarily. Even though we understand that the roots of D. E. I. come from the Civil Rights Movement and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was primarily all about fighting against racial injustice against Black people, against African Americans, right? So race and racism has always been at the foundation because that's where it has its roots. That's where it came from. Well, unfortunately, There are some people, and these people are actual DEI professionals, meaning they have director roles, they have C level roles, they have executive roles in corporate America, in organizations, in the DEI space. And they're saying, well, DEI is not just about race. That's the heated debate that we keep seeing happening on social media. We see people who are in positions of power, who are not black, saying that DEI is not just about race. And it's causing a lot of controversy, it's causing a lot of harm, frankly, and it's causing this heated debate because we all know If you understand the roots of DEI, that race and racism is at the foundation. So why, even though we know that it has grown and expanded to, you know, include the LGBTQ plus community, and people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, all sorts of marginalized groups, right? But, at the root of it, was race. And facing racism and making sure that we are creating this diversity and equity and inclusion with racial injustice and racial inequities in mind. So why in the world would someone who says that they're committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Say that it's not just about race. Are there not black people in the LGBTQIA plus community? I believe there are. Are there not black people with disabilities? I believe there are. Are there not black people who are neurodivergent? Hmm, I believe there are. There are black people in every marginalized community that you can think of, but as a result of systemic racism and anti black racism, no matter what that identity is, that intersectionality, that term that was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. intersectionality, where you have Black people who are in multiple marginalized groups, like Black trans women, for example, no matter what groups we're in, we always get it the worst. We always get it the worst. So if you are white and you also have disabilities, you are absolutely facing challenges, um, systemic inequities. Oppression, right? As a person with disabilities, as a black person with disabilities, you are also facing systemic and anti black racism on top of, we talked about this in one of our previous episodes, on top of whatever other challenges you're facing as someone with disabilities. So again, as we're addressing the people who call themselves professionals, call themselves experts, and the DEI. industry as a part of the DEI movement. Why in the world would you ever say that it's not just about race? It makes absolutely no sense because here's what happens. As an anti racism educator, I'm always looking at things through the lens of anti racism, through the lens of systemic racism, through the lens of anti Black racism. So I want to address this because what we see happening right now in the DEI industry and within the DEI movement from non black leaders. And by the way, most of the DEI professionals, most of the DEI directors, people in leadership positions, people in positions of power in the DEI industry, most of them are white. How in the world did a movement rooted and grounded in the 1960s civil rights movement that was about fighting against racial injustice end up with most of its leaders being white? How in the world did that happen? Let's explore what's really happening in these conversations, because I feel like it's important to have a lens through which to view these issues so that you can really explore what's happening. Beyond what we can see. So some people might say, well, Ashini, what's the big deal about people saying that DEI is not just about race. It's not, it's about people with disabilities. It's about the LGBTQIA plus community. It's about a lot of different marginalized groups. What's the problem. This is why we have to think critically. This is why it's so important to think critically. This is why it's so important to ask questions and to understand the roots and the foundations of what's happening in front of you, the context of what's happening, okay? So what does it mean when someone says that something is not just about race? For example, D. E. I. is not just about race. Police brutality Is not just about race health care and equities is not just about race. What does that mean? And why do people say that? I'm going to give you an answer today to get a deeper understanding of why people make statements like that And why they say? Whatever they're talking about is not just about race, but you never hear them say that Whatever they're talking about is not just about the LGBTQ plus community, or it's not just about people with disabilities, or it's not just about people living in poverty, et cetera. You only hear people saying this as it relates to race. This thing is not just about race. And what happens is people are always trying to deflect from any focus, any conversations, any discussions, any way of addressing. Anything related to race and racism. They always want to deflect from that topic. Why do they do that? I'm going to tell you why. We're going to talk about the characteristics of white supremacy culture. Okay. I'm going to read to you a list of the characteristics of white supremacy culture. Then I'm going to break down a few of these characteristics that you see showing up when someone says DEI is not just about race. Police brutality is not just about race. Healthcare inequities is not just about race. Poverty is not just about race. Okay, let's get into it. Here are the characteristics of white supremacy culture. Perfectionism. A sense of urgency. Defensiveness. Valuing quantity over quality. Worshipping the written word. Believing in only one right way. Paternalism. Either or thinking. Power hoarding. Fear of open conflict. Individualism. Believing I'm the only one. Believing progress is bigger and more. Believing in objectivity and claiming a right to comfort. These are the characteristics of white supremacy culture. So in these