Relando Thompkins-Jones

In this educational segment of Social Justice Origin Stories, Dr. Darryl B. Rice, Associate Professor of Management and Richard T. Farmer Associate Professor at Miami University, shares the research findings he and co-authors Dr. Tsedale Melaku and Dr. Jennifer R. Bishop write about in their forthcoming article: Jim Crow 2.0: Understanding Present-Day Anti-DEI Laws as A Function of Cross Generation Transmission of Systemic Anti-Black Racism in the special issue of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: on “The Backlash Against DEI Programs.” 

Dr. Rice connects Jim Crow era anti-Black violence and modern anti-DEI legislation, and how social conservatism as a political ideology, and the use of the southern strategy across Trump’s presidential campaigns, exploits racial resentment against Black people, fueling current attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

He talks about the inclusion tax: the disproportionate costs that are placed on Black people navigating predominantly white institutional and professional spaces, the impact of institutional capitulation to demands to roll back or end DEI policy, and how, by refusing to name and fight systemic anti-Black racism, organizations fail their Black employees. 

He also shares considerations for leaders and Black staff on resisting, advocating for equity, and protecting their psychological safety.