From “Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice” By Terrence Lester, PhD
Fast-forward, I am writing this during the second presidential term of Donald Trump, and we are witnessing a rapid erosion of constitutional protections meant to safeguard historically marginalized communities – especially Black and Brown ones. Through executive orders, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives have been targeted, with mandates being dismantled under the guise of eliminating “divisive concepts” and promoting “merit-based” systems and a “colorblind society” – in which color has always played a role in the way people where I am from are treated.
A merit-based society is subjective and can be used to further discriminate because it relies solely on merit – but who gets to determine what constitutes merit? The determination itself is a form of power. Terms like woke, DEI, critical race theory (CRT), and social justice have become dog-whistle expressions used to target the fight for Black and Brown equity. The push for a meritocracy in a world structurally designed to disadvantage certain groups emboldens and empowers a society without guardrails, allowing exclusion to persist.