Emanuele Berry

From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. I'm Emanuel Berry in for Ira Glass. In the last year, DEI programs have been blamed for an astonishingly varied set of disasters.

From WBEZ Chicago, it's This American Life. I'm Emanuel Berry in for Ira Glass. In the last year, DEI programs have been blamed for an astonishingly varied set of disasters.

The Los Angeles wildfires, the Baltimore Bridge collapse, Boeing jets falling apart, the Secret Service failures leading to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and memorably, the midair collision between a helicopter and a passenger plane in Washington, D.C. last month. All of that, obviously, was the fault of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Los Angeles wildfires, the Baltimore Bridge collapse, Boeing jets falling apart, the Secret Service failures leading to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and memorably, the midair collision between a helicopter and a passenger plane in Washington, D.C. last month. All of that, obviously, was the fault of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In other words, marginalized people having jobs means bad things happen. I'm a Black person. I'm doing my job right now. And so, of course, today's episode may very well fall apart because I'm hosting. Let me read you a list. Disney, GM, Google, Toyota, McDonald's, and Walmart. All of them have rolled back DEI efforts. These companies are really just following President Trump's lead.

In other words, marginalized people having jobs means bad things happen. I'm a Black person. I'm doing my job right now. And so, of course, today's episode may very well fall apart because I'm hosting. Let me read you a list. Disney, GM, Google, Toyota, McDonald's, and Walmart. All of them have rolled back DEI efforts. These companies are really just following President Trump's lead.

He signed an executive order on January 20th, ending all federal DEI initiatives. To comply, research agencies have scrubbed words from their work like women, disability, bias, Black, and gender, as well as socioeconomic and systemic. Three years ago, we did an episode about the pushback to critical race theory, which is really just DEI in a different font.

He signed an executive order on January 20th, ending all federal DEI initiatives. To comply, research agencies have scrubbed words from their work like women, disability, bias, Black, and gender, as well as socioeconomic and systemic. Three years ago, we did an episode about the pushback to critical race theory, which is really just DEI in a different font.

And we thought we'd play it again today because it tried to describe a turning point. The beginning of the backlash that's playing out with such force in the first few weeks of Donald Trump's return to office. Not just diversity programs being wiped out of existence, but being blamed absurdly for anything bad that happens in America.

And we thought we'd play it again today because it tried to describe a turning point. The beginning of the backlash that's playing out with such force in the first few weeks of Donald Trump's return to office. Not just diversity programs being wiped out of existence, but being blamed absurdly for anything bad that happens in America.

The story that started the episode began before the backlash in the summer of 2020. That was kind of, you know, peak woke America, if you remember. The murder of George Floyd had forced the country into another racial awakening. That summer, everyone was sending out emails and tweets about race and racism in America, statements of unity from corporations.

The story that started the episode began before the backlash in the summer of 2020. That was kind of, you know, peak woke America, if you remember. The murder of George Floyd had forced the country into another racial awakening. That summer, everyone was sending out emails and tweets about race and racism in America, statements of unity from corporations.

One shoe brand tweeted, we are not asking you to buy our shoes. We are asking you to walk in someone else's. Remember when everyone on Instagram posted black squares for a day to show solidarity with the black community? I'd started to roll my eyes at all the MLK and Baldwin quotes.

One shoe brand tweeted, we are not asking you to buy our shoes. We are asking you to walk in someone else's. Remember when everyone on Instagram posted black squares for a day to show solidarity with the black community? I'd started to roll my eyes at all the MLK and Baldwin quotes.

In a school district outside Dallas, Texas, Dr. James Whitfield had just been promoted to high school principal, the school's first black principal. And he was watching everyone send out these emails. Not just corporate brands, but also his peers, other educators, and administrators.

In a school district outside Dallas, Texas, Dr. James Whitfield had just been promoted to high school principal, the school's first black principal. And he was watching everyone send out these emails. Not just corporate brands, but also his peers, other educators, and administrators.

His email started by talking about the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and how these events have brought forth the familiar enemy of racism in America. Quote, Now it appears as though we are collectively using our voice to denounce systemic racism and the inequities that people of color face on a daily basis in our country.

His email started by talking about the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and how these events have brought forth the familiar enemy of racism in America. Quote, Now it appears as though we are collectively using our voice to denounce systemic racism and the inequities that people of color face on a daily basis in our country.

He goes on to write from a personal perspective of a Black man who grew up in Texas. He writes, He continued, I'm here with you to do whatever we need to do to disrupt systemic racism and eradicate it. Whitfield ends his email the way he ends many of his emails and messages, by telling people he loves them dearly, which is kind of who he is.

He goes on to write from a personal perspective of a Black man who grew up in Texas. He writes, He continued, I'm here with you to do whatever we need to do to disrupt systemic racism and eradicate it. Whitfield ends his email the way he ends many of his emails and messages, by telling people he loves them dearly, which is kind of who he is.