Is DEI Officially Over?
From the desk of Jevon Bolden, founder and CEO of Embolden Media Group
Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant, and to face the challenge of change.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
I don’t have regrets about the talk I gave a couple weeks ago at ECPA’s Pub U regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and book publicists’ work in helping to successfully publish authors of color. As it came on the heels of the election and news of the incoming administration calling out certain DEI legislation as unlawful and illegal,* I do wish I had more time between events to process it all, but I didn’t.
Even though I have, for some time now, framed my DEI perspective around hospitality, welcoming, and authentic connection with self and others, thanks to The Diversity Gap by Bethaney Wilkinson and others, including Brene Brown’s research on how shame and vulnerability impact connection, I felt like I was back to square one of trying to make sense of it all. The words shared across news feeds and social media sliced like a thousand little cuts of betrayal and, because this work is personal for obvious reasons, I was thrown out of emotional balance that, I think, must be in check before I walk in these rooms if I am to be effective.
I had to navigate quickly. I was making the changes I felt needed to be made right up until the moment I stood before the group and delivered my presentation. And so, a couple weeks later, I was able to appreciate Morgan DeBaun’s November 27, 2024 Instagram reel where she responded to the same news I had heard while prepping for my session—and the more that had happened since.** Morgan is the CEO of Blavity and AfroTech, news and tech platforms for the Black community. Her first words were, “DE and I is officially over, at least for the foreseeable future.” But then she went on to challenge businesses and those who work as DEI leaders and professionals to accept that the words diversity, equity, and inclusion and the DEI acronym may be unusable for the foreseeable future and begin to innovate ways to continue this work under a new guise. I knew exactly where she was coming from.
I was encouraged by a similar sentiment when I reached out in a slight panic to a colleague for perspective a few hours before my talk. Pulling inspiration from Shakespeare, she essentially said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In other words, call it what you want, the meaning and intent are the same, the work is the same.
PIVOT!
—Ross Gellar, Friends
Scrambling to make adjustments as news was being broadcast in opposition to the very concepts I was scheduled to share, I was comforted by my colleague’s words and my heart settled that I was on the right track. I was able to regulate my emotions and deliver my talk with what seemed like great results.
(I want to pause here and acknowledge that words have power, and it is unfortunate that their power can be twisted, weaponized, or disempowered. Like the language of the civil rights movement, there are operational purposes behind the words diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging that make them important, especially as we work to continue moving toward each other despite the dark racial history of this country. Though we will be sensitive to the cultural and political climate, neither I nor Embolden Media Group will stop using these terms altogether.)
Part of what I felt was important to bring forward while sharing with that group of publishing professionals, and to you now, is that the US population is rapidly becoming more ethnically diverse. Understanding this makes it clearer why the cultural tension in our country is so pronounced. There is a push-pull between keeping things the way they’ve been, which has historically benefited and reflected the values, needs, traditions, behaviors, and preferences of one group over all others, and making adjustments that help make room for the way things are and will be, benefiting the many groups whose population share is increasing. As there is resistance to changes prompted by these demographic shifts, we will need to be nimble and creative in the years to come if we are to continue the work of fostering healthy human connection amidst our differences. I believe it will always be important and necessary work—kingdom work, even, of justice and reconciliation, of making room for our growing family (Isaiah 54:3-6, The Message).
Now, I don’t claim to be a DEI expert. Speaking to its lack in book publishing has become a necessary part of my work as an advocate and representative of underrepresented and marginalized voices. So I sympathized with those who’ve made this work their vocation, and say, your positions will not be phased out or become obsolete. Innovate, reimagine, adapt, and evolve like life in business always challenges us to do. We’ll continue to need good people who can help us do this healthy and authentic connecting well so we can thrive in our everyday lives and advance in business.
*Original source the linked content can be found here.