In a recent segment on The Daily Show, media personality Charlamagne Tha God took aim at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs for six minutes and forty-seven seconds. His critique of DEI initiatives resembled a blending between a sermon, a comedy special, and a parking lot gossip session. This portion of the show contained multiple conjectures and insensitive remarks about a social movement designed to elevate voices and deepen understanding for marginalized populations. Instead, Lenard doubled down on a topic without bases or substance. As a prominent Black media figure, his perspective holds weight and resonates with many. However, it’s important to recognize that no single voice can represent the totality of opinion among people of color and that opinion of DEI efforts within communities of color.
The Attack on DEI
With Charlamagne’s trademark blend of humor and bombast, he declared that despite good intentions, most DEI efforts are “garbage” – to explain his thoughts illustrating DEI as performative window dressing failing to drive real change for minorities in the workplace.
Despite all the corporate DEI work in recent years, the representation of Black professionals in the upper ranks of Fortune 500 companies remains appallingly low. A 2022 McKinsey study found that a mere 6% of VP-level leaders and above are Black. The hollow hypocrisy of preaching diversity while maintaining homogenous, white-dominated executive teams deserves to be acknowledged. The question we need to ask is if, diversity, equity, and inclusion are priorities, and we want the best talent at all levels of the organization. Then, why aren’t we actively seeking candidates for these roles who represent all levels of difference.
DEI dissenters have exclaimed, “if representation results in watering down expectation, then this will impact our bottom line.” This thought process is problematic on multiple levels because this suggests that DEI initiatives will lead to unqualified minorities in life-or-death roles like surgeons and pilots. While clearly framed in jest, this plays into the worst kind of backlash that has fueled the anti-DEI moral panic in political circles.
In early January 2024, Charlie Kirk on the Thought Crime podcast, stated how safe he feels when a particular demographic of pilots are flying his airplanes. “If I see a Black pilot, I’m gonna be like ‘boy, I hope he is qualified.”
Commentator, author, comedian, Baratude Thurston, explained this fear in his recent piece for the PUCK. “B what has happened end, for years, has been deprioritizing its once rigorous safety and compliance standards, cutting corners in manufacturing and maintenance, and pushing for laws that would make harder for regulators to review its work.” Thurston is absolutely right in stating that a scapegoat has been created to sustain fear, maintain a “culture of shortcuts,” and navigate away from making difficult decisions. This imaginary monster is DEI.
Opportunities
Charlamagne makes a great point that simply having a DEI program in place doesn’t automatically translate into a more equitable workplace. Research has indeed shown that diversity trainings often fail to change behaviors or reduce bias in a lasting way, and can even spark backlash. Relying on them as a quick fix without deeper structural change is woefully misguided. While Charlamagne raises some valid criticisms that are worth grappling with, he paints with far too broad a brush in dismissing DEI as a failed experiment. When thoughtfully designed and executed, these initiatives can be a vital tool for building more inclusive, equitable organizations.
In this three-part series, we will discuss the complexity of DEI and how to late night satire is just as dangerous as forest fires.
Dr. Darryl S. Diggs, Jr.
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