Let’s Focus on DIY Instead of DEI
By Nayaba Arinde Editor-at-Large
Despite President Donald Trump and the chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk, head of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), gutting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies across all government agencies, New Jersey officials say they are committed to DEI.
“We can’t allow this. In the 5th most diverse state, we have the 6th most segregated classrooms in the nation, and less than one percent of state contracts go to minority-owned businesses,” Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said, as he called out Rutgers University pulling the DEI program.
“Rutgers, and any other schools preemptively pulling DEI programming, is an utter failure of courage in the face of political foolishness. We know better.”
The New Jersey Department of Education has maintained its DEI policy for all-inclusive educational resources, stating “All students deserve equitable access to a high-quality education that is inclusive and reflective of the rich diversity of our state. This can be achieved by considering diverse histories, experiences and perspectives that promote the dignity and respect of all individuals.”
But, according to businessman John Hope Bryant, “DEI is dead,” and Black people should instead focus on DIY.
In agreement, “DEI does not, and has not applied to any of the real issues we are confronted with. We have been duped into the illusion of inclusion,” Divine Allah, former candidate for Trenton City Council told NJ Urban News. “Doing for self has always been the goal.”
“D.E.I. has been weaponized…politicized,” said John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO of Operation HOPE.
Speaking at Fortune’s Global Forum, the philanthropist and accessible financial literacy advocate continued, “Mathematically, there are not enough college-educated, successful white men to drive GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for 30 years.”
Bryant added that in 1950, “America was 99% white. Today America is 40% Black and brown. In 10 years it will be a majority of minorities. 70 % of the US economy – 29 trillion dollars is consumer spending, that’s you and I going to restaurants, going to lunch, playing video games – that’s us. This country can not succeed without us…we better figure out in the next 5 to 10 years that we are better together.
“I don’t want you to be obsessing on DEI: I want you to be focusing on DIY– Do it Yourself,” said the financial guru.
“We are not even prioritized in DEI, why are we getting so riled up?… Black people are not even the priority in DEI … .Affirmative Action was created for us, but it actually benefits white women and others.”
DEI was created out of the demands for recompense for the enslavement of Africans and the nation-building bloody aftermath. But, on paper at least, this is why DEI: African Archives posted The Black Holocaust:
246 years of slavery 1619-1865
99 ears of Jim Crow Laws 1865 – 1964
86 years of lynching 1882- – 1986
14 years civil rights fight 1954 -1968
Police brutality to date in the U.S.
Bryant purported. “DEI is not about a giveaway program, it is about getting access to things when you don’t have the relationship capital yourself.”
Here’s why folks shouldn’t get discombobulated over the removal of D.E.I., he continued, “We are fifth on the list.” First white women, then Hispanics and Latinos, then disabled people, and then Black folk, he said, and then Indigenous and Native Americans, and Asians.
This change in established law is not happening in a vacuum. Trump and Elon Musk fired thousands of federal workers as they rearranged government agencies, including immigration, the Treasury, nuclear energy, education, healthcare, and the military.
Court challenges are stacking up, and outraged residents are fighting the move. They focus on companies like Walmart, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Google. A “fast” saw, Target reportedly lost $15.7 billion within days of a boycott being enacted on 24th, January.
Boycotts may be the new black, as folk across the nation react to national companies’ decision to remove their DEI policy by withholding their dollars. On Friday, February 28th, people were told not to spend any money. It made national news. Folk saved their coins or spent them in Black or small businesses.
The point was made, and the lead-up—and the buzzing wake thereafter—left activist residues promising greater continued boycotts, including March 7 -14 Amazon, March 21–28 Nestle, April 7 – 14th Walmart, April 18th another economic boycott, and the April 21 General Mills boycott.
Mayor Baraka said, “Rutgers should not feel alone in the face of this bully. I call on all private sector partners, responsible corporations, and those who believe in democracy to stand with our institutions against the threat of defunding. Collectively, we can give them the strength to lead the charge against these backwards directives. Our state deserves better, and together, we can ensure that progress and inclusion stay at the heart of our values for all New Jerseyans.”
Getting rid of DEI reflects where this nation is, Allah said. “It’s 2025, how much more do we need to see?”
“The time for unity is now. The political landscape has changed,” analysed New Jersey activist Divine Allah, the creator of his Mind, Body, Activism health and wellness community training organization.
“When it comes to politics, it is hard to get people galvanized into politics around the country. People are disillusioned, and the DOGE laying off 7,000 federal workers and cutting DEI programs only reinforces their opinion that the system has failed them. Outside of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka– who is now running for New Jersey Governor, and former New York City Councilman and Assembly Member Charles Barron, there are no real grassroots politicians, who would take a grassroots, real community-centered approach to politics.
“But, there are these young people who are like seeds in the ground, who are working in their own way, separate from politics, and gaining more traction. So DEI is not a consideration for them. They are saying that you do not have to be in politics. Ras Baraka has put enough structures in place so that the youth can get involved in building in the inner cities, and they can go the distance.”
