Gomez: Anti-DEI Push Distorts Civil Rights Movement
The government has “no business” forcing companies to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, said FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez in a speech Tuesday to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Summit. “The hard-fought lessons of the civil rights movement are being erased -- or worse, distorted -- to claim that fairness for all requires discrimination against some. That could not be further from the truth.”
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The goal of DEI practices is “to reflect the full scope of backgrounds and experiences of the people that are part of this great country. And these practices just make plain business sense,” Gomez said. “Of course, businesses want to be responsive to demand for products and services that serve every community.” Bullying companies for seeking diversity is not only “detrimental to small businesses and companies that know exactly what their customers want, it is also dangerous,” she said. “Aggressive government intervention in the private sector and government censorship” have led to “disastrous consequences” in many countries.
In addition, Gomez said the current administration should renew funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program. “The President ran on a platform of lowering costs for consumers. The Vice President was a lead cosponsor on the legislation proposing to re-fund the ACP,” she said. “Let us hold this administration to its promise to lower costs for consumers.” Without renewed funding, “we risk leaving people behind, unable to fully pursue the American dream.”