One of the bills before the Florida Legislature when it begins work this week will be a measure to drive a stake through the heart of DEI.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is a racist and anti-American concept devised by the Democrat Party and imposed on American government and businesses.
With the 2024 election, it has been exposed as costly, unfair and counter-productive and the federal government now is trying to reverse what the federal government did to spread the practice in the previous four years.
Last month, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wrote to the dean of Georgetown Law School, indicating that the school was under investigation for continuing to “teach and promote” DEI.
While it never has had much support in the Republican-controlled Free State of Florida, it persists.
However, since the election, companies have been quick to jettison the divisive concept. Even Disney, described in one news story as “the wokest company in America” has dropped DEI ideology.
Jacksonville Republicans Rep. Dean Black and Sen. Clay Yarbrough have filed companion bills that would prohibit local government from taking official actions to support DEI activities.
It goes even beyond that. The bill actually would punish any official who voted for a local law that would expand the powers of agencies to institute DEI functions.
The proposed law defines the term “diversity, equity, and inclusion” as “any ordinance or policy that classifies an individual on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes deferential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”
Black noted that Mayor Donna Deegan had a DEI czar in her proposed budget for 2024-25. Last summer, the City Council defunded the position. It remains unfilled.
He told Eye on Jacksonville: “We have made progress in rooting out discrimination and division in the name of diversity equity, and inclusion from our education system, our state government, and our universities. However, municipal and county governments continue to force this hateful ideology upon our citizens when they should be focusing on the responsibilities that local government should be focused on – such as public safety and reliable roads. With the passage of House Bill 1571, we will continue to destroy ideological extremism in our local governments and ensure that Florida remains the state where DEI goes to DIE.”
