Republicans break gender barrier with Trump’s Pick for Chief of Staff despite women’s rights as Democratic Party priority since 1920…
One of the biggest public policy positions historically championed by Democrats has been promoting women’s rights, including women in the workplace.
However, it’s surprising that no Democratic President has ever named a woman as chief of staff (CoS) dating back to Andrew Jackson, who became the 7th American President from 1829 to 1837.
In his new book, A Century of Tomorrows: How Imagining the Future Shapes the Present, historian Glenn Adamson muses, “every story about the future is also a demand to intervene in the present.”I should also add that every story about the present has its roots in the past.
I was trained as a historian, receiving a Ph.D. in Latin American history way back in 1969. I taught history for twenty-six years at the University of California, Riverside.Different kinds of history.Latin American history.Chicano history.Film and history.History of the mass media.
In case you missed it, after a strong backlash from scores of others, including military brass and descendants of the Tuskegee Airmen, the United States Air Force quickly reversed its recent move to remove videos featuring the Airmen out of its training programs.
Okay, with that breaking news, I’m not gonna gloat – well, maybe I will. Just a little bit. I say that because here I am less than 24 hours after I received a message from “Lew,” a lifelong friend. But given that “Lew” is a 5th degree black belt in karate, I was relieved that his expletive-filled email to me wasn’t about anything I’d done or written. No, like scores of others I’d heard from once the news broke, his justifiable anger was ignited by a cockamamie decision to phase out the teaching of the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen from the U. S. Air Force training curriculum.
1) 1 or 2 issues that are personally most vital to me in 2025.
I am personally invested in combatting the attack on DEI that is targeting policies and practices in academia and in the workplace—corporate America and government and the deliberate misrepresentation that DEI and meritocracy are dichotomous. When ENRON failed, the right was not blamed for the good old boy, tap on the shoulder, it’s not what you know but who you know selection process. But DEI is blame for a door that fell off a plane and the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
My second issue is the voices on the far right and the far left drowning out the voices of the centrist and moderate on both the left and the right. Both the extremists talk at each other, not with each other. The far right refers to anything left of center as Marxist; and the far left refers to anything right of center as fascist.
Somewhere during my ninety-year journey I developed a three-line, fifteen-word personal action mantra.It goes like this.
“Look unflinchingly at the past. Apply it to the present. Then pivot to the future.”
So when I think about diversity in 2025, I think about pivoting for renewal, not merely defending the diversity past or doubling-down on current diversity strategies. That’s why my currentADR column series is entitled Renewing Diversity.As circumstances of the past few years have made abundantly clear, the diversity movement is long overdue for renewal, lest it relegate itself into footnote status in the long course history.
The following definitions are designed to accompany studies and materials on diversity, equity, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination. The intent is to provide a common understanding to facilitate discussion and a common ground for discourse and action. The nature of the civil and human rights field, as well as human resources, is such that understandings change over time,circumstances, and technological developments. Hence these definitions are subject to change, and in the spirit of the need for a common understanding, feedback is welcome, as well as suggestions for additional terms that need defining.
Glossary of Terms Related to
Diversity, Equity, and Equal Opportunity
What a privilege to have spent a hot three weeks in Memphis, Tennessee, with the 2024 Class of the Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies. I was overjoyed to return to the city where some of the world’s greatest industries have been launched serving the noble cause of freedom joined with prosperity. Which led us to consider the future your generation can bequeath to your descendants. There are some mighty, simple lessons I’ve drawn that ought to inspire you to make a positive difference in the lives of everyone you encounter. I’d like to take you on a tour of the future world you may wish to inhabit.
In the age of rapid global changes and persistent uncertainties, leadership has become a critical beacon guiding humanity through uncharted waters. From ecological crises to technological disruptions and social divides, our chaotic times demand not just decision-makers but visionary leaders who prioritize the collective well-being and long-term sustainability of our world. True leadership lies in forging authentic connections while remaining steadfast in purpose, balancing the immediate challenges with a broader, future-focused vision.
“We write history, not erase history.” ~ President Joe Biden
“Deb,” the editor of one of several global publications I write for posed the following question to me and her other columnists who write on issues of culture, religion, race and other issues:
What do you consider the most critical issue facing our nation in 2025?
Wow, where do I start?
Well, after mulling through a list of top of mind burning issues for me, I kept circling back to the first on that list that crossed my mind….banning books altogether or, at a minimum, rewriting ugly aspects of African American history – think slavery – in the U.S.
“When You Stare into the Abyss,
the Abyss Stares Back” ~Nietzsche
The most important event in the new year for the United States will be Trump’s resumption of the Presidency. Will this mean the end of American democracy, as he has pointed to with pronouncements like being a dictator, inciting insurrection, encouraging legal prosecution of critics and Democratic legislators, opposing a peaceful transition of elected power, nominating bizarre people for the highest Executive Branch positions, etc?
There has been much discussion as to what good-thinking people should do. Much of the verbiage concerns self-care, marching around, doubling down on beliefs unpopular with half the American electorate, etc. This reminds me of trigger warnings, safe spaces, and correct pronouns. I’ve been focusing instead on the following: