NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Ever since President Donald Trump started purging last year, the letters 鈥淒EI鈥� have faded from corporate boardrooms and Democratic stump speeches.
But that wasn’t the case for the past few days at the annual in New York, where Democratic politicians and potential presidential candidates repeatedly made the case for diversity, equity and inclusion policies that seemed to have fallen out of favor.
鈥淲e have the high ground on this issue,鈥� House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared to a packed audience of Black activists. He criticized Republicans as 鈥渆xtremists鈥� who 鈥渁re trying to do an all-out assault on civil rights, on voting rights, certainly on diversity, equity and inclusion.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not trying to celebrate merit, they鈥檙e trying to elevate mediocrity,鈥� Jeffries contended. 鈥淭hey want to suggest that diversity, equity and inclusion are foreign values. They鈥檙e not foreign values, they鈥檙e American values.鈥�
DEI initiatives became widespread in workplaces, colleges and government agencies after Black Lives Matter protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
But Republican leaders, including Trump, have argued that DEI programs are divisive and discriminate against white people.
On his first day in office, Trump signed executive orders banning 鈥渋llegal DEI鈥� throughout the federal government. A March order went further by mandating that any companies that work with the federal government must also comply with the administration鈥檚 anti-DEI platform.
鈥淲e ended DEI in America,鈥� Trump said in his in February.
Democrats had mixed and at times muted responses to the administration鈥檚 anti-DEI crusade over the last year, with some in the party blaming a focus on diversity and identity as a reason why the party alienated many voters across racial and socioeconomic lines.
But some Democrats discussed as potential White House contenders are promoting DEI policies.
The rhetorical shift also reflects the party鈥檚 efforts to court and energize Black voters, who often view attacks on DEI as linked to broader opposition to civil rights and economic justice.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro leaned in during his appearance on the first day of the National Action Network.
鈥淲e believe diversity is our strength in the Commonwealth,鈥� Shapiro said. 鈥淲e continue to have an Office of Diversity and Equity and Inclusion when other states have shuttered them.鈥�
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the nation’s only sitting Black governor, touted that his state had 鈥渦napologetically鈥� responded to the rollback of DEI policies in Washington by creating state offices focused on supporting minority businesses and social mobility while combating racial inequality. He offered his state as a model for equitable policymaking.
鈥淲e are seeing what the policies and the position are when it comes to belief in diversity from this federal administration,鈥� Moore later told The Associated Press. 鈥淚 actually think the future of how we should think about it should be seen in the present, of how places like Maryland are actually moving in this moment.鈥�
During his remarks, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker highlighted that he鈥檇 directed his state to 鈥渟et aside a whole bunch of that money to address inequities that have plagued the Black community over so many years鈥� and defended Illinois鈥� policies meant to reduce socioeconomic and racial inequality.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who will address the conference Saturday, is expected to highlight his commitment to diversity despite political backlash, according to political adviser Eric Hyers.
Beshear, who leads a state Trump last carried by more than 30 points, vetoed what he described as a hateful bill from his Republican-controlled legislature last year that would have banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs from public universities. The legislature overrode the veto days later.
鈥淗e never wavered even when there was a post-2024 backlash,鈥� Hyers said of Beshear. 鈥淗e believes in his core that diversity is a strength, not a weakness.鈥�
Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded and hosts the conference, told The Associated Press he was looking for 2028 contenders to show 鈥渢hat what they鈥檙e campaigning on is something that addresses the race gap in the country, specifically, not just generalizations.鈥�
Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and influential former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, warned that leaders in either party who do not support DEI may oppose core American values.
鈥淒EI stands for 鈥榙iversity, equity and inclusion.鈥� Who, in search for a more perfect union, would shy away from diversity equity and inclusion? If you鈥檙e against those things, you are against democracy,鈥� he told the AP.
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