Local opinion: Diversity strengthens America, not weakens it

On Jan. 21, 2025, Donald Trump’s first full day of his second term, our President took direct aim at Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. Executive Order 14173 states that these policies “deny, discredit, and undermine the traditional American values of hard work, excellence, and individual achievement in favor of an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system” and requires that all federal contracts include a clause prohibiting contractors and subcontractors from engaging in discriminatory DEI practices. Very recently, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth continued the attack on DEI, stating that the phrase "diversity is our strength" is the "single dumbest phrase in military history" while emphasizing unity as our strength. Two profound questions that arise from these vociferous opinions are: (1) Does DEI warrant these attacks? (2) What are the practical consequences of them?

The DEI movement is an outgrowth of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation and discrimination in our country, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which aimed to dismantle systematic residential segregation. The former act effectively ended The Jim Crow Era, and the latter ended The FHA’s unwritten policy of not insuring mortgages to minority borrowers while “redlining” their neighborhoods, labeling them as hazardous. The goal of DEI is to create fair, just, and inclusive environments where all people, regardless of their personal background, can thrive. It basically works to create a level playing field of opportunity in housing, education, and the workplace. On occasion, DEI has been attacked for sometimes creating unfair advantages for minorities. However, our administration’s attacks on DEI are unjustifiably harsh and exaggerated, as witnessed by Hegseth’s comment above and Trump’s comments from The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that DEI policies “were absolute nonsense,” and “an unlawful, corrosive, and pernicious identity-based spoils system.”

Almost immediately after Trump issued Executive Order 14173, Secretary Hegseth ordered a purge of DEI-oriented images, posts, and records from an internal Department of Defense database, totaling over 26,000 items according to the Associated Press. Among those items originally deleted were a photo of the Enola Gay, the bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb, stories of the Navajo Code Talkers, as well as photos of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project because one engineer had the last name of Gay. (A few of the most ridiculous purges were rectified after public outcry.)

In late March 2025, Hegseth ordered hundreds of DEI-oriented books and materials to be removed from U.S. military academies, among them being histories of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jackie Robinson, atrocities against Native Americans, and the Holocaust. In addition, Trump issued an executive order for the National Park Service to remove, alter, or cover exhibits that "inappropriately disparage Americans”, meaning signs about slavery, civil rights, and like topics, These acts appear to be Trump’s and Hegseth’s Neo-Critical Race Theory: American history must be framed by the positive exploits of straight white men only.

Finally, on June 20, 2026, The New York Times reported that Secretary Hegseth blocked the promotion of the most qualified candidate to lead the command that oversees the Navy’s bases at home and abroad, Rear Adm. Stephen D. Barnett, and instead promoted a white officer thought to be the third choice of the Navy leadership. Officer Barnett, an African American, was encouraged by his superiors to recruit and retain minority officers, and his advocacy for this point of view may have diminished his stature in Hegseth’s eyes. The article also stated that in 2026, Hegseth has so far blocked 40 or more promotions of senior officers, and almost half of these are either members of minority groups or women.

E Pluribus Unum, meaning “out of many, one,” is on The Great Seal of the United States. The concept was chosen in 1782 to represent the first 13 states of our country, and it is a perfect concept to represent us. We are a people with many different backgrounds, yet we are one American people. Our diversity doesn’t divide us, but right now we have leaders who do.