Legislative Black Caucus, others urge Texans to testify against bills targeting DEI

Texans need to testify against bills aimed at dismantling “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies in colleges and universities, members of the Legislative Black Caucus urged.

In a press conference Tuesday, the lawmakers joined four advocacy groups, including Texas’ NAACP chapter, asking people to attend Thursday’s hearing on higher education bills, including one that would prevent public colleges from having DEI offices and programs.

“We ask you over and over again to testify,” Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said. “We need to make sure that we show up like never before. We need to have thousands of people down here.”

The bills against DEI are discriminatory, immoral and against Texas’ economic interests, Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, said. He added that, to win far-right Republican votes, Gov. Greg Abbott is, “using Black and brown people as pawns.”

“Our diversity is our strength,” Reynolds said. “Don’t send us back to the dark days of this state.”Earlier this year, Abbott’s office sent letters to multiple government agencies stating that “the innocuous-sounding notion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been manipulated to push policies that expressly favor some demographic groups to the detriment of others.”

Signed by Abbott’s chief of staff, the letter warned agencies that hiring practices based on DEI are illegal.

If passed, the bills would prohibit public universities from having DEI offices; using race or ethnicity in hiring and admissions; requiring prospective students or job applicants to make diversity statements; or providing any training related to race, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.

Rep. Lulu Flores, D-Austin, who is not part of the Legislative Black Caucus but joined the press conference, said DEI isn’t about taking away opportunities but rather about making sure all racial and ethnic groups have equal opportunity. “DEI policies help students, faculty and staff feel more welcome on campuses,” she said.

Gary Bledsoe, president of Texas’ NAACP, said, “DEI is a merit-based initiative to assist colleges and universities to recruit the brightest African American and Latino students.”

Such efforts create innovation and progress, Bledsoe said.

“It’s frustrating and unbelievable that certain GOP leaders, including the governor and lieutenant governor, want to dismantle a tool that is so essential to keep Texas ahead,” he.

Some of the bills target what can be taught in college classrooms.

One would prohibit public institutions of higher education from offering courses that teach that “slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to the authentic founding principles of the United States, which include liberty and equality.”

Another would stop colleges from creating or maintaining offices that promote “unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial or sexual privilege, or other closely related concepts.”

Following Abbott’s letter to agencies, the Texas A&M University System, which includes 11 universities and eight agencies, banned diversity statements as a requirement from job applicants, leaving faculty and students across the state worried about the long-term effect of such a move.

Some lawmakers pointed to budget riders that would prevent colleges from receiving funding for DEI programs.

This year alone, 16 other states have introduced bills aimed at dismantling DEI.