J. Pharoah Doss: The humanist, the plagiarist, and the ‘right kind’ of Black person

TABIA LEE (Courtesy Photo) Newsweek ran an item in July 2023 titled DEI college director fired for not being ‘right kind of Black person’. Tabia Lee, the director of the Office of Equity, Social Justice, and Multicultural Education at De Anza Community College, was fired due to the institution’s ideological resistance to Lee’s humanism in the classroom. After being hired, Lee intended to adopt a humanist attitude inside the department, but she encountered an obstacle she had never faced before in her work. Members of the department had already decided to “focus on whiteness” and “White supremacy culture,” and they expected Lee to follow suit. Lee’s work environment became hostile after she invited speakers to campus to do “antisemitism education” and “Jewish inclusion education.” Lee undertook these initiatives when members of the community approached Lee’s department with concerns about the school’s Jewish students. Unfortunately, Lee’s humanist approach to DEI collided with her department member’s focus on White supremacy. According to Lee, members of her department constantly referred to Jews as “White oppressors” and accused her of “elevating the wrong people.” Lee sued her previous employer to reclaim her job, and her tale was widely publicized, but she has received no...