Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders — some to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the federal level.
The President has described his actions, currently being challenged in court, as “ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.”
But what’s followed are major retailers and companies shuttering their DEI programs.
Seattle University political science professor and attorney Angelique Davis says the moves are part of a social shift she calls “racial gaslighting.”
Davis, who coined the phrase with fellow researcher Rose Ernst, says racial gaslighting normalizes racism. She argues that critics of DEI initiatives have implied that those who benefit are unqualified:
“Now, when merit is used, it becomes racial gaslighting when [critics] make those who support DEI the enemy. It’s used to paint a picture that all of those who benefitted from DEI are the problem — essentially calling them incompetent or freeloaders, which the data doesn’t actually support,” Davis explained.
Davis says these are diversionary tactics meant to disorient people the administration sees as its opponents. She noted it’s a strategy former Trump strategist Steve Bannon described as “flooding the zone.”
“The current administration, through their anti-DEI narrative, is making those who support DEI an ideological enemy. They’re using the term like ‘woke’ to make it seem like it’s a threat that’s going to actually undermine the very fabric of our country. They’re painting diversity initiatives as un-American,” Davis said.
In late February, a federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the President’s sweeping executive orders that seek to end government support for DEI programs, as a Maryland-based court case plays out.
