The truth behind the misleading conservative outcry over DEI at Davidson College | Opinion
In 2021 some women’s basketball players and coaches at Davidson College wore “Black Lives Matter” T-shirts after the nation watched Derek Chauvin kneel on George Floyd’s neck. Some players knelt peacefully as the national anthem played.
Those who wanted to kneel, knelt. Those who wanted to stand, stood. Later, a conservative player complained that the “partisan social justice messaging” made her uncomfortable and the issue blew up. Yet, it was a perfect illustration of unencumbered free expression in full public view on a college campus, something conservatives repeatedly (and falsely) claim doesn’t happen.
Now Davidson is facing a similar blow-up. This time the protest comes from a group of alumni, Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse, that includes former N.C. Gov. Jim Martin. The group is part of a national movement of conservatives trying to shape education into an image they prefer, while proclaiming they’re only focused on educational excellence. Such efforts have reshaped higher ed in Florida, led to book bans, gutted DEI, and even led to the ouster of Harvard University’s first Black president.
Groups like DFTD often mislead. In this case, they took a five-minute clip of a much longer film about racism that some Davidson student-athletes were mandated to watch, circulated it, and generated headlines like this one by Fox News: “North Carolina college reportedly required students watch film which says only white people can be racist.”
In a March 3 op-ed in The Observer and N&O, Martin claimed “they want to indoctrinate America’s youth for the noble goal of eliminating racism.”
DFTD’s misleading campaign was triggered by the discomfort of a few student-athletes. Here’s what DFTD and Fox News didn’t tell the public: the film, “I’m Not a Racist... Am I?,” deals with racism in a full-frontal manner. It’s not widely available because the creators insist an in-depth discussion must follow every viewing.
During the Davidson discussion, each student was allowed to speak in favor of or against anything they heard or saw. Some took up the challenge, walked up to the two microphones available, and spoke. Others felt uncomfortable when cold-called to the mics. Many decided against airing their views.
How do I know? Because I spoke with several student-athletes, including the junior whose suggestion led to the event. That’s right. It was a student initiative, not top-down as DFTD has suggested.
Some students walked away impressed that the athletic department had taken on the issue after a couple of ugly incidents on campus involving athletes during which a racist slur was tossed around. Others thought it a waste of time. Others said the film was one-sided. Still others were disappointed in fellow athletes who were disinterested or surprised racism was still a problem. And some were upset with those who chuckled during the viewing — or fell asleep. The most common complaint was that it took three hours of their time on a Sunday.
It was the opposite of indoctrination. Much like the kneeling basketball players, students were allowed to express themselves freely. No one was required to unquestionably believe in only an oppressor-oppressed framework or that only white people can be racist. Some Black student-athletes stood up during the discussion and expressed disagreement with that belief. Athletic Director Chris Clunie sent an email expressing his disagreement as well.
A couple of weeks ago, as students were leaving my Debate & Deliberation class, I heard a couple of them whispering: “That was the hardest thing I ever had to do.” It came at the end of an intense exercise in which I forced — yes, mandated — that pro-choice students argue in favor of pro-life policies. It wasn’t to convince them to adopt a pro-life mindset, but to force them to consider the very complex issue from all sides.
Where there is no discomfort, there is no learning. Conservative groups like DFTD are teaching conservative students that they are children to be coddled rather than young adults who should welcome a challenge to think beyond themselves.
Davidson College, and every other institution that takes educational excellence seriously, should never apologize for challenging students, no matter how loudly conservative groups demand they must. I won’t.
Issac Bailey is a Carolinas opinion writer for McClatchy.
