Diversity, equity, inclusion advocates speak out for initiatives, a possible target of Utah lawmakers

A trio of speakers offered a defense of diversity, equity and inclusion programs during a panel discussion on Saturday in Salt Lake City. They are, from left, Curtis Linton, Nikki Walker and Darnell Crandall.

A trio of speakers offered a defense of diversity, equity and inclusion programs during a panel discussion on Saturday in Salt Lake City. They are, from left, Curtis Linton, Nikki Walker and Darnell Crandall. (Tim Vandenack, KSL.com)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Diversity, equity and inclusion programs — a focus of hot debate in Utah and across the nation — aren't just for racial and ethnic minorities, advocates say.

"We're talking about women. We're talking about people from the LGBTQ community. We're talking about people who speak different languages," Darnell Crandall, a public defender and trial attorney in Salt Lake City, said Saturday. "We're talking about creating spaces for those people so they can be included and they can do the work that they are already capable of doing."

What's more, initiatives meant to foster diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, aren't aimed at benefiting one group at the expense of others, as painted by some foes.

"Opponents of DEI initiatives will present it as a zero-sum game. If one group gets something, I lose something. It's fundamentally false," said Curtis Linton, the adoptive father of two Black children and co-founder of the Domino Foundation, which assists with transracial adoptions. "DEI initiatives are inclusive."

Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at universities and elsewhere have come under fire by conservative lawmakers across the country and they are shaping up to be a potential focus of Utah lawmakers in the legislative session that begins this month. Some critics decry the focus they place on aiding members of certain demographic groups, suggesting such attention is discriminatory.

In that context, former Democratic U.S. House hopeful Darlene McDonald helped organize a panel discussion Saturday in Salt Lake City featuring Crandall, Linton and Nikki Walker — diversity, equity and inclusion advocates — to counter the foes. McDonald also runs the 1 Utah Project, focused on boosting civic engagement of people of color and "disaffected voters."

A trio of speakers defended diversity, equity and inclusion programs at a panel discussion on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, in Salt Lake City. About 50 people attended the event, which featured speakers Curtis Linton, Nikki Walker and Darnell Crandall.
A trio of speakers defended diversity, equity and inclusion programs at a panel discussion on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, in Salt Lake City. About 50 people attended the event, which featured speakers Curtis Linton, Nikki Walker and Darnell Crandall. (Photo: Tim Vandenack, KSL.com)

"DEI is so much of a broader idea than what color your skin is. DEI is about disabilities. It's about veteran's status. It's about mothers going back to work. It's about girls having their dreams cut off because they are girls. It is about natives," said Walker, DEI director at a Utah tech company. Race, she went on, "is just one part of it."

McDonald said she isn't sure what Utah lawmakers may present during the coming session, which starts on Jan. 16. Diversity, equity and inclusion critics' efforts, though, already seem to be yielding results. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox last month decried requirements that some job applicants at Utah's public universities have to submit "diversity statements," echoing criticism of some other lawmakers aimed at such programs. The University of Utah on Friday said it would stop asking for them.

As for diversity, equity and inclusion basics, Crandall said such initiatives aim at "creating a space for people who are traditionally underrepresented to feel that they are included," whether at a place of work or a school or university.

As white, straight and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints growing up, Linton said he thrived in his school system, saw it as designed to benefit his demographic. However, he saw a more problematic experience for his two Black children as they entered the school system. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as he sees it, aim to counter that sort of imbalance.

"We have to consciously do work to make sure our institutions work for everybody, inclusive of the identity they show up with," he said. "So when we talk about schools specifically, an equitable school is one where each student shows up every single day and they are recognized for who they are rather than rewarded for how well they fit."

Asked the challenges that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts face, Walker offered a blunt assessment.

"You all want the real answer?" she asked. "White men. I'm sorry."

She went on, citing a theory, "replacement theory," that posits that initiatives like diversity, equity and inclusion programs aim to replace white men in the workforce with minorities. That, though, won't happen, she said, and isn't the goal of such efforts.

"Replacement theory is really a fear tactic to get people on the side of thinking that DEI is some dangerous construct of the mind when in fact, what it is, is practical solutions to ensure that all people have access to all things," she said.

Linton elaborated, saying her critique ties in with his contention that some are leery of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives because they see them as taking from one group and giving to another. "So the idea that there is a finite amount and only some people get it and other people don't — it's just a falsehood," Linton said. "There's nothing in the progress of humanity that has suggested we're playing a zero-sum game."

Some white men may push back against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, he said, "because it feels foreign." Those leery of such programs, he went on, need space to process the change. "So I will say this — white men need some space to figure this out. They need some patience. There's a lot of judgment running around, and someone who has been in a privileged position, when they have judgment thrown at them directly, they will turn to their privilege to block out the judgment," he said.

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL.com. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.

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