For Immediate Release
PRESS RELEASE FOR: Friday, September 20, 2024
CONTACT: apr@fenton.com
ATLANTA – Last night, American Pride Rises held a virtual panel discussion focused on the fight to protect and defend diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. The event featured Andrea Abrams, Executive Director of Defending American Values Coalition, a member of the American Pride Rises Network; Michele N. Turnage Young, Senior Counsel and Co-Manager of the Equal Protection Initiative at Legal Defense Fund; Shanaya Daughtrey, activist and author; Winston Williams, Student at North Carolina A&T and Vote HBCU Fellow at Xceleader; and Yana Batra, student at Georgia Tech and Campus Mobilization Director at Georgia Youth Justice Coalition. During the discussion, the speakers emphasized the importance of prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion at higher education institutions across the country.
“Especially in this legal climate, it is more important than ever to make sure that these universities are diligently complying with anti-discrimination laws and that goes both ways,” said Michele N. Turnage Young. “We need universities to ensure that they are affording an equal opportunity to every applicant who applies to compete for admission. We need to realize that if they are closing offices of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility… if they are taking back funding away from affinity groups, they actually might be creating a hostile environment that they can be sued over and thus exposing themselves to litigation risk.”
Across the nation, attacks on DEI efforts at educational institutions attempt to roll back years of progress and restrict access to the American Dream for all students. Cynical anti-DEI legislators in more than 30 states have passed or introduced more than 100 bills that seek to prohibit policies and programs that embrace the fundamental American values of diversity, equity and inclusion.
“When it comes to having these spaces like the Black Student Union office [or] the Queer Student Association office … those are safe spaces for students of color [and] for students to feel like they have a home away from home,” said Shanaya Daughtrey. “So this erasure that is going on across campus … this is real. This is affecting students’ everyday lives.”
The narrow-minded schemes put forth by anti-DEI opponents undermine the promise of America and our leading edge in creating the best quality educational institution and talent pipelines for American businesses. These harmful bans also make it more difficult for higher education institutions to build communities that are welcoming, fair and free from discrimination and hate for all regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, identity, ability, background or religious affiliation.
“When we’re talking about why it’s so important for young people to be really spearheading and making sure that people know that diversity, equity and inclusion matters to us, it’s because we can’t allow ourselves to slide backwards,” said Yana Batra. “We’re committed to making everyday in America a little bit freer than the day that came before us, so that means that young people are making that choice again and again to embrace our peers and say just because you’re different than I am doesn’t mean we’re competing with one another. We’re working together to build a brighter future for all of us.”
“For us to understand the weight of DEI, we need to have conversations about DEI but we also need to start holding [the] government accountable when it comes to DEI,” said Winston Williams. If we want to have our offices of [LGBTQ+] resources or intercultural engagement or just having the diversity, equity and inclusion office, we have to make sure we’re having those conversations and voting.”
About American Pride Rises:
American Pride Rises (APR) is an initiative committed to protecting pathways to the American Dream by fighting for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive America for all.