For decades, Black leaders have championed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as a means to correct systemic inequalities. Yet, after more than 50 years, DEI has failed Black communities while reinforcing White power structures. If DEI was truly about dismantling systemic oppression, why have White women been its greatest beneficiaries while Black families and generational wealth continue to fall further behind?
The Trump administration recently moved to dismantle federal DEI programs, prompting strong opposition from Black leaders who have rushed to defend these initiatives. But the harsh truth is that DEI has never served Black people the way it has benefited White women. Rather than dismantling systemic barriers, DEI has acted as a Trojan horse for preserving White supremacy, giving White women disproportionate access to economic, career, and leadership advantages—while Black Americans remain locked out of true progress. For Black women, this realization is particularly disheartening, as their emotional labor and advocacy have long been manipulated to push agendas that have done nothing to build Black wealth or strengthen Black families.
DEI Has Strengthened White Wealth, Not Black Progress
A 2020 report from Catalyst exposes the unequal benefits of DEI—White women, due to their proximity to White men in corporate and social spaces, have leveraged DEI policies for their own advancement. Meanwhile, Black communities, the very people DEI was supposedly designed to uplift, have seen little to no systemic change.
A 2022 McKinsey & Company study found that 63% of DEI leadership roles are held by White women—not Black women, not Latina or Indigenous women. This reveals a stark reality: DEI has become an extension of White feminism, solidifying White women’s place in corporate America while using Black women as the face of the movement. Meanwhile, Black professionals are left tokenized, sidelined, and without real decision-making power, proving that DEI has been more about optics than actual systemic change.
For over 50 years, affirmative action and DEI programs have overwhelmingly benefited White women—gaining them the highest increases in income, executive positions, and economic mobility. Meanwhile, the racial wealth gap for Black Americans has barely moved and, in many cases, widened.
If DEI Worked, Black Wealth Would Have Grown
A recent Federal Reserve report highlights a persistent issue: while the average White family’s wealth continues to grow exponentially, Black families remain systematically locked out of homeownership, high-paying jobs, and financial security. If DEI initiatives had truly been successful, Black economic empowerment would be a reality, not a topic still up for debate. Instead, the enduring wealth gap indicates that DEI has done little more than uphold existing power structures, offering only the illusion of progress.
Reflecting on the period since the Obama administration, the economic disparities have become even more pronounced. According to inequality.org, over Obama’s presidency, median Black wealth never returned to even its modest $10,700 from before the Great Recession. By 2013, it had dropped to just $1,700 — virtually nothing — even as white wealth rebounded.
Imagine if, over the last 50 years, Black communities had concentrated on building generational wealth through business ownership, land acquisition, and economic self-sufficiency, rather than investing hope in the unfulfilled promises of DEI. Where would we be today? How much stronger would our families, communities, and financial institutions be if we had prioritized ownership over optics? The time spent on ineffective initiatives could have been directed toward creating genuine power, not just symbolic inclusion.
Why Are Black Leaders Still Defending DEI?
With DEI under attack, Black leaders have rushed to defend it—but why? If the past 50 years have shown us anything, it’s that DEI has not delivered real economic or structural power to Black communities.
- DEI Was Never Designed for Black Liberation – If DEI was meant to create equity, why are Black families still experiencing rising economic insecurity while White women have climbed the corporate ladder? Fighting for DEI today is like demanding a seat at a table that was never meant for us.
- White Women’s Gains = White Family Wealth – Over the last 50 years, the largest recipients of affirmative action policies have been White women. And what does that mean? White families and White generational wealth have continued to accumulate—while Black generational wealth remains stagnant or declined.
- Performative Inclusion, No Real Power – Even in DEI leadership roles, Black professionals lack true decision-making authority. Many are trapped in symbolic positions, used to signal “diversity” while corporations maintain the same White-dominated hierarchies.
- DEI is a Distraction from Real Solutions – If DEI truly worked, Black people wouldn’t still be demanding economic justice, land ownership opportunities, and reparations. Instead, the focus remains on corporate diversity statistics rather than shifting wealth and power into Black hands.
The End of DEI Should Be a Wake-Up Call, Not a Cause for Mourning
Trump’s decision to gut DEI programs should not be seen as the death of Black opportunity—because DEI was never the solution in the first place. If DEI had worked, Black wealth wouldn’t still be a fraction of White wealth. If DEI had worked, Black professionals wouldn’t still be fighting for equal pay and fair treatment in the workplace while White women continue to reap the majority of the benefits.
Black leaders must stop defending a system that has failed us and instead refocus on strategies that build real economic power. It’s time to pool our $1.5 trillion in spending power to support Black-owned businesses, banks, and institutions, ensuring that our dollars circulate within our communities before benefiting outsiders. We must move beyond symbolic “diversity” initiatives that primarily serve White women and White families and start demanding direct economic investment in Black communities, reparations, and land ownership opportunities—the true keys to closing the racial wealth gap.
Beyond economics, Black leadership must also prioritize education and workforce development. Instead of pushing our children into an outdated system that leaves them in debt with useless degrees, we should be guiding them toward skilled trades like plumbing, electrical work, engineering, technology, AI, and cybersecurity—fields that create long-term stability and generational wealth.
The end of DEI isn’t the end of Black progress—it’s an opportunity to fight for something better. The real question is: Will we finally demand real power by building our own institutions, or will we keep begging for a seat at a table that was never meant for us?
Brother Jones!
You spoke the truth and I am an official fan! Thank you for your contribution to a much needed conversation!
