WHO DOES DEI BENFIT?
Not Who You Think
I’ve always questioned the arrogance of people who intone on the value of changing things for other people without being in a position to be affected positively or negatively, or having a real stake in the situation. When sports teams had to field demands to change their names due to being “hurtful to Native Americans,” it was interesting that we never saw an actual Native American involved in the protests. White people just love to “care” about others. DEI, better thought of as “DIE” is no different. It is virtue-signaling to the max.
Project 21 Speaks Out
Have you heard about Project 21? It is an initiative from the National Center for Public Policy Research that seeks out the views of African-Americans who are entrepreneurial, dedicated to family and committed to individual responsibility. The leadership is comprised of Horace Cooper, Donna Jackson and Terris Todd. Many ambassadors around the nation seek to gather views and promote different yet extremely popular and prevalent views from the Black community. These are not the ones you hear speak out the loudest from the civil rights establishment.
Countering the pushback against President Trump’s plans to give people more freedom and opportunity, Project 21 is highly supportive of the executive order targeting DEI. The leaders and ambassadors claim the DEI itself is anti-Black.
What follows are speakers from the organization, helping us all understand this position, all important voices countering the Jesse Jacksons, and other strident complainers as DEI is being shut down in companies and the government more widely.
Brandon Brice says, “DEI is not needed to create opportunities for black and brown communities. In fact, it often is a deterrent, as it reduces the value of merit, hard work and qualifications. It also goes directly against Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for a world where people are judged based on the content of their character.
“We know that diversity matters, but we should strive for real opportunity and not just equity.
“History has shown us that black Americans were circumstantially shrinking their own poverty rate and improving their own educational outcomes before Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive Order #11246. In the 1950s, black Americans were naturally catching up and our families were intact. After the civil rights movement, black Americans began going backwards, and — as a recent Reuters article affirms — in the 60 years since LBJ’s executive order, even in conjunction with other affirmative action programs, our economic outcomes have not significantly improved. The racial gap in median income has improved only slightly since LBJ’s 1965 speech. The question that needs to be raised is: Why would we want to keep these programs going forward unless dismal or negligible results are the intended outcome?”
April Chapman notes, “President Trump has ended these programs because observable reality proves that after 60 years, these programs are actually crippling and not helping black Americans. These programs have convinced an entire generation that black Americans don’t have the ability to compete based on merit. President Trump is countering this liberal narrative, and his view parallels that of Booker T. Washington, who taught that free markets, hard work and the belief in one’s own ability to be the best will dictate success and will result in a more favorable economic outcome.”
Project 21 Chairman, Horace Cooper says, “It’s great to see an American leader who recognizes that all Americans — regardless of race — can compete, and furthermore that we can’t predict based on race who will succeed and who will fail.
“It’s well into the 21st century, and it’s past time that we embrace MLK’s colorblind vision. His was a dream of a nation where all Americans are free to compete and fulfill their own dreams. Finally, with the president’s action, government will stop trying to pick racial winners and losers.”
Donna Jackson, Director of Membership Development calls out the ridiculous policy of picking victims. “President Trump’s executive order ending federal DEI initiatives is the right move for Black America. Victimhood is rarely for the victim. Like most liberal policies, it’s a way to use minorities for political and financial gain.
“DEI programs were never designed to benefit black Americans. In fact, within the DEI industry, 76% of DEI professionals are white while less than 4% are black. Equity wasn’t even practiced within the DEI profession.
“DEI was used to protect teachers’ unions that continued to fail minority students, and black DEI professionals who cried foul were intimidated and dismissed.”
Pastor Steve Perry says, “DEI has been a distraction in the African-American community for a very long time. By its nature, its social construct is to tell African Americans what they cannot do and that they’re limited. We’re taught to be socialist in a capitalist country, which automatically puts us behind. If you care about your future and you care about your family, embrace American values. You will be better for it.”
Dr. Linda Lee Tarver calls out the problems with quotas and set-asides. “The protections from racial discrimination remain in the bedrock of our government and legal systems. Yet the thought of black America succeeding in a meritocracy without set-asides, quotas and racial preferences is ludicrous to woke liberal ideologues. The election of 2024 included a mandate for merit over race in policy and in practice.”
Kevin McGary believes, “With President Trump’s recent proclamation, he aims to restore America as a country where the rule of law is upheld, equality is embraced, personal dignity is encouraged, and the excellence of human flourishing for all Americans is not only encouraged but expected.”
Next Steps
Start calling out and refusing to shop at companies that still cling to woke, DEI policies. This kind of action brought Target and Budweiser up short; it can work again. If you care about the future for ALL Americans, we need to stop selling the value of our Black citizens short. As Jason Riley entitled his book, “Please Stop Helping Us,” many Blacks are tired of having expectations lowered and results altered. Equal means equal and we will all be better for setting expectations high for all of us. This is how and why so many have soared to the top.
#Project21 #HoraceCooper
