By Helen E. Taylor Greene, Ph.D.

Jackson Advocate Guest Writer

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives continue the quest to create workplaces and educational institutions that value everyone. On the first day of his presidency, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13985 Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The policy is designed to develop a federal workforce reflecting the diversity of our population. It is the most recent of several Executive Orders to promote diversity and inclusion at the federal level. 

Since 2022, DEI has been under attack. The Chronicle’s Anti-DEI tracker identified 26 states having eliminated DEI funding and programs at America’s public colleges (including community colleges) and universities. Less is known about anti-DEI initiatives at private schools. 

Another troubling anti-DEI strategy is questioning the qualifications of public officials by referring to them as DEI hires. Recent victims of this tactic include Vice President Kamala Harris, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Baltimore (MD) Mayor Brandon Scott. 

Anti-DEI initiatives remind me of opposition to affirmative action (AA) hiring and college admissions. Most of my graduate education and career was during the AA era. I was in the first cohort of eight Black students admitted to the criminology doctoral program at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) in 1978. Before our cohort, only one other Black student had been admitted to the program and there was one Black faculty member. 

During my career, I taught at both HBCUs and predominantly white institutions (PWIs). I knew I was an AA hire at one PWI where I was denied tenure and promotion to full professor. Despite some career setbacks, many AA hires were instrumental in diversifying higher education curricula. As a result, information on ethnicity, race, and gender is incorporated into lectures, textbooks, videos, and other course-related materials. 

There is still a need for a more diverse workforce at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as in higher education. For example, most workers in courts, juvenile justice agencies, police departments, and prisons do not reflect the residents of their communities. For example, according to the latest federal report on state law enforcement agencies in 2020, 74.9% and 84% of immediate and first-line supervisors were white males. In sheriffs’ departments, 70% of sworn officers were white. In academia, most criminal justice faculty at HBCUs are Black, fewer are employed at PWIs. 

In July President Biden issued Proclamation 10781 to recognize the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. As Sarah Dong noted in 2021, there are no shortcuts to solving the problems of discrimination in the workplace and society. Despite setbacks in some states, DEI still matters.

Publisher’s Note: Dr. Greene is a member of the Black Criminologists Forum (BCF). She has published dozens of scholarly books and articles about criminology and criminal justice. BCF is an association of nearly 70 African Americans holding a doctorate degree in criminology, criminal justice, juvenile justice, or a closely related academic discipline.