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Video: Reflection Indigenous Peoples' Day with Rev F Willis Johnson

Video: Reflection Indigenous Peoples' Day with Rev F Willis Johnson
The Fulcrum Editorial Reflection Indigenous Peoples Day Rev F Willis Johnson

Rev. Dr. F. Willis Johnson, Jr., VP of Partnerships and Programming with the Bridge Alliance, is respected for his leadership and strategies around social and racial justice issues.

Johnson shares his thoughts and reflections on Indigenous Peoples' Day.

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Monica Harris

‘We're ignoring our common values and interests’: A conversation with Monica Harris

Berman is a distinguished fellow of practice at The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, co-editor of Vital City, and co-author of "Gradual: The Case for Incremental Change in a Radical Age." This is the 10th in a series of interviews titled "The Polarization Project."

National elections in the United States tend to spark talk of “red” and “blue” America — two parallel nations divided by geography and politics, with rural and central states trending Republican and coastal and urban areas voting for Democrats.

This shorthand obscures as much as it reveals, of course. There are many blue voters in red states, and vice versa. Indeed, there is some research to suggest that the very creation of red- and blue-colored voting maps leads people to overestimate the extent of American political polarization.

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Three diverse professionals  in business attire smiling and posing in an office
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‘Black jobs’ slur and anti-DEI mindset are bad for business

Devlin is managing director of Open to All. Unguresan is founder of the EDGE Certified Foundation.

It’s a trend with no clear expiration date and every sign of continuing — the “Black job” meme, which began in June when former President Donald Trump said immigrants were taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”

In the weeks that followed, one of the more joyful iterations came when Shonda Rhimes, among the most successful television producers and screenwriters in history, posted a photo of herself on Threads wearing a T-shirt that read, “My Black Job is TV Titan.” And at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama made the point that the presidency was a “Black job.”

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The word "meritocracy" on a chalkboard
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The propaganda of 'meritocracy'

Degefe is a research associate in Duke University's Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity. Ince is an assistant sociology professor at the University of Washington.

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) recently launched the Merit Caucus to prevent diversity, equity, and inclusion from dominating education. Owens, chairman of the Education and Workplace subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, argued that the left is waging a "war on meritocracy" and is threatening America’s excellence, all in the name of equity.

Such sentiment is clearly becoming more prevalent, as evidenced by the Supreme Court’s decision to effectively end race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities and by Texas, Florida, Alabama and Utah banning the use of state dollars for DEI programs in public universities, effectively closing these offices.

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Happy elementary students raising their hands on a class at school
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Project 2025: A threat to equitable education

Johnson is a United Methodist pastor, the author of "Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community" and program director for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.

This is part of a series offering a nonpartisan counter to Project 2025, a conservative guideline to reforming government and policymaking during the first 180 days of a second Trump administration. The Fulcrum's cross partisan analysis of Project 2025 relies on unbiased critical thinking, reexamines outdated assumptions, and uses reason, scientific evidence, and data in analyzing and critiquing Project 2025.

Michelle Obama resonated deeply at the Democratic National Convention.

"Shutting down the Department of Education, banning our books — none of that will prepare our kids for the future," she said.

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Road signs that read "Belonging," "Inclusion," "Equity" and "Diversity"

Belonging is the bedrock.

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Amid DEI backlash, belonging plays a key role in future success

Carter is adjunct faculty in industrial and organizational psychology at Adler University.

Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have become increasingly visible in U.S. workplaces, especially over the past five years. However, DEI has recently come under attack, with companies scaling back their DEI plans.

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