State Auditor Shadrick White penned this response to Bill Crawford's column published here Sunday.
Recently my office instructed Mississippi universities to report how much they are spending on so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) programs. That was enough to send liberal columnist Bill Crawford into a tailspin. Crawford claims I’m on a “witch hunt.” He found a nameless “Republican operative” who said I, like Gov. Ron DeSantis, was “overreach[ing].” So let’s take a closer look (and for the record, I don’t give a flip about what an anonymous “Republican operative” says).
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” programs have a cute little name. Whoever put these words together may as well have put “and puppies and daffodils” at the end of the title. The truth is that DEI programs are often far from wholesome. They have regularly proven to lead to division, not inclusion.
Here are some examples:
At a recent DEI training at the Coca-Cola Corporation, employees were told to “try to be less white.”
A man named Christopher Rufo uncovered that DEI training at Bank of America taught employees the United States is built on “white supremacy.”
Rufo showed Wal-Mart’s DEI team told workers they have “internalized white supremacy.” Rufo also found a video of a Disney staff meeting where a top producer said her way of advancing diversity was to try “adding queerness” to children’s programming.
The Trump Administration stopped DEI training for federal employees when they found trainers taught employees that “virtually all White people contribute to racism.” The list goes on.
But never fear. Bill Crawford has decided, without looking at any of the DEI training at Mississippi universities, that all DEI programs “have a place and positive role in Mississippi universities.” All good, he says. Nothing to see here.
My position on this is simple: the ideas stated above from DEI trainings are evil. They tear us apart, not bring us together. I hope not all DEI programs are this bad, but as a starting point, taxpayers have a right to know how much they’re paying for these programs.
But Shad, you might say, those crazy ideas can’t make their way to Mississippi. You might argue the DEI programs in Mississippi are all above board.
That’s a dangerous assumption. The ideas in the examples above are pernicious. They could absolutely be taught at our universities. A few months ago, I discovered Mississippi libraries had many books with these sorts of concepts for children—and taxpayers paid for the books. One such book called “Not My Idea” is a children’s book that teaches kids that “Whiteness is a bad deal.” You purchased that book with your tax dollars, and now it’s scattered across Mississippi libraries.
And I can promise you there are some professors at our Mississippi universities who spread a woke ideology that most Mississippians find reprehensible.
Going back to Crawford, he belongs to a group I call the Aging White Liberals (AWLs). AWLs often claim they were once Republicans to try to earn a bit of conservative credibility. They’ve been asleep for the last few years and have missed how insane young liberals have become. They tell the rest of us to calm down and ignore the spread of the young liberals’ explosive ideas (men should be allowed to play women’s sports, Antifa burning buildings is “mostly peaceful,” etc.). To worry about this is to worry about “fake issues,” says Crawford.
And the AWLs have nothing to lose because they don’t have kids in public school libraries, who play girls sports, or who will attend Mississippi universities. Who cares if the tots have to hear ideas they don’t like? Who cares if the girls get beat? Who cares if the students are brainwashed? Just let it all happen, say the AWLs.
Conservatives, young and old, and particularly the parents of young children like me, are not so easily fooled. We need to know what’s being spent on these programs. I won’t sit by and let taxpayer dollars fuel the indoctrination of the next generation. Not my kids, and not on my watch.
“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity…”
- Ezekiel 33:6
88 comments:
Fkn A+
Great response, Shad.
Yep. What he said...
Ask Bud Light how well wokeism is working.
Shadrack is sort of like Tate with a brain.
Aging White Liberals (AWLs) - yep, definitely stealing that from you Shad.
While I totally agree with everything included in his response to Crawford, it's hardly the responsibility of the State Auditor to preach morality or continue on his lecture circuit regarding behavior.
As with his imaginary 'brain drain' lectures (imaginary because there is no tangible evidence of it), he is not an ethics, sociology or family values instructor at the local junior college.
