Vice President Kamala Harris plans to push more policies focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) if elected president, despite growing backlash against those programs.
Harris has publicly criticized efforts to block DEI principles led by Republicans as she campaigns around the country.
She previously criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for trying to root out DEI principles from the state government calling it ‘extremist’ and accusing the leader of not understanding the ‘true meaning’ of the term.
Her renewed DEI push comes as business leaders are reportedly ‘increasingly reluctant’ and even ‘fed up’ with DEI programs, citing employee and customer backlash.
But that doesn’t seem to be stopping the VP, who has a long track record of pushing ‘equity and inclusion’ in nearly every sector.
Caroline A. Wanga, CEO, Essence Ventures and Vice President Kamala Harris speak onstage during the 2024 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture about equity
Harris has repeatedly called for government to push ‘equity’ instead of ‘equality,’ arguing that some people of different races and gender need more from the federal government than others.
‘Equity says let’s pay attention to that and make up for, especially, historic issues in terms of the lack of resources being put into communities,’ Harris said during her campaign college tour to speak to young audiences.
Harris spoke at length about the need to address historical ‘inequities’ during her failed 2020 campaign for president and even appeared open to the need for racial reparations.
‘It’s complicated,’ she said during an interview with podcaster Jemele Hill in 2019 when asked about the government offering financial reparations to black descendants of slavery.
Vice President Kamala Harris talks with Gianna Floyd, the daughter of George Floyd,
Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris speaks onstage during the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture
‘Frankly I don’t believe that writing a check is going to be enough,’ she said ‘I really don’t. And the worst thing that I think could happen is that checks get written and then everybody says, ‘Okay, stop talking about this now’ without addressing the systemic inequities that are deep and require investment.’
Harris spoke with Hill about her plan for the government to force corporations to prove they are paying women equally to men or face a stiff fine.
‘That’ll get their attention,’ she said with a grin.
Harris also proposed the idea of paying teachers more money depending on the location and race of the school and the student.
‘If a child has a black teacher, before the end of the third grade, they are 13 percent more likely to go to college,’ she explained. ‘If that child has two back teachers before then they are 32 percent more likely to go to college.’
She said her policies would try to ‘connect these dots’ in the education system to give teachers more money for working in high risk urban communities and work with black colleges to address education problems.
Harris also teamed up with popular liberal Democrats to offer policy proposals on equity.
In July 2019, Harris launched a ‘climate equity plan’ with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that explicitly linked racial justice and climate change to specifically spend tax dollars in specific communities.
‘Indigenous communities, Black and brown communities, and the youth of our nation are calling for and demanding justice. We need them at the table from the beginning,’ Harris wrote, as she announced her proposed legislation.
Vice President Kamala Harris listens during a roundtable discussion at the NAACP National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (C) attend the Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 06, 2024
Harris also teamed up with Sen. Elizabeth Warren to propose a bill that would use $100 billion in government funding to help black families purchase a home.
She later trumpeted her proposal at the the Essence festival in 2019 asserting that the typical black family only had only $10 of wealth for every $100 in wealth held by a white family.
‘Ladies, if we’re going to right what is wrong, let’s deal with the racial wealth gap in our country,’ she said to the audience in a discussion panel with Al Sharpton.
Harris continued her arguments for equity after she was selected by Democratic nominee Joe Biden as his running mate.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rev. Al Sharpton discuss issues at a restaurant in Harlem
Kamala Harris speaks at the National Action Network convention
In November 2020, Harris explained in a campaign video that equity was more important to the country than equality.
‘Equality suggests, ‘Oh, everyone should get the same amount,’ Harris said. ‘The problem with that not everybody’s starting out from the same place. So if we’re all getting the same amount but you started out back there and I started out over here, we could get the same amount, but you’re still going to be that far back behind me.’
Harris argued that government should pursue ‘equity’ instead.
‘Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place,’ she said.
Critics were alarmed by the video, warning that it was a vision of communism, where the power of the state should be used to ensure equality of outcomes, not equality of opportunity.
As the vice president, Harris has made a pointed effort to push equity principals in every part of government.
Harris made it a priority to hire a diverse staff when she first took office, but after she bullied staff and made unrealistic demands, her employees left in droves, according to DailyMail.com.
‘If we want fair outcomes, we must understand what are disparities and then accommodate and adjust for those disparities if we want equal outcomes,’ she said during a college event in September at Hampton University.
Harris and Biden also trumpeted their diversity choices in staff and the cabinet.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend a meeting at the White House
US Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and US President Joe Biden meet with supporters at the White House
Biden routinely boasted about his selection of Harris as his running mate as evidence of his administration’s commitment to equity.
‘To me, the values of diversity, equality, inclusion are literally — and this is not kidding — the core strengths of America. That’s why I’m proud to have the most diverse administration in history that taps into the full talents of our country,’ he said in May. ‘And it starts at the top with the Vice President.’
Biden signed an executive order in 2023, on ‘Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government.’
Ahead of the campaign season Harris has made the issue of DEI a priority, warning her supporters that the ideas and policies behind it were under attack.
‘They’re trying to undo corporations and other private sectors — sector industries who are paying attention to this,’ she said.
‘And we got to fight against this. We have to fight against this because it will lead to very bad outcomes.’