conversations about D. E. I. and hearing people say, well, D. E. I. is not just about race. What you're going to see showing up very often is the white supremacist culture characteristic of either or thinking. Which means, if we focus primarily on race. Racism and things that affect black people primarily. That means we can't focus on anything else. That means that we can't address inequities and issues related to people with disabilities. That means we can't address issues and inequities related to the LGBTQ plus community. We can't do both. So it has to be either about everybody or it has to only be about race. I don't know if you realize how ridiculous that sounds. But it's ridiculous because first and foremost, people who are in these other marginalized groups, once again, people who have disabilities, people who are neurodivergent, people who are in the LGBTQ plus community. They are also black. You can't separate the two. So if you're saying, we only want to focus on people with disabilities, or we only want to focus on the LGBTQ plus community, we don't want to focus on race. Well, what about the black people who are in those communities? Because they're dealing with systemic racism and anti black racism on top of their other marginalized identities. So how can you separate race from that? You don't separate it, you do both. It's not an either or, it's an and. Another thing you see coming up in these conversations when someone starts off with the D. E. I. is not just about race commentary is something called power hoarding. This is a characteristic of white supremacy culture. Power hoarding. So if you are a white D. E. I. leader and a black person comes to you and says we really need to make sure that we're Including and focusing on and addressing the racial aspect of DEI, racial injustice, racial inequities. This has to be a part of the work, but in your mind, you're like, I'm white. I'm gay. I want to focus on the things that affect me and my people. I have a disability. I want to focus on the things that affect me and my people. I'm in this position. I am the leader of this DEI group. I am the director. So we're going to focus on what I want to focus on. Power hoarding. So when that black person comes to you and says, Hey, I have a disability too, though, but Hey, I'm trans. I mean, I'm with you, but can we also address these racial injustices and racial inequities and anti Black racism? But you have the position of power, right? Because that's how this all works. How in the world did white people get the majority of the leadership positions in DEI? When DEI is rooted in the civil rights movement and fighting against racial injustice against Black people, why aren't Black people leading the DEI movement? Why aren't Black people in most of the leadership positions in DEI? Who can understand the challenges that we face, our lived experiences, better than us? And again, intersectionality is at play. So you have black people who have disabilities. You have black people who are trans. You have black people who are neurodivergent. You have us in every marginalized group. So why wouldn't we be leading it? We are the ones that are most negatively affected. The most harmed. So why wouldn't we be in the positions of leadership and how did all these white folks get into these leadership positions in DEI? How did that happen? Hmm. I wonder. Do you understand how power hoarding works? Do you see power hoarding at play? How did they take over? The DEI industry, how did they take over a movement that was rooted and grounded in the civil rights movement? Another characteristic of white supremacy culture that you see showing up in these conversations when someone says, well, DEI is not just about race, it's quantity. over quality. You see this quantity over quality aspect showing up in so many different ways. This is also why I no longer use the term BIPOC and why I'm basically against the term BIPOC. And if you don't know what that means, BIPOC stands for Black, indigenous, and people of color. Okay? It was a term that was created to basically group all the non white people together. So it's basically the assumption that addressing an issue that affects one group addresses an issue that affects all of us. But here's the problem. All of our issues are not the same. All of our challenges and obstacles are not the same. Asian people are not dealing with anti Black racism like Black people are. People of color who come from the Latine community are not dealing with anti Black racism like Black people are. We all have different challenges. We all have different histories. No other group of the United States has the same history. Or legacy as black Americans do from chattel slavery to Jim Crow to today. Okay. No other group has that. So each group has unique challenges, obstacles, a unique history. So grouping all nonwhite people together, grouping all nonwhite groups together under this umbrella term of BIPOC is really unfair. It will never address all of the issues that we face. In our communities in very unique ways, it never will, but when it's about quantity over quality, you think, Hey, let's just put all of them together. Right? D E I. Let's just put everybody together, all the marginalized communities. Let's just throw them all together, right? So people with disabilities, we'll throw them with the black people and we'll throw in the Asian community with the people from the LGBTQ plus community. We'll just throw them all together, all the marginalized people. Let's throw them all in a group together. And then we'll just say we're doing something for D E I, which includes everybody that's It's not a cishet white man. And we'll just use this term BIPOC so that if we do anything, any small thing that helps anyone in the community of people of color or indigenous people, or we won't care about the black people, but you know, anybody in those communities. We'll just say we are here to help and serve the BIPOC community. Meanwhile, you have not addressed racial injustice against Black people. You have not addressed anti Black racism. You have not addressed systemic racism against Black people at all. But you're doing DEI work and you're helping BIPOC. Like, what is this? What is this? Is this a joke? This is not a joke. You can't just create acronyms and create all