“Justice for All: What We Lose When the Country Abandons DEI”
The following is a personal essay that reflects the opinions and experiences of its author alone.
February 13, 2025
When I conduct diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training in my roles as a clinical psychologist and consultant, I start with a simple question: What matters to you?
Family, respect, hard work, loyalty, spirituality, God, traditions, independence, and identity are the most common responses. These are the same responses I heard from active military service members during my tenure as an Army clinical psychologist.
Most of us share these values. Shared values are the cornerstone of all relationships. When values align, so do our actions in the name of our shared principles and beliefs.
Our Shared Values: Holding Up a Mirror to the Nation
Values shape entire nations. The United States was formed under the belief that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights. Unfortunately, our nation created a conundrum when it limited the populations to which these values applied. These values did not apply to the millions of enslaved Africans who were forcefully brought here across the Atlantic over more than 400 years. Even after slavery was abolished, these values still did not apply.
Millions of Native Americans were also denied these values as their land was imperialistically taken and decimated by settlements, colonies, and war, then eventually forced onto reservations. Asians, Pacific Islanders, Latinos/Hispanics, and others — groups that are deeply connected to American soil — have similar testimonies of systemic oppression.
Structural inequities, as we know, don’t just exist along racial and ethnic lines. People of marginalized identities, including individuals with different abilities and disabilities, have long been cut off from the values that our country purportedly upholds.
[Read: Racial Disparities in ADHD Care — How Clinicians Can Better Serve Patients]
DEI Is About Accountability
America’s legacy of structural, systemic inequity and disparity is why DEI programs exist.
DEI and equal opportunity (EO) initiatives are meant to counteract historical wrongs, the impacts of which are still felt today. They are pivotal in holding America accountable to its stated ideals and to its people, which is why — in the face of executive directives to end DEI — dismantling supremacist systems designed to perpetuate inequity must remain a priority so long as these systems impair some individuals’ life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
Dismantling begins with awareness of our country’s historical injustices. When we understand how the past has shaped the present, we see how to shape this nation’s trajectory to avoid repeating those errors. We can choose to learn from our mistakes and take steps to ensure all people are valued, regardless of skin tone, ethnicity, or ability.
To end DEI and similar initiatives — to no longer commit to righting wrongs and upholding our values — is to condemn the U.S. to a path of devolution and regression. Going backward would unearth chaos, deteriorate our nation’s connective tissue, and enact a social, economic, and humanistic toll that will be felt by everyone.
DEI in the Military: Valuing All Who Serve
What do we value as a nation? Can we say that we value the contributions of all – including those who protect this country – when we’re dismantling initiatives designed to ensure that all qualified people have the opportunity to contribute?
[Read: I Have ADHD. Is the Military Right for Me?]
On multiple occasions – as a soldier, officer, and even as a behavioral health provider – I have encountered prejudice and racism, well beyond daily microaggressions, that caused me much pain and harm. I leaned on diversity and equity programming for support during those times. At a minimum, my career survived.
My patients of color often pursue therapy to learn how to cope with instances of unfair treatment, lost opportunities, and persecution for minor infractions. Many BIPOC members of the military endorse turning to EO and DEI programming for support after experiencing discrimination. These services provide real help.
And what of the thousands of active service members of different abilities? What of changing perceptions that have recently allowed qualified neurodivergent applicants and those with other medical conditions the opportunity to enlist? Will we rollback these efforts, too, and prevent perfectly eligible individuals from serving?
I shudder to think that history will repeat itself with military members of marginalized groups – those who have served and fought in every major campaign from the Revolution to the present – finding their sacrifices unvalued and unworthy of equitable treatment, opportunity, and respect.
DEI and Neurodivergence: Next Steps
- Read: “DEI – and Neurodivergence – Are Under Attack”
- Read: How to Gauge Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — Key Questions to Ask in an Interview
- Read: “I’m a U.S. Army Aviator — and I Have ADHD and Anxiety.”
The views expressed in this article are those of the Author(s) and Do Not Reflect the official policy or position of The Department of The Army, Department of Defense, DHA, the US Government, or Henry Jackson Foundation for Advanced Military Medicine, Inc.
References
Of note, according to Erich Wagner writer for the Government Executive, “14,003 EEO complaints across the government in fiscal year 2020. 7,506 alleged discrimination on the basis of reprisal or retaliation, followed by 4,221 allegations of age discrimination, and 4,214 allegations of discrimination on the basis of a physical disability. In fourth place were complaints alleging race discrimination at 3,972, and 3,643 complaints alleged sex discrimination.” Article and Data sources provided below.
EEOC Issues Federal Workforce Report for 2020 | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Federal Sector Reports | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Department of Defense Board on Diversity and Inclusion Report
