The time has come to acknowledge that the Commonwealth owes a great debt of gratitude to the likes of state Rep. Jennifer Decker for reminding everyone that Black and LGBTQIA+ folks need to know their place.
Equal thanks should go to the gutless presidents of the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University for kowtowing to the racism and bigotry that has plagued the state for too long by killing off their DEI offices.
Who knew that diversity, equity, and inclusion were such sinful aspirations in our society that they needed to be eradicated until Decker (R-Waddy) and the White mediocrities that constitute the far-right wing told us so.
UK and NKU created offices focused on DEI to confront this nation’s ingrained bias against people of color, non-heterosexuals, and others by addressing those obvious inequalities and advancing social justice.
The offices encouraged through various means to accept the differences in others and deconstruct the barriers that inhibit the American promise of equal opportunity. For all. Now those initiatives are being tossed aside like soiled rags to appease the forces who much prefer that people of color continue to maintain “Black jobs,” as they are described by Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, and that LGBTQIA+ folks keep their identities in the closet.
Kentucky Republicans in the House have been looking to return the state to the antebellum days for some time and sought to foster that desire through legislation dissolving all state university DEI initiatives, including a provision that would have rejected race-based scholarships and, among other things, prohibited students enrolled in courses “dedicated to the justification or promotion” of DEI to claim credits earned in those classes to be used toward a degree.
The bill passed the Republican-controlled House in overwhelming fashion but proved to be so over-the-top and evil that the Senate, which had previously passed similar but decidedly less draconian legislation, refused to consider it, and the measure failed to become law.
Now there’s already talk of reviving the atrocity when lawmakers meet in the spring, and the presidents at two state universities have already wilted to the thuggery like daffodils in the summer heat.
Eli Capilouto, the president of the University of Kentucky, emerged earlier this year as one of the primary voices opposing the anti-DEI legislation, characterizing the measure as “deeply concerning” while maintaining the university’s “freedom to explore and ask questions of anyone or anything — without fear of reprisal — is essential.”
“Across this campus, staff and faculty work to support students of color and from underrepresented backgrounds,” Capilouto wrote. “We should value and support that work, not diminish it.”
“The truth is that our world and our state are changing,” he said. “We are growing more diverse. Indeed, we must, if our state is to grow economically. We should embrace that change and harness the opportunities it presents, not shrink from it.”
So, of course, he shrank from it.
“Kentucky legislators have made clear to me in our conversations that they are exploring these issues again as they prepare for the 2025 legislative session,” Capilouto said by way of explanation. “If we are to be a campus for everyone, we must demonstrate to ourselves and to those who support and invest in us our commitment to the idea that everyone belongs — both in what we say and in what we do.”
In other words, he bowed to his master’s voice, letting down everyone involved in the cause.
(Brief note to be fair – As a UK alumnus, though they may not want to admit it, I am not a fan of this president. He made some despicable and really indefensible comments about student journalists at the school a few years back, privately all but threatened a dear friend of mine, and recently made a power play to deal out the faculty on academic decisions, resulting in the University Senate issuing a no-confidence vote. Now this. He is not setting a sterling example).
Northern Kentucky University President Cady Short-Thompson was equally spineless.
“The circumstances under which universities across the Commonwealth and the country find themselves, coupled with the legislative priorities of state leaders for the upcoming session, require universities to change,” she said.
Let’s be clear here. The villains in this saga are the bigots in the Kentucky General Assembly. Capilouto and Short-Thompson are not racists. But they are enabling the racists in the legislature to run roughshod over citizens of the Commonwealth seeking to overcome centuries-old societal roadblocks that have denied them opportunity.
The least Capilouto and Short-Thompson could have done was call these phonies on their efforts, oppose the law, and make them own the damage they might do. They chose to throw in their cards before the hand was completed.
Rather than take a brave stand Capilouto and Short-Thompson are enabling these folks. The hint-hint, wink-wink suggestion that the universities will continue these efforts under a different venue is naïve and laughable. There’s chum in the water, the sharks are biting, and the slightest attempt to circumvent this appalling maneuver will be met with the political equivalent of Sherman’s March to the Sea.
The question remains why so many White people continue to dismiss the legitimate approaches sought by underrepresented groups in need of assistance. DEI , at its base, is about empowering people and making sure they have access to opportunities that through the ages have been denied them.
It’s fairly simple.
Decker, who has become the face of the Kentucky anti-DEI movement although she’s far from alone in seeking to deep-six it, called DEI during one legislative meeting a “failed, expensive, and discriminatory’ initiative. She has variously said DEI creates differential treatment based on race and other characteristics that run contrary to principles of equality ad meritocracy.
It’s the same old canard. Since it’s a program that benefits Blacks and other under-represented groups, it must be to the grave detriment of White people. It callously ignores the obvious — that White people for centuries have benefitted from the discriminatory practices established against groups that perennially suffer from lack of opportunities because of the color of their skin and who they choose to love.
Folks like Decker, Rep. James Tipton (R-Taylorsville), and Sen. Mike Wilson (R-Bowling Green) seem unable to grasp this relatively simple concept. Decker insisted the bill would foster a culture that’s “inclusive and welcoming to all,” a dubious claim since it retracts a vital lifeline for racial minorities and LGBTQ+ students, not to mention students who are disabled.
Decker and the others act as if White people don’t have a leg up, that they don’t want White folks to get their feelings hurt if the unfairness of the entire society is addressed.
They act as if it’s the Black population’s own fault.
Blacks in Kentucky, for a period stretching from before the founding of the republic until 1865, were held in slavery. The Commonwealth, and the nation as a whole, has never really confronted the issue of how to ensure these people are provided the same opportunities as those living the dream.
The numbers tell the story. In 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, White households maintained 10 times more wealth than Black household. The unemployment rate in 2023, according to the Statista Research Department was 5.5 percent for Blacks and 3.3 percent for Whites. This year, according to USA Today, White individuals will earn $60,164. A Black individual will earn $50,284.
The disparities are no secret. But Decker et al are seeing to it that the gaps never close. What are they doing to address the issue, other than snapping their fingers, declaring everyone is now treated the same and everything is hunky-dory?
Nada.
Everyone is not treated the same and everything is not hunky-dory. The game plan is to wave at Black and LGBTQ+ folks and declare, “You’re on your own, pal.’’
That’s Kentucky in the 21st Century.
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Written by Bill Straub, a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. Cross-posted from the NKY Tribune.
