Stop Weaponizing DEI: It’s Not an Ethnic Slur—It’s a Commitment to Equity

DEI is the new CRT and we need to push back

Jan 31, 2025

The Origins and Evolution of DEI

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are guiding principles that aim to create fair and inclusive environments, particularly for historically marginalized communities. At its core, diversity recognizes the value of different backgrounds—race, gender, ability, and more—within an organization. Equity focuses on fairness, ensuring resources and opportunities are distributed in a way that accounts for systemic disadvantages. Inclusion seeks to foster a culture where everyone feels respected, heard, and valued. Initially, DEI efforts grew from civil rights policies like Affirmative Action, which aimed to prevent discrimination and expand opportunities for underrepresented groups in education and the workforce.

The legal foundations of DEI can be traced back to Executive Orders 10925 and 11246, issued by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in the 1960s, requiring federal employers to ensure fair hiring practices. These policies, alongside the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sought to prevent discrimination without mandating racial quotas. Over time, the focus expanded beyond anti-discrimination to actively fostering diversity. In 1978, the Supreme Court’s Bakke decision ruled that while racial quotas were unconstitutional, race could still be considered as a factor to promote diversity in higher education, further shaping DEI policies.

By the 1980s and beyond, DEI became more than a legal framework—it was seen as a business and societal advantage. Companies and institutions embraced DEI not just as an obligation but as a strategy for innovation and competitiveness. Research supported the benefits of diverse teams, and corporate spending on DEI grew exponentially. In the 2000s, DEI initiatives expanded globally, especially following social justice movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. However, DEI efforts have also faced political pushback, with recent Supreme Court rulings and executive actions restricting Affirmative Action and DEI policies. As the landscape continues to shift, DEI remains a vital conversation, reflecting the ongoing struggle for fairness and opportunity in workplaces, schools, and society at large.

DEI Is Not a Slur—And We Have to Stop Letting It Be Used as One

Not long ago, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) was a commitment—one that signaled a willingness to build workplaces, schools, and communities that reflected the real world. It was about fairness. About making sure opportunities weren’t limited by race, gender, or disability. About ensuring that the doors of success weren’t just propped open for some, but for all.

But somewhere along the way, DEI stopped being a framework for progress and started being weaponized as an ethnic slur—something ugly, something other, something to be feared. It didn’t happen by accident.

Right-wing politicians, extremists, and media figures knew that they couldn’t openly attack civil rights and equal opportunity without backlash. So, they started using DEI as a dog whistle—a stand-in for everything they wanted to villainize. To them, DEI wasn’t about creating fairness in hiring or education anymore. It became a boogeyman, a way to stoke racial resentment and division. Suddenly, DEI was blamed for everything from corporate decisions to hiring practices to college admissions.

And worst of all, they used it as a weapon against the very people it was meant to uplift—particularly people of color.

When DEI Becomes a Racial Slur

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably heard it yourself.

"That doctor only got hired because of DEI."
"The company is too focused on DEI hires instead of qualified people."
"DEI ruined this institution."

What they really mean is: This person of color didn’t earn their place. This woman isn’t as capable as a man. This disabled person doesn’t belong here.

The people who spit out “DEI” like an insult don’t need to say the quiet part out loud. The implication is clear: If you’re Black, Brown, Indigenous, a woman, LGBTQ+, disabled, or from any historically excluded background, your presence is suddenly suspect. Your achievements are diminished. Your qualifications are questioned.

We have to name this for what it is: a modern form of racism and discrimination.

We All Have a Responsibility to Call It Out

The worst part of this attack on DEI is that it’s working. Corporations are quietly rolling back DEI programs. Universities are under legal and political pressure to abandon efforts to make education more accessible. Public institutions are stripping diversity initiatives under the false pretense that fairness means pretending race, gender, and history don’t impact opportunity.

And yet, the people who fueled these attacks will still find ways to call us slurs. They’ll just use different words.

That’s why it’s up to all of us to push back. To refuse to let DEI be twisted into something dirty. To stop allowing coded language to be used as a weapon against marginalized communities.

When we hear people use DEI like a slur, we need to respond:
🔹 “Are you saying this person isn’t qualified? Based on what?”
🔹 “So you have a problem with making workplaces fairer?”
🔹 “Do you really believe diversity makes things worse?”

We have to make it clear: When they attack DEI, they’re not attacking a policy. They’re attacking people. And we won’t stand for it.

Diversity is not a dirty word. Equity is not a crime. Inclusion is not a weakness. They are the building blocks of a society that works for all of us—not just a privileged few.

And we should never let anyone tell us otherwise.

So let’s stop treating DEI like a dirty word. Let’s reclaim it for what it is: a fundamental commitment to justice, fairness, and equal opportunity. And let’s demand that the real conversation be about solutions—not about distorting reality for political gain.

The fight for diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t just about policies—it’s about our shared humanity. And that’s worth defending.

Always hopeful for a more diverse and equitable world,

Nancy Thompson

Because if we don’t laugh we will cry!

This is a satirical article by McSweeny’s

Section 3. Recognizing That Women Are Biologically Distinct from Men.
Within thirty days, the trans-ing back and forth has got to stop, folks.

a. “Women” are “women” because I want to grope them. “Men” are “men” because I do not. If we start crossing those lines, then I have to think about things I don’t want to think about, like the word “fluid” and how innate biological differences shouldn’t need aggressive legislative reinforcement.