Let’s be clear that white-centered DEI is not DEI.

If you need a refresher, check out this prior newsletter edition, “DEI that Fails to Decenter Whiteness Is Not Real DEI.”

Real DEI is the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion that we’ve been fighting for all this time.

Real DEI is what makes white people uncomfortable.

Real DEI is what several rounds of “unconscious bias” training seeks to replace.

Real DEI shines a spotlight on inequities and non-inclusivity.

The aim of real DEI in the most basic of terms is to convince human beings in power to be decent human beings to other human beings.

Let it sink in that ongoing inhumanity to humankind is what makes DEI necessary in the first place.

Also let it sink in that it’s been easier to legislate hate than it’s been to legislate anything else in this country.

But I digress….

Consider a children’s playground.

If the world were a playground, the children with all the toys not only refuse to share the playground but also try to limit which parts of the playground other children can access and try to prevent other children from having toys. Toy-abundant children on the playground accomplish this by…..

• staking ownership claim of the entire playground and enforcing it at all costs
• stealing, sabotaging, and destroying the few toys that other children have
• bullying, policing, and killing other children

Real DEI wants to do a thing…

re-envision the playground and rehabilitate (or get rid of) the bullies so that there are toys available for every child to enjoy a playground shared by all.

Okay, so back to real life…..

Faux DEI is alive and well. The acronym is more accurately Discrimination, Erasure, Illusion.

Faux DEI is characterized by

• “check-the-box” display-only representation
• performative posturing and lip service
• on-code gate-keepers
• at-the-ready CDOs to take the fall for mess-ups

all of which are powered by the system of whiteness.

10 “Discrimination, Erasure, Illusion (DEI) Games” (in no particular order)

1. On-Code Conditioning

This is the pre-meeting and post-meeting discussion of Black candidates whereby the virtue-signaling label of “diversity candidate” serves to condition and influence decision-makers against us. It’s the “in-the-room-where-it-happens” exclusion. A major aspect of this game is for everyone in the room to pile-on “ALL” the reasons to eliminate a Black candidate from further consideration. White people actually walk out of these meetings feeling justified about their serial-rejections of Black candidates.

2. The Goldilocks Approach

This approach is about telling Black candidates that we’re either too underqualified or too overqualified, and never seeming to settle on a Black candidate that is just right. This game is usually accompanied by the “standard racist narrative” that “we just can’t find any qualified Black candidates.”

3. Name it and Disclaim It

This one involves a scanning of the resume for “tell-tale Black markers” (name, alma mater, memberships, etc.) and then a reverse engineering of a “legal-safe” justification for not inviting Black applicants to be interviewed. Target is currently taking heat for this. Check out “Woman’s Job Application Rejected Until She Applied Under Different Name and Race.” I should mention that this is not Target’s “first rodeo” with this aspect of the “game.” “Target has previously faced multiple claims of discriminatory hiring practices, which have resulted in legal settlements.” When they got caught before, they promised to change….so yeah….busted yet again.

4. Bait and Switch

Whew chile. A new twist on an “old favorite” is inviting Black candidates to interview in order to only satisfy “diversity interview quotas” without any intention of hiring us. Wells Fargo turned this “game” into an art form because…..well…..Wells Fargo. That’s how they roll. I should also mention that Wells Fargo’s CEO had previously made a statement in 2020 about there being a “limited pool of Black talent,” for which he later apologized. Isn’t it funny though how they just kept on “finding” Black talent for their fake interview scheme? Just saying.

5. “Slave” Wages

Do I even need to say more about this one? It gets no lower than this to knowingly pay Black employees below fair market value and to not pay Black employees their worth. It appears that folks who claim they are nothing like their ancestors have a hard time moving past that era of free Black labor. And it’s no coincidence that I chose to use a Black woman’s image to accompany this “game.” IYKYK

6. Overseer Watch

Yes, it happens. We can be purposely assigned to a white manager with lesser education, skills, and experience as a means to reinforce the racial caste system—the “superiority” of mediocre whiteness over Black excellence. I also call this pre-meditated racism by proxy. Our skills and experience which shine brightly in contrast are subsequently viewed as a threat, our ideas and initiative are considered a challenge to authority, and our questions are regarded as divisive to the team.

