CULTURE
How Anti-DEI is Re-Igniting Racist Rhetoric of Segregationists
There’s a shared objective here, blocking progress
Segregationists positioned themselves as the core opposition to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. They believed, in no unsettled terms, that America’s communities, businesses, and schools should remain separated by race. Herman Talmadge, who at one point served as U.S. Senator for Georgia, claimed, “There aren’t enough troops in the whole United States to make the white people of this state send their children to schools with colored children.” Of course, history would prove him wrong, as public schools would eventually become integrated. Yet, his ideas reflected the sentiment held by many at the time. And it’s not as if those racist beliefs faded away. Sixty years after Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans are still living in a nation “de-facto” segregated by race and class. While the “whites-only” signs have been retired, those openly opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion have re-ignited the rhetoric of segregationists.
Whether we will live in a nation where Black people are treated as equals or second-class citizens truly depends on the values of those in power. Take, for instance, the speech delivered by then-Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1963…
