"Donald Trump's war on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is not only an attack on the importance of education as a space for cultivating critical thought - it is also a direct attack on Black people. Trump's attacks are buttressed by his commitment to an authoritarian playbook that wallows in weaponizing differences against the backdrop of creating historical myths - in this case about the supremacy of whiteness."
"Davids is professor of philosophy of education and the chair of the Department of Education Policy Studies in the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University. Her most recent publications include Academic Citizenship, Identity, Knowledge, and Vulnerability (2023); and Out of Place: An Autoethnography of Postcolonial Citizenship (2022). In this exclusive interview, Davids radically critiques authoritarian control over what should be a democratically functioning U.S. educational system and lays bare the perfunctory dimensions of DEI that preserve whiteness as normative, bringing in unique insights from abroad."
Donald Trump's campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion attacks both the role of education in cultivating critical thought and Black people. The campaign relies on an authoritarian playbook that weaponizes differences and manufactures historical myths that elevate whiteness. Diversity initiatives can operate as appeasement that conceals the persistent normativity of whiteness, allowing visible difference while retaining control over legitimate knowledge and whose history is valued. Perfunctory DEI measures in higher education often signal inclusion while leaving institutional power structures unchanged. Democratic functioning of the educational system is undermined when authoritarian control dictates curricula and standards of belonging.
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