NC State teams reflect gains that anti-diversity disregards

Amid N.C. State’s thrilling double run to the NCAA Final Four, it’s striking to remember that not so long ago college teams looked much different – many were all-white until the mid-1960s.

And it’s notable that the NCAA women’s Final Four is expected to draw record TV audience, and ticket prices will exceed those for the men’s games. Much of that is because of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, but it’s also the longterm result of federal legislation that gave female college athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports.

That history is worth keeping in mind as Republican leaders in North Carolina set their sights on dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the University of North Carolina System.

Jim Blaine, a member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, brought that plan to light with a comment at a recent trustees meeting. Like Florida, he said, North Carolina may move to end DEI programs within its university system.

“It’s my belief that it is likely that the Board of Governors or the state legislature will follow Florida’s path as it relates to DEI this year,” he said.

This was not an offhand remark. Blaine is the former chief of staff to Republican state Senate leader Phil Berger and a reliable indicator of where the Republicanappointed Board of Governors or the Republican-controlled legislature will go next.

Many red states are choosing to follow Florida’s path. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that since last year, 81 bills introduced in 28 states have taken aim at college DEI programs.

Afshan Jafar, a Connecticut College professor who co-chaired an American Association of University Professors (AAUP) committee that explored the changes in Florida, told me that the barrage of bills represents conservatives’ drive to control higher education.

“If you look at the latest legislation and policies, including Florida’s, you will see that the attack is now far more expansive than just DEI offices and programs,” she said. “The anti-DEI policies now cover elements of the curriculum, student activities, protest, and even hiring and recruiting.”

Jay Smith, a UNCChapel Hill history professor and state AAUP president, said those pushing to end DEI programs inadvertently send a message of opposing diversity itself.

“The whole assault on DEI is perplexing because I do believe they are not as racist as this makes them look. These efforts are driven by misjudgment and misinformation,” Smith said. “DEI is not an assault on white people, which seems to be their assumption.”

DEI programs are about more than race. They recognize the concerns and disadvantages faced by students with disabilities, LGBTQ students and students of various faiths and nationalities.

DEI offices also oversee compliance with Title IX, the landmark federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in education programs. The soaring interest in this year’s women’s NCAA basketball tournament reflects the law’s powerful impact.

DEI programs address real problems, especially those related to racial isolation and misunderstanding.

At N.C.State, for instance, the athletics department and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teamed last year to host a viewing of “The Talk,” Sonny Kelly’s one-man show. It focuses on how Black parents tell their children about the hazards of living in a nation where racial prejudice and its hazards are a daily reality.

Former President Donald Trump and others advocate taking the nation back to a fictional past in which race was not an issue. Supposedly that denial will “Make America Great Again”. “The Talk” video sends a different message as it opens with a quote from James Baldwin: “We can make America what America must become.”

Integrating sports was part of that becoming. So are campus efforts to foster diversity, equity and inclusion.

The successes of N.C. State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams reflect and celebrate that progress. Ending DEI programs would roll it back.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com