A Black Executive Perspective now presents Need to Know with the award winning hyphenated Dr. Nsenga Burton. Dr. Burton. What do we need to know?

Hello, and welcome to your need to know moment with Nsenga Burton. I am here today talking about DEI again, because it is a trending topic that just will not go away. And today I want to talk about DEI as it relates to institutions of higher education. Um, and what is happening with, you know, what happens kind of like the, the, uh, domino effect of, uh, what happens when major corporations, uh, like zoom and other corporations like that, get rid of their initiatives. Uh, what happens is other institutions follow suit, whether it makes sense or not. So, for example, Duke University is getting rid of its scholarship programs for African American students. Um. And what's interesting about that is that a lot of scholarship programs that are set up, particularly when they're for named individuals are, um, because, um, you know, they are trying to help students who might need more help. Not that they're under educated, not that they have lower grades, none of those things, but because they have been part of a historically disenfranchised group that was previously banned from attending said university. Um, they put these scholarships in place to help. To help make sure to ensure that this doesn't happen and to reward people for being outstanding students, scholars, um, you know, servants, public servants, community servants, all of those things. And. You know, the idea that you can have a whole basketball team that's black on a full scholarship, but you can't have, uh, black folks on academic scholarships because it's, uh, um, it's, it's racist. Is ridiculous so, um, when I think about this, um, and this move, which you don't have to do that, the Supreme Court has not even said that you can't do it. Right? They're trying to have a kind of preemptive preemptive strike because they want to get in front of all of this DEI stuff. But I think what happens is when you don't have a firm and a real commitment to DEI and I've known to have done that previously, they did have a real commitment. Um, they have a very active and engaged black alumni association. Um, they have amazing trailblazers who gone there who've attended there who have nothing to do with athletics. Um, and so it really is painful to see an institution like that. Just fall over to the wayside. So quickly and go down. The route that is on the wrong side of history, um, such that they feel that they have to have a preemptive strike against what they know is coming from these white conservatives. Um, and it was also interesting is that instead of people thinking, okay, how can we fight this? In the same way that these people, you know, I call them zealots who have really no care for anybody who isn't white male straight and all the things, right? They don't want to share power. They don't want to have to compete for anything. Um, they don't want to have to share resources. They don't even want you to have the resource that you pay into, like, social security or your pension. Right? They don't want you to have none of that. Um, you know, why is the response just to roll over and let's figure out how not to get involved in this? And how to make this, uh, open this up to all the students when you historically have been an institution that was not open to all the students. Particularly black students, right brown students, and especially immigrant students too. Right? So, you know, when you think about the, and you think about what is happening when these major corporations, right? Threaten to pull out or even like a, uh. Kraft the owner of the Patriots, because he's such a great human being saying that he's going to pull out because, you know, if conversations don't happen the way that he wants them to happen around Palestine and Israel, the conflict that he's going to pull out. You know, all of these things are tied together because when you don't have a real commitment to when you allow outsiders to come in and tell you what you should be teaching and what you should be doing, which you should be studying when you allow outsiders to come in and to stymie real conversations that are difficult to have. Right? Because this is what all this is about. Right? The comfort ability of those who've been in power. Right? So we don't want to have these conversations because they're difficult. It makes me feel uncomfortable. Um, weird, it makes me feel uncomfortable. So this is what happens when you and this is this is the fallout that happens when you don't have those important conversations when you allow outsiders to come in who have other, um, goals and objectives. Their goal and objective is not to make sure that students get a complex. Education where they're able to deal with complicated issues that are difficult and painful, um, but they have to be dealt with. So we don't repeat them again. Right? Um, when you let people come in and determine what's important for your institution, which you should be discussing, which books you should be reading, uh, and they're not even there, even if they're alums, they haven't been there in 30, 40, 50 years. Then this is what happens. You get people trying to stop people from exercising their first amendment, right? Which is to protest. You get organizations that are like, Oh my God, they're going to come after us. So let's get rid of the scholarships now. Oh my God, they're going to come after us. So let's get rid of this class. Oh my God, we were going to hire this wonderful woman, Hannah Nicole, um, And I'm having a brain fart on her last name, but we're going to hire this wonderful person at UNC Chapel Hill. But oh no, we're going to rescind the offer because, oh my gosh, she might bring something up that's going to be difficult for people to take or to, to, to, uh, critique. And that is the part that's missing in academic education. Institutions, they are places of humanistic inquiry, right? That means we discover and we explore and we discuss all types and all sides of various issues and what have you, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, including power, including war. You know, it's common knowledge that the only way to peace, uh, is to go through conflict. That's just how it happens. You know, people do peace studies. That's it, right? So, When you don't have these real discussions, when you try to put your foot on the neck of people who are willing to have these difficult construct, uh, difficult discussions who have done the heavy lifting, you know, who have spent their academic lives. I'm really exploring these issues, living in these places, reporting on these issues. When you try to stop me that that's what you get. And so all of it is connected. Right? Um, and when you're not really trying to stand up for education. Um, when you're not really trying to stand up for the need to include all of the people who make up a society, um, and when you're not trying to, uh, ensure that people feel like they belong, um, and not elevate the feelings of a particular group over another. Right? Particularly those who have been the most empowered, um, particularly in this country. Then this is what you get. You get the protest, you get things out of being out of control. Um, you get people doing crazy things that they don't even have to do. Like, we're going to get rid of the scholarship program. We'll get rid of that. Uh, that pipeline program. That's going to be terrible. It's going to be terrible to have really exceptional qualified students who are a students have less student loans to pay back. That's going to hurt them. That's going to hurt. Who's that hurting? That's not hurting a white student, the empowered white student who has money. It's not hurting a poor white student that has money. In fact, it's going to probably help them if we start thinking about class in the same way we think about race and gender. Right? So I just wanted to say in part two of my DEI that it will, until we really start having these conversations, until we really decide that it is okay for you to be uncomfortable. And some of these topics will make you uncomfortable. And we don't have to all agree. On the topics, and it doesn't have to be, you know, this is 1 side. And the 2nd, the other side, it could be like, 5 or 10 sides. Like, it could be lots of discussion. That is what education is for. And when you allow people to make DEI a dog whistle and make it a label to malign and dehumanize instead of. Standing up for what it really is and what it really can do and the great positive outcomes that have come out of these DEI programs. Um, then this is what you get. So, I would encourage you to think more deeply and thoughtfully about DEI to think about the ways in which it impacts you to think about the people, particularly those who are historically disenfranchised and to think about some possible solutions. If in fact, DEI is going to go away. So then what are we going to do with all of these people of color who are the majority, many of whom have done what they are supposed to have done as American citizens, including get great grades so they can get accepted to these wonderful schools. But I'm sorry, you can't have a scholarship because you're black. And that might make a white student who can afford to go here feel bad. Like that is just not even acceptable. So I would like for you all to just think more critically about it. I would like for you all to ask people in charge to have real conversations, moderated conversations by those who are experts, but real conversations around these issues, and to really think about the ways in which we can be a more inclusive and equitable society that elevates everyone, not just those who have been in power and continue to be in power and to, Make the rules as we go forward and that is your need to know moment with Nsenga Burton a black executive perspective