Trump Promoted This Disputed Racial Theory In His Inaugural Speech. Here's Why It Doesn't Work.

LOADING ERROR LOADING President Donald Trump championed a commonly-held racial ideology during his inaugural address on Monday. LaGarrett King, professor of social studies education in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, previously told HuffPost that he believes DEI criticisms are, overall, “dishonest” since “the United States labor history has never practiced pure meritocracy.” He said that the labor system, which has historically left out qualified people of color and other marginalized groups, has largely been “predicated on your personal connections and who you know.” And the idea of racial color blindness has been widely criticized for years. Erica Foldy, associate professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, said that racial color blindness is “wrong for many reasons.” “Most importantly, not seeing race makes it impossible to see racism — we can’t see how people from different racial groups are treated differently,” she told HuffPost. She said that without DEI programs, “what we have is affirmative action for white people.” “It is DEI programs that at least bring us closer to a level playing field,” she said, later adding that Trump’s “merit-based” remark during his speech was “definitely a dog whistle in favor of protecting the interests of white people.” Read on to hear more on why Foldy says a racial color blind approach can be detrimental in our society, and some other examples she shares of ways organizations can begin to pursue racial equity at the workplace. Jamie Abaied, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Vermont, previously pointed out in an interview with HuffPost: “There’s a subtle distinction between saying ‘race doesn’t matter’ and ‘race shouldn’t matter.’” Foldy explained that acknowledging race allows us to see the “structural advantages for white people.” And for companies and organizations aiming to actually achieve racial equity, Foldy recommends that they first distinguish and identify racial equity — and not just racial diversity — as an organizational goal.