Exposing Project 2025

DEI and CRT

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) - Values and policies being promoted to help address historic discrimination of marginalized groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, ability, gender, and sexuality. 

CRT (Critical Race Theory) - An academic and legal framework that recognizes that racism is more than individual bias and prejudice, but manifested as systemic racism embedded in the fabric of our culture and society.

The backlash over DEI

Over the past decade, DEI policies and frameworks were introduced in the workplace and other spheres as a measure of redress, to assure equal access for racial and gender minorities and LGBTQ+ people. These efforts were done on basis of historic evidence that black and POC Americans, women, and gay people suffer discrimination, and it pointed to white racism and policies that favor whites, men, and heterosexuals.

But the authors of Project 2025 oppose discussions of racism in America, oppose feminism, and they would more than likely outlaw LGBTQ+ identity. Their anti-DEI logic is regressive and a form of gas-lighting, but it has gained currency. Among Project 2025's advisors are front-line groups leading anti-DEI campaigns and court challenges. 

Underneath this anti-DEI rhetoric is a historic legacy of whiteness and white supremacy, and patriarchy. DEI opponents fear whites becoming a minority in America, while men fear women gaining equal rights and oppose any blurring of strict gender norms and roles. 

The anti-DEI platform is about maintaining white male heterosexual social power. In the eyes of Project 2025's authors; DEI is presented as 'unlawful, racist, and a way of depriving Americans their First Amendment rights'.  Project 2025 calls for eliminating all references to DEI in federal documents and declaring all DEI initiatives as illegal. 

They will start targeting progressive flags because they believe that this country should no longer be allowed to celebrate the existence of marginalized communities, as stated on page 89; "Diverse symbols such as the rainbow flags and Black Lives Matter flags have no place next to the stars and strips at our embassies."

"Woke" culture is the enemy that threatens America: The authors of Project 2025 view DEI as one of the main elements of 'woke culture', and are declaring war on it. While they never actually define what they mean by 'woke culture', they call for stripping away recently gained federal protections for marginalized groups in areas of racial and gender equality, in particular. 

As stated on page 4 of the playbook; "The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity ("SOGI"), diversity, equity, and inclusion, gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists."

The right-wing extremists who are out-of-touch with reality adamantly beleive that DEI is branded as 'unlawful discrimination', and they've written on page 561; "Numerous federal laws prohibit discrimination based on notable immutable characteristics such as race and sex", and on page 582; "Non-discrimination and equality are the law, DEI is not."

The anti-equality authors seek to make an ahistorical claim that everyone is treated equally, despite centuries of evidence to the contrary. By pointing out that the law should not discriminate, they deny the lived reality and historic discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, or ability.