President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the tragedy of an American Eagle flight colliding with an Army Black Hawk helicopter by suggesting that previous administrations’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives were to blame.
It is shameful that Trump and Hegseth are politicizing a tragedy that killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.
Attacking DEI before anyone knows what happened creates a pre-emptive scapegoat scenario. If anyone flying the plane or the helicopter or directing those aircraft at Reagan National Airport tower is anything other than white, straight and male, then they will be presumed in this administration’s eyes to have been promoted beyond their talent or intellect.
It is shameful that Trump and Hegseth are politicizing a tragedy that killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. The real focus should be on the victims, the cause of the crash and air safety in America. But here we are with Hegseth looking straight into the camera to declare “the era of DEI is over at the Defense Department” — a non sequitur that upstaged the condolences and empathy those suffering a grievous loss deserve right now. Indeed, the compassion the entire country deserves — because who in America isn’t rattled by the collision of two aircraft just miles from the Pentagon and the White House?
The immediate and unsubstantiated insinuation that diversity was a factor in this crash underscores what should have been obvious when Trump, as one of his first moves in office, signed an executive order abolishing DEI programs and placed DEI officers in government on leave. The president can talk about lowering the price of eggs and making America safer and more secure. But changing the shape and complexion of America’s workforce are clearly at the top of his agenda.
His administration’s anti DEI objective has tied diversity to unearned advancement and Thursday’s bizarre press conference — with the entire world watching — advanced that agenda. Anti-DEI forces have been hawking this trope for years and sadly it has worked. Many Americans now automatically think the acronym stands for a hiring schematic that fast-tracks Black people and other people of color into positions for which they’re not qualified.
Anti-DEI forces have been hawking this trope for years and sadly it has worked.
That is a calculated distortion of the truth, and yet defenders of diversity have not found effective language or strategies to counter this full-on assault on inclusion.
Let’s begin with the smear about lowered standards. DEI programs at their best are about widening the pool of talent to make sure employers find excellence wherever it exists and make those employees feel respected and valued so they stick around. Retention is always a big challenge for businesses. Creating an environment that fosters belonging and respect across differences allows employers to get a strong return on their investment when they onboard new workers. DEI, then, is an invitation to look beyond traditional pathways and pipelines and to retain that talent once they’re hired.
The slander that DEI undermines meritocracy is supremely ironic coming from an administration that has asked taxpayers to accept a series of Cabinet picks whose lack of experience would disqualify them for a leadership job in the private sector. As the administration rails against DEI hires, it has created a new class of employees who could be classified under a LBM heading. Loyalty before merit.
I’ve written on this page before about how widening its aperture helped the Army identify Colin Powell as an officer candidate. It looked more broadly at applicants who were all held to the same standards for merit and valor. Corporations, schools, hospitals and, yes, the government have used this expanded vision to diversify their ranks and, yet, too many have been silent about the benefits of being inclusive.
Meanwhile, words such as diversity, inclusion, quota, affirmative action and equity have been demonized and then weaponized and fully aerosolized in carefully constructed and well-funded campaigns to make people believe undeserving applicants are snatching opportunity away from hardworking Americans. The belief becomes that Black, brown or tan people are leapfrogging over more deserving white people. It strokes anger and indigestion, and that’s exactly why the anti-DEI campaigns have been so effective.
There is a strong defense for diversity in America. Unfortunately — and this is sadly ironic — the case has not always been made by a fully diverse cohort of defenders. That’s sad because DEI initiatives benefit a broad class of people that cuts across race, class, ethnicity and gender including Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, disabled people and members of the LGBTQ community. In some cases, DEI programs have been expanded to include people from underrepresented places such as rural and exurban communities or those who follow different educational paths through trade schools, apprenticeship programs and community colleges.
Women of all colors are actually the biggest beneficiaries, and white women in particular have advanced through these programs.
There is a strong defense for diversity in America. Unfortunately the case has not always been made by a fully diverse cohort of defenders.
But if we are honest, the people often making the loudest and most passionate defense of diversity programs are Black people — and that can underscore the mistaken assumption that DEI is largely a leg up for Black folks.
I am cognizant of this even as I write this column. I know that there are people who will secretly cop to being exhausted by what they see as a constant focus on race. And, yes, I also know there are people who believe passionately in inclusion but think the methods for getting there have felt like ham-handed hectoring.
But if the aim is admirable, then why not follow that old standard introduced during the Clinton administration’s review of affirmative action? Mend it, don’t end it.
Some may feel like it’s not their place to defend inclusion because civil rights leaders are running that ball down the field. But know this: With the full-on, all-out assault on diversity — defending and fighting for the idea of a diverse America is a team sport. If you believe in it, then you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves — or be prepared to let hard-won gains slip away on your watch. I keep waiting to hear a loud and proud defense from more of my brothers and sisters beyond the Black community who I know believe in a diverse America. Why don’t we hear more from other people who have been benefited from the broader reach of inclusion? Women? Disabled people? People who are gay, lesbian, trans or queer? Asians and Indigenous people? Latinos? Veterans? I keep waiting to hear a loud defense from more of my brothers and sisters beyond the Black community who I know believe in a diverse America. Why aren’t more businesses stepping up with a full-throated defense of diversity? With companies such as Target, Walmart, Ford and McDonald’s among those who’ve dismantled their DEI programs under pressure, it is reassuring to see others such as Costco, Apple, Cisco and JP Morgan stand their ground. Even so, I would like to see their leadership make the specific case tied to business objectives and brand positioning in an Increasingly competitive global marketplace. Simply saying that is is the right thing to do is not enough when the campaign to eradicate DEI practices claims that moral imperatives are just another part of a so-called woke agenda. Despite the effort to make inclusion a dirty word, in reality there is clear evidence that it can help ensure that an organization finds the best talent to be both innovative and competitive, it helps create a culture of trust and team building. And it is good business in a country that is expected to be majority minority by 2047. A study of 1,700 businesses conducted by Boston Consulting Group found that companies with more diverse leadership teams have higher profits and are more innovative. A series of studies by McKinsey over the past decade had similar findings. More of these companies may be forced to make that defense in the near future if the anti-DEI warriors make good on their threats to hit businesses with boycotts or lawsuits. On Monday, 19 Republican attorneys general wrote a letter to Costco demanding that the warehouse retailer end its DEI programs within 30 days. Costco recently declared that it would not be ending such initiatives. I hope Costco continues to fight the good fight. I hope more people from all backgrounds will defend the merits of inclusion and challenge the baseless efforts to pillory diversity. Those voices would be welcome. What we don’t need to hear are unsubstantiated, knee-jerk claims that a previous administration’s inclusive policies helped cause two aircraft to fall from the sky. Let the investigation proceed and understand that there should be no place for that brand of divisive politics at a moment when the country is united in grief.
Michele Norris is a senior contributing editor for MS NOW. 
