A truly great country doesn’t raise its children to believe that every war it fought was noble or every decision it made was just. Instead, it teaches them that the nation has undergone a journey, one filled with triumphs, tragedies, and turning points. In doing so, it instills resilience, wisdom, and a shared responsibility to learn from the past while shaping a better future. As children, we are brought up at a young age to idolize our parents until we reach the vital reality that indeed they are not perfect and in fact are as flawed as any human. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is not a movement to shame or divide, but rather a framework to remind America that its greatest strength has always been its willingness to evolve.
Despite what critics claim, DEI is not solely about Black Americans. While it certainly acknowledges the long, standing inequities endured by Black communities, it also brings attention to the wider American value, the ideal that all people, regardless of race, gender, ability, or background, should have the opportunity to contribute, compete, and thrive. DEI asks the country to live up to its founding declarations, not readjust them.
The backlash against DEI efforts recently is not about protecting American values, but rather resisting the discomfort that comes with reflection. No country can call itself great if it is unwilling to examine the large gap between its ideals and its actions. From the internment of Japanese Americans, struggles of Jews, Italians, Germans, to the exclusion of women from leadership, America’s history is filled with examples where progress only came after courageously confronting uncomfortable truths.
DEI is that confrontation. It is a tool, a set of values and policies, that helps workplaces, schools, and institutions ensure that opportunity is not limited to the few, but extended to the many. It encourages honesty in storytelling, fairness in hiring, and intentional access. It’s not about guilt; it’s about growth. It’s not about division; it’s about course correction. For many years, my career has existed to support protected class, and help ensure open and equal opportunities. Right now we are on a dangerous path if we don’t pay attention to what is really at stake here.
The browning of America is real and gender equality is around the corner. Will future generations be able to work together, knowing that equality is unachievable in this country. What is the America that we know of today, and what will it look like tomorrow? DEI is not a challenge to America, it is an act of patriotism.
To acknowledge that we’ve made mistakes is not to hate this country; it is to love it enough to believe it can do better. If America wants to live up to its reputation as a land of opportunity, then it must be brave enough to keep doing the work. Because greatness isn’t declared, it’s earned, generation by generation.