In recent months, I’ve heard from several district superintendents and chief equity officers voicing concerns over the growing backlash against equity initiatives. The backlash has been disheartening, at least for some, as it reveals a troubling retreat from hard-won gains that followed the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, .
Several states, including two of the nation’s largest, have even enacted laws restricting the use of government resources to promote equity. In Florida, the “Stop WOKE Act” has been put into law to limit discussions of race in schools and workplaces, effectively silencing essential conversations on equity and justice.
Adding to this disturbing trend, some schools that initially responded to George Floyd’s murder by renaming themselves to honor civil rights figures have reverted to names associated with Confederate officers, also signaling a reversal in their commitment to equity.
The corporate world has not been immune. Companies such as Anheuser-Busch have faced significant public and economic repercussions after featuring a gender-nonconforming person in their ads. This resistance to inclusivity is further exemplified by Disney’s retreat from its opposition to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, bowing to public and political pressures to stay out of the so-called culture wars.
Equity programs have been explicitly banned in states like Texas and Idaho, where critical race theory has become a political flashpoint. These bans equate equity initiatives with esoteric and controversial academic theories that mislead people about the reality of equity work and stifle progress.
Adding to this regression, recent Supreme Court decisions have reversed landmark rulings such as Roe v. Wade and prohibited the consideration of race in college admissions. Such decisions have prompted universities to also revert to using biased exams in their admissions decisions, and as recently as today, Harvard—perhaps the world's most renown educational institution—announced that its largest faculty division will no longer require job applicants to submit diversity statements, further entrenching racial and social disparities.
Despite calls for police and gun reform, politicians across the political spectrum have intensified their commitments to the status quo, undermining efforts to promote equity and justice in law enforcement.
And if that’s not enough, the New York Times, which once affirmed a commitment to capitalizing the “B” in Black when referencing race, has featured articles using the lowercase “b” as recently as yesterday. This seemingly minor change is a stark symbol of the broader retreat: The backlash is felt even in our grammar.
Some things about equity work did need to change. For example, I have always been concerned about the proliferation of the equity office—the idea that equity can be sidelined or outsourced to ‘specialists’ who are often under-resourced, understaffed, under a ton of stress, and lack the power to make meaningful change. This one office tends to be impotent—a mere facade—a so-called advisor without a vote, a crisis response team not fully empowered to respond to crises. As a result, equity offices have, for the most part, existed merely for show—many are cosmetic as opposed to consequential.
By contrast, true equity has a significant, solid, and meaningful role in our schools and society. That role includes fostering welcoming and affirming conditions, promoting fairness and impartiality, ensuring access to opportunity, and advancing excellence in ways that advance all people’s lives. Equity work, which can never be reduced to an office, is responsible for upholding a set of key values: belonging, accessibility, and a range of other things that speak to the specific needs of our most vulnerable people.
So, we must safeguard equity, what I call the work, by adopting strategic approaches that transcend shallow appearances (e.g., the office or the title). In this moment of entrenchment, there are two things we must do:
1. Integrate Equity into All Aspects of Education. Integrating equity into every aspect of education is crucial. Every department and facet of an institution must understand its commitment to equity and embed it as a foundational element of its work. Developing comprehensive equity plans with real stakes and budgets for implementing real initiatives across departments will be critical to this effort. For example, focusing on areas such as culture and climate can protect and nurture the work and make it less vulnerable to political attack. By embedding equity into the fabric of our institutions and continually advocating for its importance, we can ensure its survival and growth even in challenging times.
2. Promote Accountability and Excellence. We must also promote accountability and excellence in equity work. Articulating compelling narratives about the importance of equity for institutional health is vital. Those opposed to equity do a better job shaping the narrative of what’s wrong with equity than we do in sharing what’s right with it. We must be better at showcasing its successes and addressing problematic performers. We can secure and sustain equity as a collective project by holding ourselves and others accountable for the excellence of the work.
While the commitment to equity may wane, the need for it remains. It is worth fighting for. But equity will not chase us; we must chase after equity, knowing that in our pursuit, we forge a path where justice and humanity prevail, lighting the way for future generations to follow and build upon.
References
ABC News. (2023). “Policing Policy Commitments.” https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/policing-policy-commitments-2023/story?id=85231401
Florida Legislature. (2022). “Stop WOKE Act.” https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/7/BillText/Filed/PDF
Forbes. (2023). “Anheuser-Busch Sales Plummet.”
New York Times. (2023). “Disney’s Response to ‘Don’t Say Gay’.” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/business/disney-dont-say-gay.html
NPR. (2023). “Schools Reverting Names.” https://www.npr.org/2023/02/01/1104098199/school-name-reversions
Supreme Court of the United States. (2022). “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
Supreme Court of the United States. (2023). “Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.” https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf
Texas Legislature. (2021). “Equity Program Ban.” https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB3979I.pdf#navpanes=0
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Suggested citation: Kirkland, D.E. (2024). After Equity. In forwardED Perspectives, https://www.forward-ed.com/post/after-equity.
David E. Kirkland, PhD, is the founder and CEO of forwardED. He is a nationally renowned scholar of education equity. He can be reached via email at: david@forward-ed.com.
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