Voices Against The Racist DEI Ban And The Fight For Free Speech

Free speech is under attack in Texas as the Republicans continue to fight against diversity in higher education.

May 15, 2024

The Texas Senate Committee on Higher Education, chaired by Senator Brandon Creighton (R), met yesterday. They planned to discuss three topics: compliance with the DEI ban, combatting “anti-semitism” on campus, and campus free speech. As I expected, the hearing lasted for nearly 11 hours. Two hundred fourteen people signed up to testify against these restrictive measures, but only 148 stayed to speak by late evening.

Creighton pulled a typical Republican stunt by allowing several panels of invited testimony to speak first, making sure to drag out all of their time. Republicans do this when hundreds of people sign up against awful bills. They try to stretch the invited testimony out as long as they can so that eventually, people will have to leave to go to work, school, or family plans; that way, there are fewer people to tell the Republicans what terrible people they are. It was six hours into the hearing before public testimony began.

Here are each of the panels if you’re interested.

Each of the panels was the same: Republican-aligned guests saying the things that Republicans wanted to hear. When they spoke about “anti-semitism” on campus and free speech, they talked about Columbia University and other colleges that have been in the news, pointing to how those non-Texas universities had pro-Palestine protests that included graffiti and the taking over of buildings.

The panels discussed what they have done to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on their perspective campuses. It was very business-like. They discussed getting rid of these programs and laying off the related employees while keeping the morality of it out of the conversations.

The first six hours of the hearing was a Republican circle-jerk.

The public testimony told the entire story.

Yesterday, 214 people signed up to testify against the measures of SB17, and when the bill was initially debated in the legislature, 162 people testified against it. That’s 376 people who testified against the bill (math), both when it was enacted and yesterday.

While no one signed up to testify in favor of or against SB17 yesterday, six people, two out of state, testified in favor of it last year.

During yesterday’s public testimony, one of the witnesses mentioned to the Committee that Republicans would not take the testimony to heart and make positive changes. Senator Creighton pushed back against that and said, “We are here now; we are listening to you.”

Creighton meant this in a completely disingenuous way. He made that point during the initial SB17 debate when Senator Zaffarini (D) questioned why he was pushing it through, even though it appeared that most Texans did not want the removal of diversity from college campuses.

In April 2023, Creighton spoke about how Texas wasn’t like Washington, D.C., and every Texan had a right to be heard. It didn’t matter if they were against the bill or thought it was racist; at least they got to voice their opinion.

You can see that exchange here:

Students, teachers, parents, concerned citizens, and civic engagement groups testified yesterday. They all said the same thing: There was an attack on free speech at the University of Texas in Austin.

Several of the arrested protesters were there to share their experiences and to talk about how Austin PD and DPS brutalized them and arrested them for peacefully protesting. Many of them brought up how Patriot Front was allowed to march on the UT campus last year while under the protection of local law enforcement.

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From the testimony, it became abundantly clear that this bill was having the racist impact on campuses it intended. Aside from the mass firings, universities have shuttered their programs for undocumented, mixed-status, temporary-status, and DACA students. Universities have closed their women’s centers and LGBTQ support centers. Programs that helped veterans and disabled people find scholarships and do job searches have also been shut down.

Many of the people who testified yesterday were Jewish.

It’s vital that there are Jewish voices that were speaking against the brutality of the state under the guise of “fighting anti-semitism.” The protesters at UT were peacefully assembling, and many of them testified that the only anti-semitism they had heard or seen on campus came from far-right groups and Republican-aligned Nazis.

Several professors testified regarding how Texas universities have had to return research grants or couldn’t receive grants because of the end of the DEI programs. The academic community expressed deep concerns over the future of higher education in the state. They warned that the state’s educational institutions were becoming less competitive, potentially deterring faculty and students from associating with them.

As the testimony unfolded, the ramifications of the DEI ban became apparent through the personal accounts of impacted community members. When Senator Creighton initially pushed this bill through, he made it clear that the intent was racist: to expand whiteness on college campuses. Yesterday’s testimony showed that Creighton’s bill has the intended effect.

Senator Royce West almost hits the mark.

After a few hours of testimony, Senator West (D) said to the young people there, “With all due respect to everyone who is testifying against this, the only way you’re going to change this is to vote. Bottom line. That’s the only way you’ll change this policy in the State of Texas is to vote. I appreciate your testimony, I appreciate you saying that you’re against it, is you gotta vote.”

I knew it was the wrong message as soon as he said it, but my feelings about that were solidified about an hour later when one of the young people testifying said, “I want to mention a point that Senator West brought up, as far as getting people out to vote. I wanted to tell him, do not have us out there voting for state Reps and Senators if we are not going to legislate properly.”

I’ll be writing a follow-up about this entire issue soon because young people are being bombarded with messages about federal politics, and young people who lean left are looking at the situation in Gaza and how Democrats have control of the White House. They are calling Joe Biden “Genocide Joe.” And many of them are planning to sit this election out “to teach Democrats a lesson.”

So, young people who aren’t politically astute aren’t hearing why voting in state and local elections is essential. They are seeing and hearing that Republicans would aid Israel in bombing Gaza. Still, right now, Democrats are aiding Israel in bombing Gaza, so Democrats and Republicans must be the same. I’m not sure they fully grasp how federal, state, and local politics differ (obviously, not all).

Telling young people to vote without telling them why or explaining the difference between state and federal politics will not yield the results Senator West hoped for.

The right message to young people in Texas should be, “It is Republicans in Austin who are implementing racist and oppressive laws. If you don’t want to lose your civil and human rights, you have to vote against Republicans in the state legislature.”

Creighton’s DEI-ban compliance hearing yesterday reflected the more significant issues at stake.

In Texas, freedom, equity, diversity, and constitutionally protected rights are under threat, and it is the GOP threatening them.

The overwhelming testimony against the bill, filled with personal stories of disenfranchisement and the practical impacts of these policies, underscores a pressing need for active civic engagement.

As Senator Royce West rightly points out, the power to alter these distressing trends lies squarely in the hands of the electorate. Voting remains a critical tool, not just as an act of personal expression but as a collective strategy to effect change. However, the disillusionment among young voters, particularly those who see little distinction between the actions of different political parties, poses a significant challenge. Their frustration is symptomatic of a deeper trouble—a disconnection from the understanding that state and local governance profoundly and directly impact their daily lives.

The conclusion we must draw from these proceedings is twofold. First, we must commit to educating our youth about the nuances of our political system, ensuring they understand the direct correlation between their votes and the quality of their governance. This education should emphasize the importance of participation and foster an understanding of how different levels of government function and intersect.

Second, we must advocate for and support candidates genuinely committed to representing their constituents’ interests and upholding the principles of diversity and inclusivity. This fight is not merely against a single piece of legislation but against a broader inclination toward policies that marginalize and silence vulnerable communities.

For those who stand against the tides of regression, the call to action is clear: mobilize, educate, and transform disillusionment into democratic power.