of these groups. Where we separate everybody from white people and say anything that we do That could possibly be a good thing for them or operate in favor of them in some small way We're gonna amplify it but we're gonna make sure that they are not the ones in positions of power making the decisions We talked about this in my first episode Who is in the position of power making the decisions who is telling our story? Is it us or is it someone else? When you look at the DEI industry now, when you look at the DEI movement now, who are the people in the positions of power controlling the resources, controlling the money, controlling the decisions, controlling who gets to make whatever happen, happen? We know that based on the statistics, based on the numbers, which are public information, that most of the DEI leaders are white. So who has the most power? Basically what has happened in DEI, let me keep it real with you for a moment. Let me just, let me just, let me just keep it real with you for a moment. The DEI industry has now become a microcosm of the society in the United States. That's what's happened in the DEI industry. The DEI industry has been colonized. Point blank. Period. That's why most of the people in leadership positions, most of the people in positions of power in the DEI industry are white. White men, white women. Period. That's what's happened. It has become a microcosm of our society. And what is our society in the U. S. specifically, what is it based on? What's the foundation of the society in the U. S.? White supremacy culture. That's what our society has been built on. That's the foundation of our society in the United States of America, white supremacy culture. So what you see happening in DEI is a microcosm of what's happening in our country. And the pushback that you see, because guess what? Defensiveness is also a characteristic of white supremacy culture. The pushback that you see anytime a black person says, no, DEI should be about race. No, DEI actually is rooted in race. That should be the top priority. That's actually one of the functions of DEI is addressing racial inequities and racial injustice. How can you do DEI work without focusing on race? How does that even happen? How does that even work? Well, when you have people power hoarding, when you have people with an either or white supremacist culture mentality, when you have people who are in positions of power, who are defensive. Due to white supremacist culture, this is what you get. You get people angry that you have the nerve to talk about race when talking about DEI. How dare you make it about race? The only people who have an issue with you bringing up race, talking about racism, and prioritizing addressing racism and racial injustice and racial inequities are people who are committed to To upholding the white supremacist culture status quo. Those are the people who have a problem with you saying that no DEI actually is absolutely about race. And it's also about fill in the blank. They're cool with it. They like it. They have the position of power. Remember the white people have the positions of power in the DEI industry. They're the ones it's a microcosm of what's happening in our actual society. That's what the DEI industry has become, right? So you see now all of this tension. People are recognizing that the DEI industry is ineffective in fighting against and resolving racial inequities and racial injustice. Period. How in the world do you fix something or change something or influence something that you are not focused on? How do you do that? We cannot fix or change or influence problems, issues, systems of oppression and injustice that we do not focus on. It is impossible. And that is why so many DEI initiatives over the past few years, especially since George Floyd was murdered, have been ineffective. Why we haven't seen much change, much progress, because they don't want to focus on race. They don't want to focus on racism. They don't want to focus on racial injustice and racial inequities. They want to focus on everything else and anything else but that. So what happens when you focus on everything else instead of focusing on one thing, you get no progress, you get no results, you get negative outcomes. And that's the reality of what's happening in the DEI industry today. So, is DEI dead? It's on life support. It's on life support. And it certainly is not helping Black people in America. So, if you want to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem, I'm going to share some resources with you today that can help you along on your journey so that you will never, ever, ever make an ignorant statement like, DEI is not just about race. Let's do better. Okay, but in order to do better you have to know better So here are some resources for you to check out today The first book I want to share with you today is by Ijeoma Oluo and it's called so you want to talk about race This is an incredible book. It will change your life. It will give you insight into racism and how to talk about racism in ways that you've never even considered before. So I highly recommend purchasing this book, reading it, and then spreading the word, talking to your family about it, talking to your coworkers about it, and applying what you learn. The second book I want to share with you today is called Do Better. And you hear me saying do better. all the time in my videos on social media. This book is by Rachel Ricketts and it is spiritual activism for fighting and healing from white supremacy. Get into it. There's no excuse. There's no reason for ignorance around race and racism and racial injustice and racial inequities in the year 2023. There's no excuse. Get educated so that you can know better and do better. Thank you so much for joining me today for anti racism schools in session. I want to encourage you to take some time after you finish watching or listening to this show to do your own research. Keep learning, keep growing. Think critically, look deeper than what is obvious to you, right? And learn a little bit more about white supremacy culture today so that you can recognize when it's showing up within you and around you. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Make sure you download, share, subscribe, and rate our podcast and I'll see you on our next episode.