Howard prof calls DEI 'not only legally permissible, but also morally imperative'

NAACP Education Innovation and Research Director Ivory Toldson has called for more Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at “predominantly White institutions” (PWIs) of higher education in a recent piece for the Education Trust.

Toldson, who is also a professor at Howard University, writes that “students of color often encounter discrimination, isolation, and hostility at predominately White institutions.” He cited a survey that claimed the proportion of black students who self-reported feelings of discrimination were 1 in 5.

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In support of his position, Toldson references the “transformative power of diversity in the classroom” and points to how “diversity also enriches the academic environment.” 

Toldson was previously appointed by President Obama as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and formerly served as a senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. 

His book, No BS (Bad Stats): Black People Need People Who Believe in Black People Enough Not to Believe Every Bad Thing They Hear about Black People, asserts that “everything you thought you knew about Black people generally, and educating Black children specifically, was based on BS (bad stats).”

In his column, Toldson asserts that “DEI efforts are not only legally permissible, but also morally imperative for higher education,” despite the recent Supreme Court ruling which found race-conscious college admissions to be unconstitutional. 

Education Trust communications director Ameshia Cross said in a statement to Campus Reform, “With obstacles put in place to prevent equitable access to high quality education at every turn, the downfall of affirmative action was a blow that had reverberating effects.”

She continued, “Be mindful it came on the heels of anti-CRT, curriculum threats and dismantling of Black history, book bans, abysmal Black teacher and faculty diversity all with the backdrop of a growing diverse American population.” 

Toldson’s column was released in association with the Education Trust’s new report, “Creating Positive College Campus Racial Climates for Students of Color.” Toldson calls on policymakers to read the report and “take action to make their campuses more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.” 

According to the report, “Students of color often experience college differently than their White peers because of the negative attitudes, behavior, and practices some peers and faculty have toward students of color due to their race and/or ethnicity.”

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The report provides a wide assortment of recommendations for state and federal education policy, including requiring state higher education institutions to provide “a minimum amount of permanent, annual funding toward supporting racial/ethnic cultural centers and student organizations,” and a Congressional mandate that all higher education institutions perform a “campus racial climate assessment.”

Campus Reform contacted Howard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.