Diversity Is Not a Dirty Word
Trump's War on DEI is an Assault on Free Speech and Democracy
Diversity, equity, and inclusion—three simple words that have become lightning rods in today’s political climate. The Trump administration has ushered in a new era of McCarthyism by labeling DEI as a dangerous ideology. We need to recognize the assault on diversity for what it is at its core: a war on free speech. Trump’s anti-woke crusade is an effort to criminalize thought, silence dissent, and punish those who dare to challenge a sanitized, nationalistic narrative of America.
The chilling effect of the war on diversity is real. Educators are afraid to teach history honestly. Civil servants and soldiers are being told that acknowledging the legacy of slavery or systemic racism is "anti-American." The Department of Defense is banning controversial books from military academies. Trump’s previous executive orders tried to ban federal agencies and contractors from participating in training that even mentioned "white privilege." The message was unmistakable: if you speak candidly about race in America, you risk your job.
The Trump administration is escalating an authoritarian war on free speech. The Trump-aligned right now seeks not only to purge DEI offices but to demonize any critique of American history. The immigration system is being weaponized against dissenters—especially immigrants who criticize U.S. policy or speak up for Palestinian rights. Foreign students and green card holders have already faced harassment, delays, and even deportation threats for expressing political views deemed unacceptable by the right-wing machine.
Trump’s war on free speech is not just anti-DEI; it’s anti-democracy. It echoes the darkest chapters of American history, when dissent was treated as treason. Today, under the guise of fighting "wokeness," Trump and his allies are pushing a new kind of political correctness. The anti-woke agenda wants to label anyone who dares to talk about issues related to race, gender and sexuality politically incorrect.
We have a moral imperative to stand up to these efforts to police our speech. We must refuse these attempts to sanitize our language and purge diversity, equity, and inclusion from our vocabulary. Indivisible MHK member Philip Nel, drawing inspiration from the words of Victor Klemperer, poignantly stated in a recent YouTube video, “Autocracy infects language, fascists poison syntax, and then we absorb their viral sentences, which in turn infect the brain like tiny doses of arsenic, that over time sicken the body politic. Inoculate yourself by refusing the poisonous logic of fascism, by using your own language, by calling hatred by its proper name.” Every time an institution decides its easier to stop using the language of diversity than it is to stand up for what is right, the virus of fascism metastasizes further into our culture.
“Autocracy infects language, fascists poison syntax, and then we absorb their viral sentences, which in turn infect the brain like tiny doses of arsenic, that over time sicken the body politic. Inoculate yourself by refusing the poisonous logic of fascism, by using your own language, by calling hatred by its proper name.” - Philip Nel
The businesses and universities who once championed the value of diversity are demonstrating cowardice in the face of this assault on democracy. Too many are caving to pressure. In recent months, we’ve seen institutions rename or quietly dismantle DEI offices, trying to preempt conservative backlash. These institutions are enabling the erosion of civil liberties by validating a false narrative that diversity is divisive and equity is dangerous.
Let’s be blunt. Backing down is not a neutral act—it’s complicity. By yielding to political bullies who wrap bigotry in patriotism, these institutions are normalizing censorship and facilitating the erosion of First Amendment rights. They are teaching a generation that it's safer to stay silent than to speak out against injustice. That’s not just moral failure; it’s a betrayal of the fundamental values of free inquiry, open dialogue, and democratic resistance.
We should all be alarmed. Trump and the Republican party have created an Orwellian nightmare, where people are afraid to even say the word “Diversity.” It is clear that Trump’s anti-DEI measures are a way of laundering his broader authoritarianism and dismantling the progress American society has made on a variety of important social issues.
Trump has used censorship of DEI language to dismantle organizations working on issues like domestic violence, climate change, and criminal justice reform. Domestic violence, climate change, and police brutality are real and important social issues. The Trump Administration’s war on DEI is an effort to deny these basic facts. We cannot bury our head in the sand while Trump works to erase the victories of the social movements that have come before us.
Diversity isn’t a dirty word. It’s a principle worth defending—not just for those directly affected, but for the soul of our democracy. It’s time for institutions, leaders, and citizens to stop bending the knee to fascists and start standing up for the freedoms we claim to hold dear.