7. The Moving Bar Phenomenon

This one involves changing the rules each time a Black person has “mastered” the rules and is progressing despite the rules. Whiteness doesn’t take too kindly to us outmaneuvering obstacles, getting past the boundaries, jumping through all the hoops. And of course we all know that the one who creates and owns the “game,” is the one that makes all the rules….even new rules if it suits the overall aim of the “game.”

8. Black Erasure

This one is gaining ground. Companies are doubling-down on the misleading umbrella classification of Black employees as “people of color” in order to merge us with other melanated groups and hide how few of us there are. A company’s self-published diversity report that relies on this tactic is a report full of smoke and mirrors. Imagine if it were mandatory that ALL companies publicly disclose their EEO-1 reporting data. In other words, “Show us the Black data.” That alone should cut “white lies” in half.

9. Whiteness Onboarding

The “cute” names, such as “Traditions” or “The [insert company name] Way,” doesn’t disguise it. Indoctrinating, acclimating, and shaping newly hired Black employees into a “culture fit” via blatant, subtle, or subliminal messages is still a preferred method of “welcoming” people in. Company orientation programming typically reinforces “professionalism” and whiteness-approved ways to exhibit “authentic self.” The “process” is so important that some companies dedicate an entire week to it.

10. Plantation Hunger Games

This “game” is all about the pawns. Acquiring or purchasing Black “tools” and then using them to advance a whiteness agenda (whiteness preservation systems, divide and conquer, control, etc.) is the goal. When played just right, to the uninformed mind it will appear that whiteness is innocent of whiteness. Meanwhile, Black employees are struggling within a system created to be against us, are blocked from making significant gains, and are gaslit frequently with the “boot straps” trope.

Want More In-Depth Information and Analysis on These 10 “DEI Games”?

I’m taking a page out of the book of my sisters. Moving forward, the majority of in-depth content, analysis, and coaching will be reserved for members of my asynchronous community—a place of learning and unlearning in a safe environment away from the censoring eyes and ears of LinkedIn and its member trolls.

Below you’ll find information on my subscription-based community as well as the subscription-based learning of three other unbought Black women educators and content-creators who reserve their best work for outside of this platform.

Theresa’s “True Anti-Racism Allies Academy” (membership by application only)

A subscription-based community for aspiring anti-racism allies and anti-racism allies-in-progress to (un)learn and grow to become impactivists™. Benefits include community support for the journey, coaching, content not released on LinkedIn, minimum of one video lesson per month, monthly invitation to a live virtual learning lab.

Virtual doors open August 1. Community size is 50 maximum, and doors close to new members September 30—whichever happens first. The community is NOT right for those who are “fragile,” ego-driven, unreceptive to feedback and correction, averse or “allergic” to discomfort, or are looking for “ally cookies.”

Ashani Mfuko’s Patreon Community

For ongoing anti-racism education, resources, support, and accountability. Ashani Mfuko shares exclusive videos, trainings, and more. There are various membership levels to support your journey. Select the level that’s right for you.

Ashani’s Patreon world is an “interactive community of purpose-driven individuals, who are committed to creating a more beautiful and equitable world, through education, activism, and intentional action!”

Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter (SARN)

You’ll definitely want to be a paid subscriber. This “must-read newsletter is for anyone committed to anti-racism and looking to get insights, resources, and tools to help you do the work and make an impact. Brought to you by anti-racism activist, writer, and educator Sharon Hurley Hall.”

Paid subscribers get subscriber-only content and “early announcements of new ventures, access to the SARN mini-podcast (with Sharon’s short takes on racism and anti-racism). Plus you’ll be part of a community of active anti-racists working to make the world a better, more equitable place.”

Kimberley John-Morgan’s “Salt Box” on Ko-Fi

A subscription-based space for those “who want to engage in a higher level of discourse beyond the limited and myopic gaze of LinkedIn.” It’s where Kimberley “serves up some very salty food for thought. The space is for “people who face isms to feel seen. The realities of workplace discrimination are too often discussed behind closed doors and in hushed tones.” As Kimberley says, “In my house, we talk the talk and say all the things — ALL of them.”

Salt Box gives folks access to powerhouse “writing that unapologetically shines a light on the discrimination that hides in plain sight. Monthly subscribers gain access to exclusive content and can partake in food for thought discussions filled with insightful perspectives and hot tea.”