MAGA = DEI

Listen, I know you feel some type of way.
The President’s rollback of Civil Rights-era legislation? Recalling DEI initiatives?

Really?  Why?  I thought the goal was to make America great again.

And making America great again requires diversity.  Full stop.

This decision feels like a punch in the gut and a blow to the heart. It feels like progress we fought so hard for is being undone.

But here's the thing—being a profitable company and progressive Leader? 

That still requires diversity.

There was a time when there was no evidence to prove diversity worked. We needed laws to nudge, incentivize and penalize the corporate world toward equality. There was an irrational fear that diversity wouldn’t be good for business.

Fast forward to today—what do we have? Data. Proof. Diversity adds to innovation, creativity, and yes, profitability. 

And now? We get to see who knows good business and share our values in the absence of Federal mandates.  

I know it feels scary, but there is nothing to fear, but fear itself.  

What do we really fear? Being overlooked? Being mistreated? Underpaid?  Yes, that is possible and in many cases, already a reality.  I do not believe this will make it worse.  I believe this will make it transparent.

In difficult times like this, I default to finding something to appreciate.  

“What is there to appreciate?” you might be thinking.  

Well, let us appreciate what has taken place over the last 60 years.  

Look at our progress and how much has changed.  60 years can't undo 400 years of oppression, but let’s not act like we haven’t come a long way and have a lot to be proud of.  

We could easily boast the statistics of the 92% from advanced degrees to the C-Suite to Entrepreneurship, to home ownership and more.  

And the untold story of the laws born from the Civil Rights movement is that it was a tide that elevated everyone.  Yes, Black women have done well and so have men and women of all ethnic and racial backgrounds.  

LOL…if anything, these laws were only a burden to HR (speaking as an HR professional for over 20 years) because the paperwork/admin was real!

In the coming weeks and months, there’ll be a lot of outrage. And no, you will not see me fighting to get these laws back in place. Frankly, the veil needed to be lifted.

Like we’re seeing all over the world, the old systems we’re used to are crumbling because the truth is rising. The change we want and deserve isn’t going to happen just because another president signed more laws to make us be nicer to each other.

The change we seek is going to come from us.

I’m not going to spend my energy fighting for acceptance. I’m putting my energy into advancement.

Why fight to be tolerated, when you can create your own space?  

Why demand that they pick me, when I am sought after by those who prefer quality over mediocre cronie-ism?

As it was, these laws led us to work in jobs that required us to sacrifice our mental and physical health, come back to an office to literally face microaggressions, while never feeling credentialed enough, for a paycheck that barely made it to the next. 

History might argue that rather than writing laws for mandated inclusions, if Black people were left to our own devices and unbothered, we build Black Wall Streets in Tulsa, Rosewood’s in Florida, Hayti (the Black Wall Street of the South), Seneca Village, Freedman’s Town, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, The Greenwood District and Africville in Canada and not only survive, but thrive.

I digress, this moment is a chance to see Leaders for who they really are—not who they pretend to be. To see companies for what they truly stand for, not just what their policies say.

And this is a moment to lean into our own values. 

If we value equality, will we work for, shop with or otherwise support those who do not?  

What does it mean to live a value when we are angry, upset, feelings are hurt and it’s really inconvenient?  

Let us not forget that we are losing laws that were hard-earned through great sacrifice of the men and women in the 1960’s.  Men and women who stood, fought, marched, went to prison and even died to live their values.  

What will living our values in 2025 look like?

I believe this is the start of something new. 

A renaissance of realness.  

An era where we can all show up as our truest selves and align with those who see the world the same way we do….a rich and vibrant landscape of diverse colors, backgrounds, experiences, economics and faiths.

A time for those who are clear that equity is why we are the land of opportunity and that inclusion is woven into the fabric of the American dream.

Making America great again requires diversity.  Because when was it ever not?

With all of that said, if we are entering another Civil Rights movement, we need to take a chapter from the Black Panther Playbook and make self-care central to the movement.  The best investment of your time, energy and resources is in your Self.

Whatever happens next, you will want to be mentally, emotionally and physically able and strong.  

What does that look like?

Get your rest, sleep helps process emotions.  

Drink water, because being hydrated helps with clear cognition and decision making.

Replace the extra cup of coffee with tea.  We don’t need anymore caffeine and cortisol running through our veins.

Skip the ultra-processed foods and have a salad instead, the uplifting energy of greens will make a huge difference in emotional regulation.

And go for a walk.  Not a march, not a protest, but a walk with mother nature and seek her counsel.  

Connect with the community you choose and chooses you back.  Be reminded of what really matters and know that everything about you is what makes America great.  

With so much love,

Cassandra