.jpg)
Martin Brown, chief diversity officer and director of the Office of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion under the Youngkin administration, has “stirred up stink” with a keynote speech he delivered to faculty and staff of Virginia Military Institute as a part of its Inclusive Excellence training last month.
Ironically, “stirring up stink” is the reason he claimed that DEI, or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is dead.
The Washington Post reported on his comments on DEI in a story posted last Friday morning. By that afternoon, former Speaker of the House of Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn called for his resignation, and in a press release Sunday morning, the Virginia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also stated that Brown should resign for his “reckless rhetoric.”
Brown, who has been serving in his current role since November, has presided in senior executive positions for the two previous governors and has extensive public sector experience.
Brown’s visit to VMI came at the invitation of Superintendent Maj. Gen Cedric T. Wins, who routinely invites legislative and executive branch officials to VMI. Since Brown’s visit coincided with the time of the year that VMI is now offering Inclusive Training for faculty and staff, he agreed to serve as the keynote speaker at the April 21 training, according to William “Bill” Wyatt, VMI’s director of communications.
VMI provided The News-Gazette with a recording of Brown’s speech.
He commended the faculty and staff for creating generations of leaders and called for the school’s help in cultivating a less “divisive” society.
“We need your help … you guys are doing an exceptional job of building our leaders for the past, for today, for the problems tomorrow,” Brown said.
He asked the audience, “How is Lexington doing so well … [because you’re] not focusing on divisiveness.”
Instead, Brown believes that Virginia (and VMI) is naturally diverse and has already been inclusive. He said VMI is the poster child for diversity and inclusion as all students are treated the same when they join the rat line as freshmen.
He recalled his father’s deployment in the Air Force where he was stationed in Mississippi in 1953, a hotspot of turmoil amid the Civil Rights Movement. He compared his father’s experiences to that of a young, Black man’s military experience today.
“Acknowledge truth, acknowledge the past, acknowledge the present. It’s important and it’s different … things have changed for the better. They are better,” Brown said.
For this reason, Brown told the audience initiatives like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion creates more division between Americans. “We can’t ascribe perpetual victimization or even motives because they’re different. Acknowledging those truths frees us up to deal with the real issues of today.”
Later, Brown claimed that DEI is dead. “Let’s take a moment to kill that cow,” he said. “DEI is dead …we’re going to focus on civility. We’re not going to bring that cow up anymore. It’s dead.”
He continued, “It was mandated by the General Assembly, but this governor has a different philosophy of civility, civil discourse, and treating [people with] the Golden Rule, right?”
He implied that living by the “Golden Rule” and working together with conflicting parties with “respect, dignity, and honor” will celebrate diversity and inclusiveness rather than divide the “greatest country in the world.”
-In its statement Sunday, the Virginia chapter of the NAACP said, “Mr. Brown implied that the very existence of the office he occupies creates division and what he called ‘stink’ among the people of the commonwealth of Virginia. His comments are not in keeping with either the intent of the office nor the spirit of unity of people supported by the Virginia State Conference NAACP. He should resign immediately.”
Virginia NAACP President Robert N. Barnette Jr. added, “Mr. Brown actively promotes the reckless rhetoric of this administration. We will not stand silently while this administration dismantles the progress being made to achieve equity and advancing civil rights.”
- VMI continues to maintain its DEI program, but recently changed the label to Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion to align with the commonwealth office of the same name, Wyatt said this week.
He continued, “Changing equity to opportunity was not a far leap for VMI. At a March 15, 2022 board of visitors meeting, Maj. Gen Wins defined what equity means at VMI. ‘At VMI, equity means that we provide each cadet the tools to success in our rigorous academic, military, and athletic environment. Equity means equal opportunity. What it does not mean is that we lower our standards or our definition of success. At VMI, equity initiatives have been in place for many years and are available to all cadets, not just cadets of color.’”
