When diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work was thrust into the national spotlight, it was on the heels of universally condemned, horrific tragedies: the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. DEI efforts, which have existed for decades in higher education and the corporate sector, quickly became one of the ways we as a society sought to fix the wrongs of racial injustice.
Just three years later, the term DEI has become weaponized and cast as the villain in the economic or social issue of the moment. This year alone, it’s been blamed for a bank collapse, a train derailment, and, most recently, antisemitism on college campuses.
