Since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas, student-led pro-Palestine protests on U.S. college campuses have been accused of spreading antisemitism and threats to Jewish students, and a number of pro-Palestinian voices and organizations have been silenced or shut down.
As a result, university leaders are being asked about what they’re doing to protect both Jewish and Muslim students. Those are rightful questions and more needs to be done to ensure student safety and sense of belonging.
However, Dr. Claudine Gay—Harvard University’s first Black president in its 368-year history—is facing a more sinister challenge. Look no further than the billionaire Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman’s recent post on X, in which he claims to have “heard from someone with firsthand knowledge that the Harvard president search committee would not consider a candidate that didn’t meet the university’s DEI requirement.”
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He went further, arguing that race, gender, and sexual orientation are “not the right approach” for identifying the most qualified leaders for prestigious universities. And in a grotesque case of concern-trolling, Ackman added, “it is also not good for those awarded the office of president who find themselves in a role that they would likely not have obtained were it not for a fat finger on the scale.” (Ackman and those that share his mindset would like for you to believe that in 368 years there wasn’t one qualified Black candidate that could lead Harvard.)
The attack isn’t new.
The further a successful person is from whiteness, the more likely they are going to face this kind of patronizing skepticism.
Vice President Kamala Harris has been attacked as a “DEI hire.” Right-wing culture warrior podcaster Jordan Peterson called Biden White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “some random diversity hire chick.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) opposed DEI efforts in the military, saying the loud part loud when he insisted, “the military is not an equal opportunity employer. It shouldn't be. It never should be.”
Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting diversity training in 2020. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill banning DEI initiatives in Florida’s public colleges and universities in May. Since affirmative action in college admissions was overturned by the Supreme Court in June, over 40 anti-DEI bills in higher education were proposed across 22 states.
Why is the right so threatened by DEI? And why would a prominent, politically active, ultra-wealthy financier use his considerable platform to take specific aim at an accomplished Black woman—with degrees from both Stanford and Harvard—like Dr. Claudine Gay?
It’s because the anti-DEI militants see their position as the gatekeepers of the American dream. An accomplished white job candidate garners no suspicion, a candidate of color makes them immediately suspect how they could have possibly ended up in the room.
But Bill Ackman—who slammed Gay’s hiring—sang a different tune in 2020.
The hedge fund giant hired investment banks headed and owned by Black founders, women, and veterans…all groups who fall under the DEI umbrella.
Those diverse firms were tasked with a $4 billion dollar publicly traded portfolio. Now I’m sure Hackman wouldn’t entrust that kind of money to unqualified people. He also didn’t count those efforts as putting his “fat finger on the scale” back then, a mere three years ago.
Why the sudden change now? Political expediency.
Gay and Harvard University are in the crossfires of a culture war. The embers were hot when the affirmative action ruling came down, but today we’ve entered a five-alarm fire.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing titled, “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism” on Capitol Hill, Dec. 5, 2023.
Ken Cedeno/ReutersIt was only last year that The Harvard Gazette published an article with quotes from faculty and university leadership praising Gay as “strong leader, brilliant thinker, and a superb scholar.” (The bliss also carried over into student support for Gay’s hiring.)
All of these abilities were hosted in a Black, female body. DEI didn’t tip the scales for Gay, her record did.
But conservatives and “anti-woke liberals” simply cannot accept the legitimacy of a qualified Black woman leading the nation’s premier academic institution, educating some of the world’s top students. So they’re using student advocacy in the wake of international conflict as a conduit to diminish her strength.
The broader issue Gay finds herself in is an ever-expanding, right-wing rage that positions DEI, civil rights, and advocacy for Blacks as essentially a threat to America. The comments under Bill Ackman’s tweet showcase gross support for this theory. For instance, filmmaker Mike Cernovich equated DEI with Marxism and said former Sen. Joseph McCarthy—notorious for his witch hunts for suspected communists, which destroyed numerous lives and robbed innocent people of their livelihoods—was right.
As a student of history I’m reminded of the scores of Black activists who were tracked by the government, arrested, and considered threats to democracy for simply fighting for voting rights, fair wages, and housing. Dr. Gay sits at the intersection of race, gender, and an America that consistently goes back to its mean—which is inequality.
DEI has not afforded opportunities to unqualified individuals. What it has done is open doors for people of color, women, persons with disabilities, veterans, and other underrepresented groups who despite their resume, experience, and education were often denied access. DEI isn’t a dirty word. Ensuring America’s workforce, its political leadership, and its educational institutions are reflective of the diverse U.S. that we call home, is a net positive.
Black people have contributed to the growth and strength of America since its founding, but it seems we must continue to fight for belonging and a recognition of our skills and value.
The attacks on Harvard’s first Black president remind Black people that though we call America home, rejection and diminishment await us if we dare to ascend beyond “our place,” a preset destination where white supremacy dictates our futures.