Not a Shad cheerleader here, but he’s spot on!!!
Big thanks to Shad from all of us who care about Mississippi’s conservative values and the future for our kids! Also thanks for investing and charging all the thieves, liars and deceivers who try to steal our tax dollars! Keep up the great work! If the liberal left is criticizing what you are doing, you’re on the right track!
9:19
…. and the first AWL speaks in response….lol
The problem, Shad, is that you’re choosing to “audit” programs in which you have an ideological or philosophical issue with personally. I’m a dyed in the wool, conservative Southern Baptist, but I know that I want that type of politics out of government. I don’t want democrat politicians doing it, and I don’t want republican politicians doing it. Be really good at auditing. Check your biases and ideologies at the door. Be consistent. Be fair. Be strong. But don’t be this grandstander. I know that it gets you a lot of pats on the back and attaboys, but that’s more about what you need and less about what this state needs. We need unflappable, personally secure, leadership. I know that you can be that. Be that.
"As with his imaginary 'brain drain' lectures **(imaginary because there is no tangible evidence of it)**, he is not an ethics, sociology or family values instructor at the local junior college."
What a stupid statement.
I work at a central MS based business that tried to push that DE&I bullshit on us, supposedly voluntarily, a couple of years ago. Suffice it to say, it failed miserably. DE&I is CRT with softer edges, but the root message is still the same........all white people are inherently evil.
@9:29 Your way would be great in a perfect world but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way in real life. The reason we’ve got into these situations is from conservatives scared to get in the trenches and play the game just as the liberals do and have been doing for many years. Libs have abused their powers for way too long to push their ideals and agendas. About time we fight fire with fire. Good on you Shad!
“When Race Trumps Merit” Heather Mac Donald
@9:26 and 9:19...
I get what you're saying but it's pretty obvious that this not a shot back at the AWL's but a political ad for future positions. I think he's done a pretty good job as auditor but I really doubt his political ambition stops there.
I like Shad better as Lt. Gov than anyone we currently have in the running. (Lt. Gov in MS is a more important and powerful position than Gov.)
Way to go Shad!
As with his imaginary 'brain drain' lectures (imaginary because there is no tangible evidence of it)..."
You are blind or willfully ignorant if you don't think MS has a problem with college graduates staying in the State for their careers. Within my circle, I'm not sure I can name even one who has remained in the State after graduation.
About damn time. Our country is circling the bowl. It is past time for the grownups to step forward.
It's a shame politicians have to write things like this to satisfy their "base". How about Shad go investigate Phil Byrant and uncover real corruption instead of doing the exact thing he says he is trying to prevent which is divide people. It amazes me how both CNN and Fox know exactly what their respective bases want and people fall for the headlines every time... critical thinking is done in America.
I don't like or dislike either dog in this fight. And I'm not in the fake conservative camp that won't conserve anything, nor am I in the fake liberal camp that attempts to rebrand itself as "progressive" because "liberal" has been made a toxic word.
But having read both articles, the auditor's is the more persuasive.
However, then there is this paragraph from the auditor:
"And I can promise you there are some professors at our Mississippi universities who spread a woke ideology that most Mississippians find reprehensible."
Yeah? Well, who, then? They have names and faces; they're not some amorphous "they." Why not name some names if you can promise us that they exist and are spreading the woke ideology. Tell us what courses they teach in what departments. It's not libelous if it's true, so dish. otherwise, Mr. Auditor Man, you're only "asserting, without evidence," to use the mainstream media's choice of words.
9:59 am is spot on.
I went to a state supported university in the mid-90's. The occasional DEI programs we had to sit through then were nauseatingly left wing and very divisive. I can't imagine how bad they've gotten now.
This is incredible. A+
Go Shad Go! Although we need to be gentle with ol Billy (ha), he is a bitter old Democrat. He is occasionally good for a laugh, in a weird sort of way.
