According to President Trump’s executive order titled, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, “The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI).” Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to many young American lives. Providing young Americans who are discriminated against because of their race, gender, sexuality, etc, with opportunities they would not have been able to get otherwise. DEI is especially important to the many young people in this country who have never experienced life without it.
Initiatives supporting DEI have been around for nearly 60 years. Generations of Americans have had government backing for discrimination that may occur in the workplace, schools, and other public facilities. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, prohibited discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, and religion. This was a monumental decision for many Americans facing discrimination. Due to systems put in place to discriminate against people of color, women, and other minority groups, DEI is essential to many young American’s lives. Now that DEI programs are gradually becoming non-existent, how will young Americans deal with a system they have never faced before?
Students are deeply affected by the banning of DEI initiatives. This change in governing affects how young people apply for college, enter the workplace, and navigate at their universities. Generation Z, is a generation with a foundation in inclusion; who have been exposed to many different types of people through the advancement of social media and the internet. Gen Z is a generation of hyper-awareness and activism. The erasure of DEI initiatives will be a hard pill for this generation to swallow.
Many college students have already begun to take action. At the University of Louisville, students marched across campus voicing their concerns over DEI legislation and students at Ohio State University conducted a silent sit-in protest after the university’s “reorganizing” of DEI initiatives. Students are speaking out against injustices that are affecting them and their peers. Not only are students speaking out, but across America, recent boycotts of Target, Amazon, and Walmart have gone into effect on Feb. 28 and plan to continue. The banning of DEI programs and initiatives has left many Americans outraged and trying to make an impact on institutions where, unfortunately, they have little control.
Gen Z should continue to take action to create lasting change and stop the erasure of inclusive environments. In times like these, we must look back to the Civil Rights Movement and recognize the hard work it will take to continue moving this country forward in a way that creates inclusive environments for all.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) is a perfect example of a student-led organization that evoked change within their communities, promoting racial equality for Black people across the country. Young people today must look at how SNCC and other student-led movements focusing on equality, organized for what they believed in, to revolutionize America for future generations.
It’s also important that young people realize the power of their platforms. Social media makes it so much easier to connect with people across the country. With just one click of a button, change can be made. This generation has platforms that can create change, and while it’s important to look back, it is equally important to look forward, and realize the power in social media.
With so much turmoil in this country and questions of how people of different gender identities, race, religions and sexualites will be treated, there is not one answer on how young Americans move forward as a generation who is accustomed to seeing diversity initiatives in their everyday lives. But it’s important that Gen Z doesn’t forget the platform they have and how they can use it to advocate for change. It’s also important that young people of this country come together to be the change they want to see and advocate for what is right. Protests and boycotts are pivotal as the nation moves forward without DEI. This is not a time to relinquish control but instead come together to continue the hard work of the young people who have come before.