The owner of Montford Deli, Asheville, NC, David Sweeting, apologized for comments about Anne Frank that generated controversy. “I want to apologize to the Asheville community… because of my stupidity.” Sweeting said that as a 9th-grade dropout, he had never heard the story of Anne Frank. After witnessing the hurt caused by his remarks, Sweeting decided to change that. “I bought the book yesterday,” Sweeting said. “I went into Barnes & Noble. I said, hey man, where is this book at? And they were like, it’s in the burned, banned book area, and I was like, burned, banned book area? What do you mean? They were like, these books were literally being burnt because they didn’t want you to know the atrocities that truly happened.”

A fact is information without emotion. An opinion is information shaped by experience. Ignorance is an opinion without knowledge. Stupidity is an opinion that rejects facts. – Anonymous

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) include people of various ethnicities and genders – including LGBTQ+, education, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. DEI aims to ensure fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all while striving to identify and eliminate barriers.

Diversity is where everyone is invited to the party; Equity means everyone gets to contribute to the playlist, and Inclusion means everyone can dance. Businesses prioritizing DEI encourage a more innovative, positive environment, creating a more profitable company. And most importantly, it means we all get to dance! – Dr. Robert Sellers, University of Michigan

DEI is entrenched and protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech. DEI exposes the untold, untaught, ugly history of the United States. DEI does reveal pain, shame, and discomfort.

On January 21, 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to terminate all federal DEI programs, describing them as “public waste.” The order also encouraged private companies to follow suit, leading to a reevaluation of DEI initiatives in both public and private organizations. The U.S.  continues to pressure the U.N. to change its language and approach to DEI.

The Conservative campaign against DEI is so vague, ambiguous, and broad-based that it has come to mean many different things to many people. For some, it’s a forced mandate, required training, a bitter pill to swallow, and unnecessary shame. DEI exposes privilege, especially if you are a white heterosexual Christian male. Affirmative Action, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ are subtitles, triggers, and “woke” distract and undermine capitalism and the myth that America is the greatest nation on earth.

Citigroup, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Pepsi, Disney, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Amazon, Meta, GE, GM, Ford, Accenture, Amtrak, Chipotle, The Smithsonian Institution, The Wall Street Journal, Target, Walmart, and the FBI have either eliminated, ended, scrubbed, or cut back on DEI initiatives, offices, or observances.

GM removed the statement in their annual report, “At GM, we are committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.” Disney removed “for amplifying underrepresented voices” from their website and annual report. Pepsi removed all references to diversity a year after telling investors that “our culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion is a competitive advantage.” As I watched Super Bowl LIX, I saw the NFL announce the removal of the end zone message “End Racism” for this year’s Super Bowl and the replacement of “Choose Love.” If you are part of an organization that has decided to Un-DEI, this YouTube video can help.

What does it say about you when you purchase goods and services from companies that no longer support DEI?

If you are not a white, heterosexual, Christian male, you may need to keep looking over your shoulder to see what is coming. Your stress and anxiety have just gone up.

Got faith? All the major religions are founded upon DEI.

In the Gospel, according to MAGA, embracing “DEI” is the work of Satan and the enemy of all things American. DEI is to blame for everything bad happening in America – airplane tragedies, military weakness, males turning into females, your pet becoming someone’s dinner.

Read the Jewish prophet Isaiah from Isaiah 61:1.

Jesus recalls Isaiah’s call in Luke 4:18, “…God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s time to shine!”

White Christian nationalism is a white-Christians-living-in-America-who-care-about-the-teachings-of-Jesus problem.   – John Pavlovitz

From the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, “No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man have any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay” (al-Bayhaqi and al-Bazzaz). In this manner, Islam established equality for the entire human race and struck at the very root of all distinctions based on color, race, language, or nationality. According to Islam, God has given man this right of equality as a birthright. Therefore no man should be discriminated against on the ground of the colour of his skin, his place of birth, the race or the nation in which he was born.”

DEI is an act of love founded on consideration and admiration. The opposite of love is fear. Could it be that fear drives the stopping of DEI initiatives and work? Hate is rooted in fear.

I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain. – James Baldwin

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lean into compassion, justice, and humility. The work of DEI requires you to desire to be human and recognize others, especially those whose gender, age, ethnicity, education, socio-economic status, physical and mental well-being, and beliefs are different from yours, are fully human as well. DEI explores that our differences are our greatest strength and that multiculturalism is a powerful asset.

The work of DEI begins by getting out of your comfort zone and confronting your ignorance, denial, bias, and privilege.