The fact that you were ever able to get a job with the NYS Department is a testament to the success of DEI. Without it, whites would’ve ensured you never got on the payroll of the state government.
Thank you for writing this article. Indeed, DEI is not the solution to our issues.
Black bougie peoples have been using DEI for years and keeping it to themselves. Just being a blessing to their families not our communities. Look at the result of being selfish. A lot of blacks never heard of DEI. So how can you benefit from something you was never about?
Love this article but I’m curious as to why these conservatives want to get rid of DEI if it’s benefited white women and their families.
Amazing piece! I’ve been sharing this in hopes to lead people out of ignorance. It’s getting out of hand! Thank you!!!
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Congressman Bill Gray wrote much of the minority content rules and regulations that created DEI. I am from Montclair, NJ, and was a member of St Marks Methodist Church when Bill Gray was pastor at Union Baptist Church. I was in business with the Congressmans former Chief of Staff Ed Ford….we were in persute of purchasing the Craft Idolwild Farms factory and East Pent House meats…Ed Ford introduced our black-owned business interest to David Tyson of Tyson Chicken, who signed a protege Mentor agreement with our company that called for $10 mil a year in inventory support until we reached $ 100 mil in sales.
The perspective I wish we all understood, is that from the start the racism and the white supremacy phnominon we’ve experience since the 14oos has been organized by the Church, made into a sacrament, and functions as the western civilizations ethos……
Compartmentalized An Incomplete History: The Muslims of Spain Post 897h – 1492A.D
They have never rescinded the article in the Papal Bull that states “El Neguru’s” shall be enslaved Africans in perpetuity.
Isabella and Ferdinand created the Kingdom of Spain, funded Columbus’s voyages to the New World, and strengthened Spain so that it could dominate European politics until 1588 and greatly influence European affairs until 1648. The Catholic Popes inspired and ratified Isabella and Ferdinand’s racism.
Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bulls Dum Diversas in 1452, Romanus Pontifex in 1455, and Pope Alexander VI issued the bull Inter Caetera in 1493. These bulls were part of the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal and religious framework that justified European colonization of the Americas and other lands.
It was Pope Nicholas V who directed King Alfonso by papal bulls of 1452 and 1493, to “capture, vanquish, and subdue the Africans and other non-ethnic European white people whom they considered as enemies of Christ ordering the Christian armies to “put them into perpetual slavery,” and “to take all their possessions and property” Reference: ((Davenport, 19l7, pg. 20-26).,
The origin of race hatred begins to come into fruition commensurate with the “Edicts of Grace,” which was the first step of the “visits” of the Spanish Inquisition Edicts of Grace treaty. The “Spanish Reconquista” was carried over to 1492 when the Pope officially authorized the monarchs, kings, and rulers of Europe to send their armies to dehumanize the African, Arab, Asian, and Indigenous people (All non-Ethnic Europeans became labeled black, red, yellow, and brown) making the oppression a sacrament of the Church
Pope Alexander VI issued the Doctrine of Discovery, “Inter Caetera,” which organized all Europeans to agree with its content, which denied the humanity of Africans.
The Papal Bull: “El Neguru’s” shall be enslaved Africans in perpetuity.
When we talk about what’s important, having a stable job and feeding your family is crucial. But political literacy is just as important – that’s when you learn Political Science 101 in college. If people knew about how government works, they’d have more power over policy making.
How many black youth know how to influence the law? Meanwhile, a few year ago, 5 white teens in Montana took their state to court over climate change and won.
Wouldn’t it be nice if black teens in Florida knew how to do the same? We got schools next to sugar cane plantations that are innundated with Wildfire-like smoke when the crops are open burned after the harvest. That’s about democracy. You need education about politics to do that.
Meanwhile, voting is powerful, but only if we’re informed… When people vote based on emotion rather than facts, we end up with leaders who don’t represent us. For example, in 2024, one in three minorities voted for Trump, highlighting the need for well-informed decisions. The African we wanted in office was Kamala, not Musk… but here we are.
Education isn’t just about “workforce development”. College degrees aren’t “useless” just because they don’t Translate to six figure salaries .
It’s about developing critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills—things that help us thrive. They helps us break cycles of dysfunction and build stronger families.
Damon, your writing is amazing. You’re great at communicating ideas. If we reduce education to the equivalent of vocational colleges, the ability to communicate clearly an effectively becomes lost.
Imagine Langston Hughes or Tupac Shakur never got into writing and, instead, focused on just paying the bills and getting by day today.
Next point – a well-rounded education should also teach Financial literacy.
What’s a credit score? How do credit cards work? How do Financial Savvy people manage their finances? And how do I buy and sell stocks? That’s what young people should be learning in schools.
While financial security is important, we also need to focus on climate change, which disproportionately affects Black communities. Having a high-paying job is great, but it doesn’t matter if a natural disaster destroys your home every year. The story of the three little pigs isn’t just a tale—it teaches us to build strong foundations that can weather the storm.
Celebrities like Will Smith, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg have had immense success, but there’s room for them to do more for their communities. It’s about giving back, not just talking about it. Snoop’s been talking about the struggle for decades, but he’s been rich since the ‘90s. What responsibility do those who have made it have to help others?
When it comes to DEI programs, they need to go beyond quotas and checkboxes. They should be specific, measurable, and lead to real change. Equality is vital, but DEI programs need to be meaningful and align with our rights.
Ultimately, education isn’t just about jobs or money. It’s about gaining the tools to think critically, solve problems, and make a difference. By investing in education, we can achieve equality through knowledge, hard work, and collaboration.
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