Shad has some thin skin and taking it personal ...
i agree we need to look at this BS ,but the flag waving ,cross totting shit is what holds this state back and why i got my kids to not come home for work.
Excellent Shad.
10:39, if your kids think like you, the rest of us are glad you talked them into leaving.
Ok, Shad just won me over. AWL's are a real thing. Spot on how they always say "well, I used to be a Republican!". They vote blue but reap in heavy $ from the black and gold investments.
Shad for governor, hell, he would even be 1,000 times better than that senile libtard in the WH.
@ 10:17
Professor James Michael Thomas
University of Mississippi
Associate Professor of Sociology
https://socanth.olemiss.edu/james-thomas/
“Don’t just interrupt a senator’s meal, y’all,” Thomas wrote. “Put your whole damn fingers in their salads. Take their apps and distribute them to the other diners. Bring boxes and take their food home with you on the way out. They don’t deserve your civility.” “I don’t regret a damn thing,”
We don’t need a fresh out of prep school white republican telling the state of Mississippi how to solve the race issue. He is treading in unfriendly waters that he simply does not have the experience, knowledge, or credibility to do anything positive in this space. Attacking books and universities may be popular in the current flavor of conservative culture, but it’s a long term losing strategy. Shad, you don’t know everything and you can’t fix everything. Fix the stuff you are paid to work on, like holding corrupt governors and football players who steal from taxpayers accountable.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” are currently three of the most-abused words in the English language. Honorable mention for "historic."
To me, DE&I is a jobs program for self-centered people with serious chips on their shoulders who think they know how the rest of us common folk should think, talk and act. Normally, those people are relegated to preaching about it while passing a bong around. I have no idea why we have given them such a huge platform and so much power.
10:17, You can start here: James M. Thomas, Associate Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., University of Missouri, Historical Racism, Inequality, Cultural Production. And of course, Dr. Thomas is white and tenured.
Did Bennie Thompson really just say that a dude can compete in woman’s powerlifting in the Delta? How many people in Thompson’s district would agree with the way he voted? I would guess under 10 percent? I’m no mind reader, but that’s bonkers.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/save-womens-sports-bill-passes-house-zero-votes-dems-transgender-bullying
Extremely well said. Finally, some one in public office who seems willing to speak plainly and truthfully.
11:14 Apparently, you don't know what Shad's job is. He can't hold anyone accountable.
@10:57 you made my point and reaffirm my children's decision....
Feckless hillbillies leaders elected by people with low education levels and a limited view of the world . # 50 in everything for a reason .
Having read through the AWC (aging white conservative) comments, small wonder that Mississippi’s brain drain has reached all-time high levels; all under the facade of building a brighter future.
April 20, 2023 at 9:26 AM,
Thank you! This is the genuine Conservatism that needs a platform, and I applaud your convictions.
10:17's post is hilarious!
DEI = DIE
Is the marxist mayor, a municipal grifter, an available audit target whenever the mayor misuses state monies?
Then there is the 1619 project, historical racist fiction that schools districts around the country are adding to their curriculums.
If you can’t make an argument without calling people names, you are attempting to mask your lack of intellect in organizing cogent thought on the subject and instead are using emotionalism and scare tactics to incite a response. And Chad did this very well.
What is White’s job, and where does it appoint him arbiter of what and how teaching is done at our universities?
People can only learn with their minds open, Chad’s is closed and biased. Keep him away from higher education.
Best comment I heard on television recently to describe Democrats - "the party of weak men and angry women."
On DEI and the IHLs, I know one university's compliance office (an extension of its general counsel) has required all employees to complete online training courses on various subject matter, including DEI. No doubt this requirement is in place to check a box as part of an overall objective to protect to federal funding.
@11:40 - apparently Shad doesn’t know what his job is either. Since you are implying that you know his job, please explain why he chose to paint his fellow Republican, the governor who appointed him, as a whistleblower to the crimes he participated in against the taxpayers.