Ignorance. Do you know the untold history of the United States? Learning the untold history of the United States can help you understand why Black infant mortality is 2.5 times greater than white infant mortality. It will help you to understand why the average wealth of a white family in America is ten times greater than the average wealth of a Black family and why the average white male will live 5 years longer than the average Black male.

Bias. Unconscious and confirmation bias promotes the more an individual is “white-passing,” the less interesting they become. Unconscious and confirmation bias nurtures stereotypes that Asians are successful because their culture uniformly pressures them to perform well. We judge by visual and auditory cues rather than by character.

Asian Americans face DEI issues as racial and ethnic minorities are considered overrepresented in higher education. A common comment I have encountered is that Asian Americans “would be nowhere without black people.” Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are often underrepresented in DEI conversations and in the very positions that might advocate for more excellent representation.

“When I hear the phrase, ‘Asians are next in line to be white,’” she writes, “I replace the word ‘white’ with ‘disappear.’ Asians are next in line to disappear.” – Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings

DEI’s work has created restrooms for families and men’s restrooms with baby changing tables and ADA. DEI stimulates creativity and innovation. Creativity can exceed expectations when a diverse group of people with diverse skills, backgrounds, and outlooks on life work together. DEI has led to infrastructure that mirrors the community. A 2017 study found that businesses that invested in DEI also saw increased sales and reduced employee turnover.

DEI asks us to look in the mirror and ask tough questions like:

Why do I put up with monuments, buildings, streets, and military bases named after traitors to the U.S. Constitution?

What am I doing for others who are different from me?

Why only read and follow people who look, think, believe, and act like me?

What is the difference between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter? (Consider this: If Black Lives Matter bothers you because it doesn’t say ALL Lives Matter and it doesn’t say Blue Lives Matter doesn’t bother you, then what bothers you is the word Black.)

If my significant other, feeling low, comes to me and asks, “Do you love me?” an answer of “I love everyone” would be truthful, but it would also be hurtful and cruel at the moment. If a cohort comes to me upset and says, “My father just died,” a response of
“Everyone’s parents die” would be truthful but hurtful and cruel in the moment. So when a friend speaks up in a time of obvious pain and hurt and says, “Black lives matter,” a response of “All lives matter” is truthful. But it’s hurtful and cruel at the moment.

Here is what I know for sure: We are imperfect, flawed, and “cracked.” The ancient Japanese art of kintsugi (joining with gold) acknowledges and embraces the imperfection of missteps in life. It is a philosophy of embracing human flaws. DEI is a form of kintsugi. It exposes the human frailty of life. DEI asks us to accept our scars and imperfections, a powerful lesson in humanity and sustainability.

 

My leadership coaching sessions always involve conversations around spirituality and the soul. Some push back and say they don’t have a faith or religion. Others report they are members of a church. While religion can offer structure, the work on one’s soul is a connection to something bigger than oneself. In this work, one discovers one’s purpose and “why.” Author, political, and cultural commentator David Brooks’ recent article, The Shock of Faith: It’s Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be, offers insight.

“When faith finally tiptoed into my life it didn’t come through information or persuasion but, at least at first, through numinous experiences.” – David Brooks

Agreed. Going to church, attending church camp, and attending church mission trips didn’t make me a believer. However, it made me part of a community that shared love and vulnerability and revealed what heaven on earth could be.

What made me a believer were experiences of “thin places“—places where God revealed Herself to me and made me aware that She knows me better than I know myself.

“In those moments, you sense that you are in the presence of something overwhelming, mysterious. Time is suspended or at least blurs. One is enveloped by an enormous bliss.” – David Brooks

The “thin places” where I experienced “ineffable joy and exultation” are hard to describe. However, I recognize that Biblical passages come close. They capture the synchronicity between me, God, and the world. They are my brief encounters with heaven on earth.

Here are some of my encounters with “thin places“ where scriptures revealed for me:

I remember a beautiful fall late afternoon sail on Lake Cowan with my mother and father in 1970. Ecclesiastes 1:6  The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

The first time, my significant other and I made love. Solomon 3:4  I have found the one my soul loves.

Walking in Muir Woods, May 1982.  John 1:3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Helping to deliver our daughter at her birth.  Psalm 139: 13 -16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God-you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! You know me inside and out; you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you; the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.

Easter sunrise service at the Carillon, Dayton, Ohio, April 3, 1988.  Psalm 69:32 – The poor in spirit see and are glad. Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

When we read Peter Gomes’s book “The Good Book,” a member of our men’s small group shared his vulnerability. 2 Corinthians 12:9  My power is made perfect in weakness. Phillippians 4:13 Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Walking the labyrinth at Camp Joy.  Galatians 5:16 Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

Receiving communion from a homeless person at Haywood Street Congregation. Micah 6:8 – But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.

