'Something has gone very wrong': the truth about DEI

Tue, 02/27/2024 - 05:33

Photo collage featuring a diverse group of employees: a businessman walking with a briefcase, a black woman in a wheelchair reading from an iPad, and a rear-view of a woman wearing a hijab surrounded by bar charts and circles — Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are under attack. But DEI is crucial for a better America.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

My first lesson on diversity came when I was about 7 years old. I was several years into the foster-care system, and the agency was struggling to find me a permanent home. After one of what felt like dozens of home visits, I asked my social worker why this was so hard.

"It's because we don't know if you belong with a white family or a Black family," she said, matter-of-factly.