Guest Editorial: Republicans ‘DEI hire’ attacks on Harris are rooted in racism and sexism

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally Saturday in Las Vegas. — AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson Shortly after Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee for president, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and others in the GOP began referring to Harris as a “DEI hire.” Some Republicans are weaponizing the term DEI, a reference to the diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, to question Harris’s qualifications for president, suggesting that she is unfairly benefiting from her race and gender. If elected in November, Harris would become the first woman, first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to win the White House. The practice of DEI has been around for decades. DEI was created because marginalized communities were historically denied equal opportunities for jobs and were denied a sense of belonging in majority white corporate settings and campuses. Public awareness of the term grew after the multiracial global protest over the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. The Floyd protests sparked a national reckoning on race relations, and many companies responded by investing in their DEI initiatives. Four years later, DEI has come under attack in boardrooms, college campuses and state legislatures...