What’s the soundest way to ensure that racist “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies based on Critical Race Theory are eradicated from your government? Well, perhaps it is best done by putting somebody who loathes DEI with all his heart in your state’s Chief Diversity Officer slot.
It seems that is what Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin did with the appointment of Martin D. Brown last fall, and now, Brow is declaring that DEI has been put out to pasture.
“Let’s take a moment to kill that cow right now: DEI is dead,” Martin said last week while addressing the Virginia Military Insitute, The Washington Post reported. “We’re not going to bring that cow up anymore. It’s dead. It was mandated by the General Assembly, but this governor has a different philosophy of civil discourse, civility, treating — living the golden rule, right?”
Youngkin believes in merit and keeping standards high for all Americans while helping disadvantaged U.S. citizens succeed to meet those expectations. Yet DEI advocates often encourage lowering standards, such as admissions processes, in order to promote diversity under the theory that the standards are biased and favor white Americans.
“VMI’s in a unique space,” Brown, a black Republican, told the war college. “You’ve been at the tip of the spear in serving our country in sending warriors to battle, but in a way, you’re at the tip of the spear in this cultural war as well.”
Alumni in recent months have become particularly organized and hostile to the school’s decision under a new superintendent to make DEI one of its main initiatives. But a VMI education is intended to prepare soldiers and leaders for war — not put woke projects ahead of excellence.
“Generally, when you are focusing on equity, you’re not pursuing merit or excellence or achievement,” Brown added. “Not all the time, but you’re looking at equal outcomes.”
Virginia’s Chief Diversity Officer blasted society for making “diversity” the mission.
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“The challenge is keeping your eyes on the mission rather than the attendant challenges that we experience trying to complete the mission,” Brown said. “And when we focus on those challenges, what happens is the mission is undermined. … One of the things we want to focus on is whatever the goal of the organization is, that goal is paramount, and diversity and inclusion supports whatever the goal is.”
Youngkin has previously scrubbed “equity” from other government agencies as well — especially the Department of Education.
“All Virginia students should have the opportunity to receive an excellent education that teaches all history — the good and the bad, prioritizes academic excellence, and fosters equal opportunities for all students,” Youngkin said in 2022. “Our Virginia students should not be taught to discriminate on the basis of sex, skin color, or religion, and VDOE policies should certainly not direct such concepts.”
Removing DEI mandates from society — and their disastrous consequences that harm all Americans — is going to take years, but it helps when you have somebody like Martin who wants DEI dead on arrival leading the charge to root it out of society. Youngkin, of course, made battling the Left’s disastrous policies that degrade Virginia’s quality of education a core part of his 2021 campaign late into the game. It helped him win the gubernatorial office, and so far he has delivered as promised: Martin proves it.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.