While New Orleans and Las Vegas are still attempting to process the New Year’s Day violence that gripped their cities, some are trying to capitalize perversely (and unsuccessfully) on such tragedies.

Even before the dust settled, a number of conservatives rushed to social media to blame both events on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Among them was House Majority Leader Steve Scalise who said “some of these agencies have gotten so wrapped up in the DEI movement” that they ignore security altogether.

“Call it wokeness, call [it] whatever you want, but where their main focus is on diversity and inclusion as opposed to security, and they’re two very different things, and we’ve got to get back to that core mission,” Scalise said during an interview with a New Orleans radio station last week.

It is important to note that Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner, a Black lesbian in a same-sex marriage, saved Scalise’s life after he was shot and critically injured during a congressional baseball practice in June 2017.  Does he consider the “supposedly DEI” officer who saved his life to be unqualified for her job?

Scalise’s comments reminded me of the verbal drama that engulfed former Harvard University president Claudine Gay. In January 2024, Gay, the first Black American and second woman to serve as the university’s president, resigned after months of turmoil on the prestigious campus. Many on the right celebrated Gay’s resignation as a victory in the war against DEI.

The conservative right (and more than a few neoliberals) view DEI as a sinister two-headed dragon that benefits and rewards supposedly undeserving and incompetent people — code words for non-whites and other historically marginalized groups, including Black people and women. DEI has become an all-inclusive verbal weapon to attack any non-White person or any woman in a position of authority.

We all have witnessed how Vice President Kamala Harris was perennially labeled a “DEI hire” during the presidential campaign, despite the fact she had been involved in politics for more than a quarter century. In contrast, Vice President-elect JD Vance had been in the U.S. Senate (his first public service position) for only two years before Trump tapped him as his running mate.

Far too often, critics have labeled any form of commitment to diversity as politically correct window dressing or a source of bureaucratic excess. But when diversity is done right, it can be a crucial strategy for bolstering American power. Joe Biden entered office committed to creating an administration that resembled America, and he delivered. Half of his cabinet appointments were people of color, according to Inclusive America, a nonprofit organization that puts out a government diversity scorecard. His cabinet included the first Black defense secretary (Lloyd Austin), the first female Treasury secretary (Janet Yellen), the first Native American cabinet member (Deb Haaland, interior secretary), and the first Senate-confirmed, openly gay cabinet member (Pete Buttigieg, transportation secretary). The number of individuals who were immigrants or offspring of immigrants was notable as well.

The second Trump administration will have some immigrants, along with Elon Musk (South Africa) and Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American immigrant who will serve as Donald Trump’s AI adviser. Even the person picked to run the civil rights division at the Justice Department, Harmeet Dhillon — who is expected to wage war on wokeness — is a Sikh born in India. It seems that MAGA has jumped on the diversity bandwagon.

Conservatives blamed DEI for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, for Boeing’s safety crisis, and for the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge. Some even blamed DEI for the assassination attempt against Trump. Even a global tech outage has been associated with attempts to diversify American institutions. Such intellectually dishonest allegations are insulting, irresponsible, and potentially dangerous in that they are far too frequently employed to weaponize and maliciously distort the benefits that pluralism can provide in an effort to enhance various organizations.

We reside in an America that remains heavily politically and racially polarized. The white grievance Donald Trump and his campaign intentionally and sinisterly agitated during his victory in 2016 and once again in 2024 have made it clear that during his second administration, they intend to dismantle programs targeted at or geared toward women, non-whites, immigrants, and those deemed “other.”

Those of us committed to fairness and equality for all citizens, not just for a select few, must ensure that such a statement fails to reach fruition.

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.