BREAKING NEWS: Recent Department of Labor statistics show that nationwide, Black women lost 319,000 public and private sector jobs from February to July this year compared to 142,000 and 176,000 increases, respectively, by white and Hispanic women. White men saw an increase of 360,000 over that same period of time.
Now that I got your attention, denial, urge to fact check me or fire off a letter to the editor look, just chill out as we turn our attention to all those unqualified “DEI Hires” we’ve been hearing about. If you believe the pundits, those “DEI Hires” have infiltrated every organization, taken over our nation and taken our jobs, that is except the thousands of (“DEI Hires”?) who, out of fear of deportation, have abandoned the backbreaking jobs picking fruit and vegetables in California, mopping floors in hospitals and putting in long hours in restaurants and on construction sites leaving their employers desperate for new workers.
Okay readers, let’s peel back the onion on the who and why behind all the “DEI Hire” shenanigans, shall we?
Look, make no bones about it, accusing someone of being a “DEI Hire” is a low blow that’s emerged as a potent dog whistle out of the mouths of some high-profile politicians a couple of familiar ones whose names I’ll call out shortly. Basically, calling someone a “DEI Hire” it’s an insult implying that the person didn’t get the job because of his/her achievements or skills and only got it – yarn, here we go again – to fill a quota. Yeah, been there, seen that, called that.
Notably, despite her credentials, former Vice President Kamala Harris (JD, University of California mind you) was insulted as a “DEI Vice President” by Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett (BS, Education, University of Tennessee mind you), who possesses a thinner resume yet had the audacity to claim that because Harris is a woman of color, she is another example of the kind of “mediocrity” that you get when you make a “DEI Hire.”
And not to be outdone, a mediocre ex college football coach, Arkansas Senator Tommy Tuberville (BS, Southern Arkansas University mind you) whose “DEI Black players” helped him win games, joined Burchett in flinging the insult. And there are many others.
Now if the truth be told, many of those “DEI Hire” accusers are smart – well, maybe I should strike or qualify the word “smart”- enough not to believe it themselves and know full well what they’re doing. And if you compare their credentials against those they allege to be “DEI Hires,” my, my, my, what do we have here?
So, who are “DEI Hires” they’re mouthing off about? Well, for starters none other than Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Jackson-Brown (Harvard Law School, mind you) and Dr. Lisa Cook (Ph.D. Economics, University of California, mind you) come immediately to mind as recent examples. Plus, if we roll the clock back decades ago, the late Space shuttle Challenger astronaut, Dr. Ronal McNair, was idiotically tagged a “quota astronaut “despite having earned a PhD degree in laser physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And the nuttiness continues.
Well today we’re going explore the original meaning of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) to understand how it’s been hijacked and twisted for ominous intentions that’s got the lexicographers who came up with these definitions turning over in their graves in disbelief. Now read the following definitions:
Diversity is a range of human qualities and characteristics within a group, community, or organization, encompassing differences in race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, life experiences and culture.
Equity is affording everyone the same opportunities and benefits. Simply defined, equity is the quality of being fair and impartial.
Inclusion means creating a welcoming atmosphere where all people feel welcomed and can actively participate without artificial barriers, real or imagined, to their contributions to the objectives of the organization.
Okay, will someone please explain to me what’s inherently bad about those definitions? What I’m missing here? As an English major in college, did my professors let me down? If not, tell me where did my ability to correctly interpret the English language come up short?
So, it seems to me that getting tagged a “DEI Hire” is literally a good thing, a badge of honor that should be worn with pride regardless of the fact that those who oppose DEI resist its ultimate goals and are fundamentally opposed to the vision of a multiracial, multiethnic, multigender and multi-ability world and workforce.
Now this resistance is not new, and not by a long stretch. It’s part of a long and troubling pattern in American history dating back to the Emancipation Proclamation and continuing in the 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement pushed for fundamental human rights for Black Americans. The backlash was fierce.
“Affirmative Action” was the “DEI” boogeyman back then with lies that reframed Affirmative Action as favoring “unqualified” candidates….Black candidates that is…although if the truth be told statistically speaking white women were the biggest benefactors of Affirmative Action. My point being is that most people don’t fully understand how anti-Blackness is at the root of much of the backlash today against DEI.
As one authority on issues of race put it bluntly, “in the minds of many, the N-Word has conveniently been replaced by “DEI Hire” to make it more palatable, acceptable and saleable to those vulnerable enough to believe it.”
Now admit it or not, when the average person conjures up an image of a “DEI Hire” who do they see? A white woman (well, maybe)? An Asian American? A LGBTQ American? A disabled person? An undocumented immigrant? R. F. Kennedy, Jr.? Mickey Mouse? Santa Claus? Or, surprise, surprise, surprise – an African American?
Don’t run, don’t hide, don’t delete.
So as I write this column, I’m struck by the relative silence – or more accurately the lack of integrity – on the part of those who know full well that DEI has been hijacked and weaponized to stoke irrational fears and insecurities and yet are quick to play the “DEI Hire” card for political advantage.
Now understand that like the Tommy Tubervilles and Tim Burketts in the public domain, social media is swarming with “DEI Hire” flamethrowers who thrive in the safety of anonymity to spew their venom. Smoke them out, like roaches caught in a light, they’ll run for cover. And every time.
I’ll close by taking us back to those 319,000 Black women cited at the outset (many “DEI Hires” if you want to believe that nonsense). Humm, I guess we should now call them “DEI Fires” if that’s okay with the naysayers.
Botton line before I go is this: don’t fall for the DEI ploy, the hokey doke. This from the mouth of yours truly, a “DEI Hire” if you want to call me that….and proud of it.
Photo by Amy Elting on Unsplash
- Confessions of an unashamed DEI Hire – by Terry Howard - September 9, 2025
- The Realities of Dark-Skinned Black Women – by Terry Howard - September 3, 2025
- Legacy Museum and the Institution of Slavery – by Terry Howard - May 19, 2025