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DEI Isn’t Helping Black America—So Why Are We the Face of It?

DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has been co-opted as a weapon to undermine Black success, and this has been going on for quite some time. It has become society's latest scapegoat, painted as the boogeyman responsible for all our ills, suggesting that meritocracy is no longer at play and that America is on the brink of collapse. Somehow, DEI has been wrongly equated with Black people. However, the statistics tell a different story: in 2023, Black individuals held only 4% of DEI positions in the workplace, Black founders in the US received just 0.48% of all venture capital, only 1% of Fortune 500 CEOs are Black, and Black-owned businesses have been awarded less than 2% of federal contracting dollars. This leads to a critical question: How did Black Americans become the face of a program that has so little direct benefit for them?

The Reality of Who Benefits from DEI

It might surprise some to learn that White women are actually the primary beneficiaries of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs, with the LGBTQ+ community following closely behind. This is evident when looking at the higher echelons of corporate America; for instance, a Forbes report indicates that White women occupy nearly 19% of all C-suite positions, in stark contrast to the mere 4% held by women of color.

However, the irony extends into the leadership of DEI itself: according to a Medium report, 76.1% of chief diversity officers are White, while Black or African Americans represent just 3.8%. So, why aren't we seeing droves of White women boycotting places like Target or organizing "buycotts" at businesses that promote these policies? The narrative crafted by the media often creates a misleading perception, overshadowing these facts and perpetuating a false image of who truly benefits from DEI initiatives.

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is increasingly being weaponized to discredit the achievements of Black individuals, serving as a socially acceptable way to erase their hard work, intelligence, and the sacrifices they made to reach their positions. For example, when Baltimore's Black Mayor Brandon M. Scott gave a speech in the middle of the night following a bridge collapse, numerous troll accounts derisively labeled him the "DEI Mayor." Similarly, when FBI Special Agent Aletha Duncan spoke at a press conference about an attack in New Orleans, she too was subjected to the same smear. The notion that the absence of White males in a role implies a lack of meritocracy is not only racist but profoundly flawed. This tactic subtly places an asterisk beside every Black person's accomplishments, cleverly avoiding similar scrutiny of how White males attain their positions, supposedly through "meritocracy." After all, does anyone recall that Donald Trump appointed his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to help broker peace deals in the Middle East in 2017?

Trump Blames The Airplane Crash On The DEI

In a bizarre yet unsurprising move, former President Trump recently blamed an airplane crash on DEI, offering no evidence to support his claim. This fits into a larger pattern where DEI is falsely linked to failures that have nothing to do with race, engineering, or competency. Somehow, Black people—who are barely benefiting from DEI initiatives—are being scapegoated for an aviation disaster. The real causes, such as corporate negligence, cost-cutting, or mechanical failures, are conveniently ignored. Instead, DEI becomes a catch-all excuse for right-wing media to push racist narratives and discredit Black professionals, even in industries where they are underrepresented.

DEI was meant to promote fairness, but it has been twisted into a weapon to discredit Black success and scapegoat Black Americans for systemic failures. When even an airplane crash is blamed on DEI without evidence, it’s clear the narrative is being manipulated. True equity requires real structural change, not performative initiatives or political distractions.

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