FUNdraising Good Times Guest column from Lewis M. Rambo, PhD Reflections on the Dismantling of DEI Initiatives

As an 87-year-old person of color who has witnessed the long arc of America’s struggle with racial equality, I find myself compelled to respond to the growing number of pundits and corporate leaders who are praising Trump’s elimination of DEI programs. From the very beginning, I’ve observed with growing concern how the acronym “DEI” has often functioned more like “DIE” for meaningful progress in racial equity. The ending of long-standing programs, firing of DEI executives and staff, and the scrubbing of any reference to anything that hints of equality… fundamentally misses the deeper implications of this policy shift and ignores the pervasive inequality that invades and disrupts the lives of non-white Americans. Trump’s executive order has provided organizations with what many businesses are viewing as an excuse to dismantle their investments in their diversity initiatives. Programs that were, only weeks ago, prominently featured in corporate messaging in the media, advertising and in-house publications have vanished with stunning speed, revealing perhaps their half-hearted sponsorship … all along. The three elements of DEI deserve individual examination: Diversity represents an immutable demographic reality. America is becoming increasingly multiracial, and organizations will eventually have no choice but to embrace this reality if they wish...