Diversity Attacks Make Black Workers Unfair Targets
Businesses must respond to backlash against their DEI efforts or risk their bottom lines.
Questioning the qualifications of a Black employee must not be normalized.
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North AmericaWhen 13 Republican attorneys general issued a letter to Fortune 100 companies threatening legal consequences for their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts recently, they especially singled out attempts to increase the representation of Black talent. DEI initiatives were misrepresented as racial quotas and a form of discrimination — a word repeated more than 30 times.
Following last month’s Supreme Court decision banning the consideration of race in college admissions, the letter underscored the growing threat of backlash against Black talent across different sectors. It was sent to companies in the same week that esteemed journalist Kathleen McElroy’s appointment to reinvigorate the journalism school at Texas A&M University, which initially inspired fanfare in June, ignited a firestorm.