Experts: Yes, efforts to eliminate DEI programs are rooted in racism

Right-wing activists who have long criticized liberalism and “wokeness” in higher education and helped force the resignation of Claudine Gay, Harvard University’s first African American president, have now set their sights on ending the diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs that these activists claim helped place figures like Gay in her job in the first place. On average, 7 in 10 Americans support DEI training for medical professionals, teachers, police officers, members of the U.S. armed forces and public employees, while 65% of Americans support this training for private sector employees. However, among Americans with negative racial attitudes – which is a phrase used by scholars of public opinion to characterize respondents who hold prejudicial, stereotypical or racist views of people of color – support for DEI training was much lower. On average, only 46% of Americans who believe that racial problems are rare support DEI training; 45% of those who are not angry that racism exists support DEI training, and 38% of those who do not believe that white people have advantages because of their skin color support DEI training programs. Next, we summed up interviewees’ responses across questions to create an overall measure of support for DEI training and analyzed how negative racial attitudes affect support for DEI.