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Quote by Louis Yako

“I confront the question of whether DEI initiatives are divisive and ineffective. The answer is yes on both counts, but not for the narratives propagated by the American ruling class of oligarchs. Rather, we should consider how DEI initiatives have worked just enough to keep the status quo intact for those at the top, while planting the seeds of division between a significant percentage of marginalized and impoverished white people and every other marginalized and impoverished group in the U.S. and beyond. [From "Understanding the DEI Dismantlement” published on Counterpunch on January 31, 2025]”

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Louis Yako

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“It is not a secret that most American and Western institutions and workplaces are very much like mountains: the higher one climbs, the whiter they become. But this whiteness at the top should not be seen as representative of all white people. We must distinguish between the white people who are as marginalized, silenced, and impoverished just like many other groups, and the specific ruling class that is white and that in fact also includes a big percentage of people who only started passing as white in recent history. The latter fact is crucial to understand why the small percentage of privileged whites at the top don’t mind the narratives that bracket all white people together, because in doing so, they continue to use all whites as human shields, while benefiting from framing everyone else as an enemy of white people at large. [From "Understanding the DEI Dismantlement” published on Counterpunch on January 31, 2025]”

RacismWhite SupremacyDiversity And InclusionInstitutional RacismDivide And ConquerDecolonialityEquity And InclusionWhitness
Author:Louis Yako
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“Many DEI officers/professionals I have spoken to over the years have confirmed to me that they don’t feel they have any power to change the structures of the workplaces in which they work. They are given just enough power – along with a fancy job title – to appear as though they are making changes, but once and if they dare to confront real problems, they are often replaced or disciplined by the privileged whites who remain at the top of every institution and organization. [From "Understanding the DEI Dismantlement” published on Counterpunch on January 31, 2025]”

PowerRacismSocial JusticeElitesWhite SupremacyDiversity And InclusionInstitutional RacismDivide And ConquerEquity And InclusionInstitutional Oppression
Author:Louis Yako
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“In the end, we are left with this painful conundrum: we only need DEI initiatives because we don’t truly have a society that values diversity, we don’t have equitable workplaces and communities, and we don’t practice inclusion in the deep sense of the word. The day we have them weaved into the fabric of our human awareness is the day the need for such initiatives will cease to exist. Yet, to forcefully do away with DEI is a way to forcefully govern, discipline, and put each marginalized body and group of people in their right place – a place of servitude – through a culture of fear and terror spread by the privileged white oligarchs at the top. This is precisely why silence and retreat are much costlier than resisting not only what is being done to DEI, but how DEI has been done all along. [From "Understanding the DEI Dismantlement” published on Counterpunch on January 31, 2025]”

RacismWhite SupremacyDiversity And InclusionCorporate GovernanceInstitutional RacismEquity And InclusionInstitutional OppressionInstitutionalized Racism
Author:Louis Yako
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“When solving problems in business, having a diversity of perspectives ultimately yields better and more implementable solutions. And companies that are better able to solve problems are better positioned to succeed in the marketplace. So DEI is really about a business’ ability to thrive in the marketplace — it’s not about acts of charity and it’s really not even about social justice.”

SustainabilityDiversity And InclusionCorporate GovernanceEsgDei
Author:Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth
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“As communicators, we are complicit in the harm caused by performative communications, microaggressions, reinforcing stereotypes in our content, and contributing to damaging our brand’s reputation…. As conscious communicators, with an awareness of others’ experiences and a commitment to centering them, we are uniquely positioned to help build a truly people-centered workplace.”

Diversity And InclusionPublic RelationsCommunications
Book:The Conscious Communicator: The Fine Art of Not Saying Stupid Sh*t
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“Masterclass for Humans (The Sonnet) Only the Native Americans are real Americans, Everybody else is an immigrant. Before you tell someone to go back to their country, Start by heading back to Britain yourself. Only Indigenous people are real Canadians, Kiwis, and Aussies, everybody else is an immigrant. Before you yell slurs at an immigrant of today, Start by heading back to Europe yourself. Turkey was transformed by one man, Upon the foundation of thoughts most rational. Before you bring back the days of fanaticism, Start by taking down the statues of Mustafa Kemal. India never had any organized religion, Brahmin barbarians peddled a myth to have control. Before you cremate a secular beacon into safron ashes, Wipe out all memories of Kabir, Ambedkar and Tagore. From discrimination to assimilation, That's how we walk the course of progress. Till every trace of intolerance is history, Keep on struggling against mindlessness.”

IntoleranceColonialismAmerican HistoryWhite SupremacySecularismDiversity And InclusionHate CrimeSystemic RacismCultural IntegrationIndigenous Rights
Book:Vande Vasudhaivam: 100 Sonnets for Our Planetary Pueblo
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