DEI erasure threatens national narrative, erases minority contributions

There is always more to it than meets the eye. There are always ulterior motives behind everything done, particularly in the political arena. And there are always long-term consequences. 

For a decade, a rising tide of malcontent with DEI, in continuous waves, washed onto the shores of the business and educational domains.  And the minorities, the marginalized, and people of color understood the White backlash; we knew what they were doing. 

Executive Order 14151, signed January 20, unleashed a tsunami that washed away equitable gains in the workplace, in college admissions, and erased the accomplishments of woman and people of color on the pages of history. 

We understood the need for DEI policies, they were to right systemic injustices.  We understand that White America chose to buy in to the false narrative, and false data that undergirds the pushback against these correcting policies.

It is hard to understand, however, the rationale that goes beyond mere elimination of DEI initiatives.   It stretches the limits of rational thinking to retroactively erase history, and ascribe every accomplishment of women, and people of color as benefactors of DEI policies. 

Recent efforts to roll back programs threatens to distort the narrative of America’s history. By order of Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, any reference to African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and women will be removed from the Arlington National Cemetery website. Searches will only retrieve the contributions of great White veterans. 

A digital form of unmarked graves. 

The website has no mention of Four-Star Gen. Colin Powell, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His body is interred on those hallowed grounds.    Powell’s leadership in Operation Desert Storm led to a swift and decisive victory. 

he Powell Doctrine of emphasizing overwhelming force, clear objectives, and an exit strategy shaped military thinking for decades. The Tuskegee Airman, the Choctaw Code Talkers and the 6888 Battalion, all references scrubbed. 

This is not a matter of collateral damage. It is a form intentional psychological subjugation. 

There are long-term consequences to historical erasure. 

Psychological subjugation undermines the self-worth of subject ethnicities, and women who poured out their energies to achieve victories for the nation and spilled their blood on foreign soils. Their achievements have been sacrificed on the altar of a culture war. 

The psychological and social impact of historical erasure is deleterious to the welfare of the nation. The older generation is not willing to return to a bygone era of social restrictions. Experienced and informed, we are built for this. 

It’s the ominous shaping of the character, the mindsets, and self-worth of the now generations, and those following that will play out in decades to come. 

The young and learning will not see role models who reflect their identities. They will unconsciously internalize feelings of inferiority and limited potential. This lack of representation reinforces the false narrative of American history. 

The omissions of minority figures from historical platforms perpetuates a Jim Crow mindset. Without a diverse narrative of history, marginalized communities risk normalization of limited self-worth and patterns of Jim Crow exclusion. 

Erasure of minority figures from the historical platforms fuels the false perception that the greatness of America is the result of one demographic. This distortion reinforces systemic bias and weakens efforts that would build towards the ‘one nation under God.’ 

The ulterior motive behind this penchant for DEI erasure – psychological gatekeeping. The omissions, and the erasure of prominent minority contributions to the foundation and growth of America, ensures that future generations will be unaware of their potential.