On the 60th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, conservative activists around the country are waging a full frontal assault on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Vice President Kamala Harris—the presumed Democratic presidential candidate and a storied politician—is on track to break all kinds of records for women of color. And yet as soon as she ascended to the top of the ticket, without fail, the conservative right began hurling racist, misogynist insults and tropes at her. Harris’ experience of being questioned and labeled a “DEI hire” is one shared by many marginalized groups in society, where their identity eclipses their qualifications and leads to systematic racist and sexist practices that negatively impact their life and career trajectories.
We know we all have to pay taxes, but an inclusion tax should not be one of them. Deriving from Kamala Harris’ identity as a Black South Asian woman, from her physical appearance, mannerisms and life decisions, she is hyperscrutinized and forced to pay the steepest of taxes. She will continue to face misogynoir as she vies for the White House. Attacks on Harris are a clear attack on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and conservatives are admitting it through their actions which are painstakingly detailed in their proposed policy, Project 2025.
Speakers at the Republican National Convention said nothing about Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda designed to be implemented should Trump win the presidency again. The document, formulated by the Heritage Foundation, essentially outlaws diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace. It seeks to end all federal government efforts to achieve gender, sexuality and race equity.
It is a cruel irony that on the 60th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, conservative activists around the country, in statehouses, school board meetings, corporations and local papers, are waging a full frontal assault on DEI. But make no mistake, DEI is not their primary target. The real target of these conservative attacks is civil rights legislation, and Project 2025 provides the blueprint.
Contrary to the conservative narrative, DEI has unquestionably improved the lives of Americans:
- In the pursuit of equity and inclusion, Congress deemed slavery illegal with its passage of the 13th Amendment.
- The passage of the 19th Amendment secured women’s right to vote.
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin—paving the way for the Voting Rights Act, Fair Housing Act, Rehabilitation Act and American Disability Act.
- Today, DEI is even foundational to combating human trafficking.
Attacks on DEI aren’t new, but they’ve taken on an ominous tone as the American social conservative movement becomes increasingly radicalized and emboldened. From the moment civil rights legislations were implemented, the social conservative legal movement—often with help from liberal justices—has attempted to weaken civil rights protections. Chief Justice Roberts signaled his disdain for the Voting Rights Act early on, calling it an overreach that besmirched Southern honor. More recently, conservative nominees have become increasingly willing to say that landmark cases, including the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed state-sponsored school segregation were incorrectly decided.
Today, leading conservative intellectuals show open disdain for the rights enabled by the civil rights movement. Christopher Caldwell, in his 2020 book, The Age of Entitlement: America Since the 1960s, argues that the civil rights victories that pulled white America’s foot off Black Americans’ necks and inspired the feminist and LGBTQ+ movements have gone too far. A wave of so-called “anti-woke” books dominates the best-sellers list, promoting a belief that the root of current ills is in the challenge to “traditional” (read: white and male) power that the Civil Rights Movement aimed to dismantle.
The assault on DEI has, to this point, proven effective and softened the ground for an even more robust war against all Americans’ civil rights.
The insidiousness of the attacks on DEI is showing up in bold ways, threatening the very efforts to promote an egalitarian republic. These attacks threaten to undo the incremental but important progress—the goal of Project 2025—promising to undo the advancement made and restore an unquestioned white supremacist hierarchy in America. It is a promise to strategically erase the efforts to address historical and institutionally embedded inequities that threaten the rights of every American. Project 2025 promises to revoke all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ban the use of language that intentionally identifies marginalized populations and denigrate research, studies and materials supporting the dismantling of inequities across institutions and the threat to civil rights.
Those who lead these attacks on DEI often point to the rising cost of living, job loss and other kitchen table issues as motivating their efforts. And to be sure, these are real concerns for millions of Americans who just want to provide for themselves and their families. Yet when conservative activists traffic in xenophobic, racist and sexist rhetoric that frames immigrants, women’s reproductive healthcare and civil rights as barriers to Americans’ livelihoods, these activists betray their real sympathies.
The assault on DEI has, to this point, proven effective and softened the ground for an even more robust war against all Americans’ civil rights. The good news is that most Americans agree that our civil rights are important and worth defending. The November 5th election, then, provides an opportunity for Americans to come together around the core values we share. These values include supporting a diverse and inclusive society in which every American is afforded the same guarantees set forth in our nation’s founding document: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, undeterred.
Ms. Classroom wants to hear from educators and students being impacted by legislation attacking public education, higher education, gender, race and sexuality studies, activism and social justice in education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs for our series, ‘Banned! Voices from the Classroom.’ Submit pitches and/or op-eds and reflections (between 500-800 words) to Ms. contributing editor Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Up next:
U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms. has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you. For as little as $5 each month, you’ll receive the print magazine along with our e-newsletters, action alerts, and invitations to Ms. Studios events and podcasts. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.
