As we bear witness to the slow death of DEI—not diversity, equity, and inclusion itself, but the acronym—we must recognize the orchestrated campaign behind its
Dr. James B. Peterson
In the wake of national tragedies—be they school shootings, acts of terrorism, or catastrophic accidents—people of color, religious minorities, and marginalized communities often experience a visceral unease. That sinking feeling, that silent prayer: Please don’t let the perpetrator be one of us. We know all too well the consequences of being associated, however unfairly, with destruction. White men, despite their overwhelming presence among mass shooters and domestic terrorists, do not live under this same burden. Their individual crimes are never attributed to their race; their collective history of violence is never weaponized against them. But for Black people, for women, for LGBTQIA+ individuals, for people of color at large, collective blame is the default setting in America’s racial machinery.
Now, that machinery has found its latest target. In the immediate aftermath of the Reagan National Airport disaster, right-wing agents—led by President Donald Trump and echoed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—seized upon DEI as the culprit. Before the facts had settled, before investigators could even determine the root cause, they had already issued their verdict: Diversity did this. Equity killed those people. Inclusion was to blame for the wreckage.
This is the final transformation of DEI. Once a set of principles aimed at broadening opportunities for all Americans, the acronym has now been twisted into something far more sinister. It no longer stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has become a dog whistle, an empty vessel into which the right pours all of its racial and gendered anxieties. DEI now means Black people are incompetent. DEI now means women are unqualified. DEI now means LGBTQIA+ individuals are dangerous. In the hands of conservative fearmongers, DEI is no longer a commitment to fairness—it is a scapegoat for every failing in America, no matter how unfounded.
This is not new. This is history rhyming with itself, another hackneyed chapter in a centuries-old book of racial scapegoating.
There is a long and well-documented history of white America blaming Black people for disasters, economic downturns, and crimes they did not commit. It is a political maneuver as old as the nation itself, a means of deflecting responsibility while reinforcing white supremacy. During slavery, white enslavers justified their brutality by claiming Black people were naturally inferior, prone to violence, and incapable of self-governance. Enslaved individuals who rebelled against their bondage—like those in the Stono Rebellion (1739) or Nat Turner’s uprising (1831)—were used as proof of Black savagery rather than as evidence of an unjust system. The mere fear of rebellion led to the violent destruction of entire Black communities, whether or not they were involved.
After the Civil War, when newly freed Black Americans sought political and economic autonomy, white politicians in the South blamed them for economic instability and crime, crafting the racist myth of the inherent Black criminality. This led to Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and a mass incarceration system that continues to decimate Black communities today.