These experiences renewed my hope and reminded me why I am in a relationship with the Holy and why She loves me with all my imperfections. 

“Thin places” opened up the mystical and mysteries, not certainty. I agree with Anne Lamott: “The opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty!” What I am certain of is the mystery and the mystical. I am open to more.

I want to walk the Camino de Santiago and see if that experience could be an encounter with a “thin place.” Perhaps you would like to join me?

While I have plenty to be thankful for this season of gratitude, I am still dealing with the malaise of Hurricane Helene here in WNC and the election results. My prayer for this Thanksgiving:

Holy Creator –

Thank you for the opportunity to pause and reflect on all we are grateful for. As we gather in this warm home, we remember others who do not have this blessing; this feast before us is prepared by loving hands and hearts, remembering others who don’t have this blessing, good health, and others who are suffering and in pain. We remember past Thanksgivings and those we shared, which are now memories.

Forgive us for taking so much and so many for granted. Open our eyes, minds, and hearts to the least of us, to those we view as enemies instead of neighbors. Help us to love ourselves just as we are so we can love others just as they are.

Thank you for community and for constantly reminding us that we can not live this life alone. We need one another. Make us community builders of more extended tables instead of taller walls.

Help us overcome our fear, mental scarcity, and hopelessness. Help us walk-the talk of compassion, justice, and humility.

And the grateful assembled say, AMEN!

When I became Venture Out Director at Camp Joy in 2000, a challenge was to build our adjunct pool to work with corporate clients such as Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Leadership Cincinnati, and many others. Adjuncts would come to Camp Joy on Saturday mornings to meet and learn how to facilitate and debrief portable and low-ground initiatives and physically challenging high-rope courses.

We began the Saturday morning adjunct gathering, checking in with each other and answering, “Why are you here, and what would you like to get out of today’s meeting?” One Black woman, new to us, answered, “I came out here to meet some good white people!” This woman had experienced the fallout from the April 2001 riots in Cincinnati sparked by the killing of an unarmed Black man, Timothy Thomas, by Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach.

April 7, 2001, Cincinnati Police Officer Stephen Roach fatally shot Thomas while attempting to arrest him for past traffic violations, all non-violent. Thomas was the 15th Black person killed by Cincinnati Police in the previous six years. Cincinnati Police had killed no white person in that same period. Note that Cincinnati had a 40% Black population at the time. Four days of riots lead to millions of dollars in damage. These were some of the worst riots in this country at that time.

This woman has become one of my closest, dearest friends. I refer to her as my soul sister. We Zoom several times a month, and once a year, we co-facilitate a leadership retreat for a significant Cincinnati client with another close friend. We have done diversity, equity, and inclusion work together.

This woman is a mentor and the person most responsible for helping me to learn and understand my white male heterosexual Christian privilege. She has helped me become a better version of myself.

We Zoomed this past Friday morning. She cried. We cried. She is scared of who we are as a nation. She is suffering and is in pain.

This woman’s comment back at Camp Joy in 2003 haunted me then and now.

After this election, I wondered if my definition of decent Americans is skewed, irrelevant, or wishful thinking. Am I naive? I wish I lacked common sense. I wish I didn’t have core values of compassion, justice, and humility. I wish I didn’t hold myself accountable to them and seek people with similar values. I wish I could ignore white supremacy and misogamy. I wish I didn’t care for people experiencing poverty, immigrants, or anyone who doesn’t look like me. I wish I could support the cult leader we just elected. What’s changed since the founding of this country? White Christian heterosexual males rule. Everyone else drools.

I struggle with not supporting the president-elect because I am an American citizen, and he is my president, but because my fellow citizens voted him in, and I can’t turn my back on my country. I am conflicted by my dislike of the president-elect and my desire for American democracy to succeed.

I used to believe I should not let politics get in the way of relationships. Before 2016, both political parties sought the common good. We seemed to be working to understand diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and were willing to learn about untaught history. We sought to become enlightened. SCOTUS ruled for same-sex marriage in 2015.

That tide is going out.

As I approach elderhood, I fear for America and my grandchildren. I especially fear for my daughter, her wife, and their children. More than ever, for my well-being, I may no longer be able to have a relationship with those who do not share my values, pain and suffering. You who support the president-elect, please recognize the pain I feel for my friends and family from the fear and potential harm coming their way. If you ignore this pain, it will be hard for us to be in a relationship.

*Picture is the “Holy Chaos,” a fresco in the front of the sanctuary at Haywood Street Congregation, Asheville, NC.