Why Is DEI Dying?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is the approaching death of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) program. President Donald Trump ended federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government by signing an executive order. Many companies followed his example. It was as though Trump turned on the light, and the cockroaches scattered.

John Stossel wrote about the coming demise of DEI in so many companies, the latest being Disney after “squandering $270 million shareholder dollars on a moronic new version of ‘Snow White,’ joined the mob of companies dropping DEI programs.” He asked the question, “Why?” and then answered his own question: “The problem is that DEI programs were captured by activists who obsess about victimhood. They divide people more than they empower.” 

Stossel learned that activist Robby Starbuck is behind the companies quitting their DEI programs.

Before Trump ended federal DEI programs by executive order, Starbuck ended them at some companies merely by using the power of speech. His strategy: warn companies that he’ll tell his social media followers what stupid things they do.

Remarkably, that worked!

After he criticized John Deere on Twitter for encouraging “preferred pronouns” and holding woke diversity trainings, John Deere quickly dropped those policies.

Toyota, Target, and Harley Davidson did, too.

“Why did they listen to you?” I ask.

“We go to them like any other investigative journalist, and we say, ‘Hey, we have a story we’re working on.’”

Then, if they don’t change their policies, he goes public – posting the policies and his criticism on YouTube, Twitter, etc.

One week after he posted that Toyota sponsored pride parades and divided workers into identity-based groups such as LGBTQ, black, and Christian, Toyota stopped sponsoring LGBTQ events and opened employee groups to all workers.

Coors has been requiring DEI trainings and donating to pride events. All it took was Starbuck looking into the company, and they stopped.

So did Jack Daniels, McDonald’s, Walmart, AT&T, Lowe’s, and Ford….

In my years of reporting, I’ve never seen changes this fast.

DEI activists are angry about it.

The president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation says, “We will not be erased!”

“What existed before DEI?” replies Starbuck. “Did black people not exist before that?”

On “The View,” host Sunny Hostin claims, “This will specifically harm women … African Americans and Latinos.”

“What she’s actually saying is that minorities are not going to be able to get jobs if the sole thing you’re looking at is merit. The way I was raised, you call that racism,” replies Starbuck. “She’s being racist.”

I push back:

“They’re just saying, ‘We have a history of disadvantage. We were slaves in this country.’”

“None of them were,” he points out. “I’m Cuban. I could say my family went through this and that. I didn’t go through it. I’m not going to claim their disadvantage as my own.”

“We’re not going to fall for the same stupid stuff anymore. We’re going to judge people based on merit.”

I agree with Starbuck. Each one of us should be judged on our personal merit – not on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, or anything else besides merit. All of us are blessed with personal characteristics and talents. Those who work hard to gain knowledge and to develop skills should be richer in money and blessings than those who sit around doing little or nothing.