America is in love with the “self-made man” story. The person that rose up from nothing to something. The poor scrappy kid that fought his way to the top and never had any help, only to become successful. The Horatio Alger tale of the young man with barely any resources who “made it” through hard work and determination. These stories fuel the United States. How many times have you heard, “If you focus, put your nose to the grindstone, and work, you can do anything you want?” That is practically told to every boy and girl in school, every college attendee, and immigrant that comes to this country. It is as American as baseball, apple pie, and racism.
I first heard of JD Vance through Hillbilly Elegy, his memoir of growing up in the Appalachia, a 13 state region in the United States that includes Georgia and Alabama. The Ohio Senator recalled growing up in Middletown, Oh and Jackson, Ky, watching as his family and region dealt with economic insecurity and drug abuse. Wanting a life outside of the Appalachia, Vance joined the Marine Corps and then attended Ohio State University. Vance was then awarded a massive scholarship from Yale University that allowed him to attend Yale Law School and earn his Juris Doctor degree. Through hard work and determination, he escaped his surroundings and became successful. However, many have adopted a “No excuses, pull yourself up by your bootstraps” philosophy when lauding Vance’s achievements. He is being held up as this figure that came from poverty, accepted no handouts, offered no excuses, just worked, and has risen all the way to becoming the Republican Vice President Candidate, and it works. Much of Republican philosophy rides on “I did this on my own, no one helped me.”
What makes Vance such an attractive person to the GOP is he viewed as someone that achieved success without social programs or set-asides, just focus. Vance discusses this in Elegy, blaming people in his hometown failures on themselves and lack of drive, totally ignoring that poverty in the Appalachia is generations deep and cannot be resolved by a one or a handful of people making it. There is something sinister about cherry picking one person from a very disadvantaged area who happened to find success, and then shaming the rest that possibly did not have the same chances. The sad thing is what the GOP has done with Vance is no different than what goes on in my community – Oprah, Michael B Jordan, and Jay-Z are held up as proof stating “Nothing can stop you, just work harder.” The focus on the outliers blur the vision of what really see – many may have talent and intelligence, but only as few opportunities to use it.
To Black people, this song and dance is played in our lives more than Marvin and Tammy’s “Your All I Need To Get By.” There is never any serious discussion of the social inequities or discrimination that has been installed in this country to make us a “Permanent Underclass.” No, this is all y’all’s doing. If Black people stop listening to rap music and go to school, then maybe you would have a chance in life. Totally ignoring public schools in African-American neighborhoods are woefully underfunded, any type of Black progress has been stomped out (ie the destruction of various Black Wallstreet’s across the country), and how systemic racism has been a problem before the birth of hiphop. It is easy to lift up a poor white, specifically one that comes from the type of poverty Vance was born into, and say “He is an example of why there is no excuse.” Highlighting outliers is a way to avoid real discussions about race and inequities, because if we looked at the systemic discrimination rather than one person, then massive changes in our society would have to be made. Instead, we attack DEI.
Within the past seven or eight years, DEI has emerged as both a call to correct the inequities in corporate America, and as a divisive action that is framed as unearned advantages due to one’s race or sexuality. DEI, short for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is defined by Dictionary.com as an organizational framework that aims to promote fair treatment and participation of all people, particularly groups that have been historically underrepresented or subject to discrimination on the basis of identity or disability. What is thought of as a new train of thought, the origins of DEI can be traced back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, specifically the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sharrita Marshall, an ERG Alignment expert wrote in Linkedin, “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This act laid the groundwork for modern DEI initiatives by outlawing segregation in schools, public places, and employment. It was a monumental step towards creating a more equitable society.” While DEI has had it’s roots in the US since the 60’s, it made it’s way into America’s consciousness in 2014 with the death of Michael Brown, a young African-American man who was killed while unarmed by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson. Then in 2020, the policy became one of the dominant discussions in the country after the killing of George Floyd.
