Last week was a tough week politically for me. If you don't know me, I love politics. However, my health does not love politics, which can be frustrating!
As I was mourning the airplane and Black Hawk helicopter tragedy, where 67 people lost their lives, I tuned into the news conference to see what the leader of the free world had to say. Sadly, President Trump blamed the tragedy on DEI. I was shocked, angry, embarrassed. The VP and Secretary of Defense all followed his lead in suggesting that DEI was the cause of the crash.
As disappointed as I am in this poor example of leadership, I am grateful that this administration has tipped its hand about his priorities and how far he is willing to meet them. To use a tragedy to advance a political agenda is unacceptable on all levels.
To caution everyone, DEI and "woke" policies will be blamed for everything.
I felt compelled to write about DEI. It is being heavily politicized. Here are some things to consider:
The biggest benefactors of DEI were not people of color.
DEI does not mean less qualified.
DEI is more than race. It includes our veterans, people with disabilities, women of all colors, etc. The press secretary said the day after the crash, "Do you pray that the pilot has a certain skin color?" The administration is making it about race because that is their ultimate issue. But DEI is more than race.
Since we are now "metric-base," let's look at the metrics:
The stock market is the highest it's ever been. Investors have made their money.
Corporate profits are up
Oil production is at its highest
Unemployment reached new lows
We have one of the lowest inflation rates in the world.
No effort is ever perfect. But the metrics show no one is hurting. Hurt is fear-based, not fact-based.
Within the black community, there is this mental weight. Many black Americans have been in a corporate environment in which they feel they have been overlooked. And black people believe they have to work 10 times harder than their counterparts. I have felt this pressure my entire career in Corporate America. Now that the administration is making people think that because they are a person of color, they are a DEI hire. We must be cautious about this division and mindset.
We will now see what companies believe. Some have removed their DEI initiatives but stayed committed to diversity; some will keep the status quo.
But I must share that DEI must live as a principle. We can hold diversity and merit in tension.
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