America was going through it’s “Racial Reckoning” and the business world stood up and took notice. Many DEI roles were created; Linkedin reported between 2019 and 2022, there was a 169% growth in Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officers. However, post George Floyd America, there has been a growing backlash against DEI. Prominent business leaders have labeled the policy “Un-American” and “racist.” Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman labeled DEI as “racist and anti-semitic.” In a 4000 word essay on the social media platform “X” Ackman wrote, “.. whites, Asians, and Jews are deemed oppressors, and a subset of people of color, LGBTQ people, and/or women are oppressed.” He then charged “DEI is racist because reverse racism is racism, even if it is against white people..” X owner Elon Musk has also attacked DEI, stating “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are propaganda words for racism, sexism, and other isms. This is just as morally wrong as any other racism and sexism.”
Following Musk’s lead, there has been an embrace of an alternative to DEI called “MEI” or “Merrit Excellence, and Intelligence.” Popularized by Alexandr Wang, Scale AI’s Chief Executive, Wang describes MEI as “A hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas,” Wang said. He then continues, “We will not pick winners and losers based on someone being the right or wrong race, gender, and so on.”
This movement is to remove DEI and replace it with a more “skills based” plan on hiring. What many of these IT executives miss is diversity efforts are one of the few ways for Black, or LGBTQ, or women to gain roles in these companies.
In my 22 years in tech, I have almost always been one of the few or the only Black man on my team or even in the organization. The technology industry has always been overwhelmingly white, and barely tolerable for anyone for who is not. The McKinsey Institute for Black Mobility published “The Black Talent Gap,” an overview of the state of African-American’s in the IT industry, writing, Black workers only make up 8% of all tech jobs. Because of this lack of diversity, policies such as DEI and Affirmative Action are needed to allow everyone a chance that is capable a chance at employment. If it were left up to the business world, there would be very little, if no change. Innovation and diversity go hand and hand. New ideas and ways of doing things are often discovered when there are people of different races, ethnicities, and ways of life are in the room. You do not break new ground or grow being around the same type of people.
In theory, the ascent of JD Vance as the potential Vice President of America should be indictive of hard work, grit, and meritocracy, but it is not. Theory is not the real world and there are many complexities to it. Vance is nothing but a false idol, a figure that will be used to push back on claims of racism, sexism, and discrimination because “He made it.” If there were hundreds or thousands of Vance’s that are able to rise from humble beginnings, attend Yale, become a VC, and run for state senator, then yes, this would prove meritocracy is real, but it is not. In a country that determines your trajectory in life based on your Grandfathers Grandfather’s wealth, race, and gender, Vance is an outlier and honestly, one of the best reasons why DEI is needed. Is DEI perfect? Absolutely not (I personally despise how it attempts to group all races of people together under the POC or BiPOC “banner”) however, it is necessary to insure that workplaces, schools, and organizations have populations that reflect what the world is today. That it allows more people that come from the slums, ghettos, and trailer parks, folks who are Black, Latino, LGBTQ, and any historically discriminated community a chance at sitting at the table, or walking up to it. By viewing Vance as the norm, you ignore the imbalance of race and class this country was founded on.
What is even more sad is Vance has embodied the “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” way of thinking and teamed up with Texas state Representative Michael Cloud to introduce the “Dismantle DEI Act.” This is a bill that aims to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in the federal government. In a statement, Vance claims, “The DEI agenda is a destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division. I am proud to introduce this legislation, which will root out DEI from our federal bureaucracy by eliminating such programs and stripping funding for DEI policies anywhere it exists. As I read this, I thought, how many people would these polices help that came from the Appalachia, where Vance was born? This is equivalent to climbing the ladder out of the hole, and kicking it down when you make it to the top. I guess Vance didn’t pay attention in history class when Mary Church Terrell, civil rights activist, urged others to “Lift as we climb, onward and upwards.”