Sad. Being a good auditor is not enough for his next campaign. For those who thought maybe Shad was a dedicated public servant and not another political salesman looking to sell some "fools gold" you now have your answer. This DEI stuff is just too juicy to pass up. At least he could have waited for the Neshoba County fair to stir up the rubes.
Does anyone else find it ironic that Shad tries to claim that identity politics which group people together are bad policy and then immediately follow that by trying to create a group that applies to the writer he disagrees with as the real evil? He even came up with a cute nickname. How dumb does he think we are? Clearly a lot of commenters here are eating it up, so I guess he is correct in his assumptions at least about his own party’s voters.
Is it just me or did all get along a lot better 10-15 years ago. How has this divisive rhetoric improved anything. We sit around and spend hours and hours discussing how bad blacks had it. Other groups the Mexicans, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Hatians etc. we never talk about the hard things they went thru. Each race has had some difficulty. Yes some more than others. Its not where you start its where you end. Yes I could have been a trust fund baby at the Country club with the Rockefellers but I didnt But I was lucky enough to go to and finish college. (First in my family) and my family and were thankful. Instead of sitting around thinking about what you don't have think about what you do and try to improve yourself each and every year.
... small wonder that Mississippi’s brain drain has reached all-time high levels.
Read the census data. The brains draining are white.
KF, the 1619 project is an interesting perspective on history and should be examined as such. Personally, I think they failed to prove their hypothesis, but that doesn’t mean there is no systemic racism. It was only the in the generation before mine that folks were getting lynched, and those were institutionally supported acts and the practice was surprisingly widespread. How many generations and exposure to others will it take for the racilly biased nurturing the parents of these lynchers and their supporters taught their children to be erased from their nature?
These aren’t switches we turn off. It’s not all better today just because wave our hands and make it go away.
Just this week a Sheriff in McCurtain County Oklahoma was caught on tape talking about the good old days (that generation before mine) with a council member and a couple of his staff.
Maybe a little education wouldn’t hurt. Chad could start by actually reading the 1619 project and having a useful discussion of what it means.
@11:22 - what did Thompson say? That article doesn’t even mention him. If you’re not aware, even though Fox News has news in its name, they aren’t. It’s pretty tough to take a proven liar’s summary of their enemy’s position seriously. Why don’t you try asking the representative how he feels about it, instead of asking Fox News?
Ignore these liberals. we will help the people of Jackson in spite of them fighting everyone that tries to help. Instead of Chok working it to where he could say I walked across party lines to work with republicans and whites to restore services to Jackson and lower crime. But no matter what MSNBC and some nutcase at Ole Miss says the state should continue to help Jackson in spite of themselves because the people deserve it and the ones getting hurt are not the Fee Jackson bunch there Everday Joes.
The posts above left one tidbit out about Professor James Michael Thomas; Ole Miss nominated him for tenure shortly after his wokeness hit the news. Then our IHL approved the tenure.
To be equal, MSU has a guy (I forgot his name) who said he marks down tests/papers that disagree with his wokeness. I have a relative who recently retired from USM. One of her non-tenured colleagues got sacked for not calling a man with female pronouns.
I say eliminate all the University social science departments and heavily fund the community college trade schools. We need more electricians, plumbers, welders, etc.
Also eliminate, today, all DEI departments at all state schools.
So is Shad ok separating sports by gender? One one hand, he says we shouldn’t separate people into groups, but on the other hand he says this one group must be protected. I don’t think I have ever heard a Republican try to defend anything related to Title ix until they started the anti-trans crusade.
Love how Shad emulates hypocrite Crawford with a bible verse at the end.
Re: “aging white liberals,” years ago I watched in complete shock as William Winter addressed a graduating class at Millsaps. If you had been in a coma since the day before James Meredith was admitted into Ole Miss in 1962, then awakened to Winter’s divisive indoctrination, you would have had to assume that absolutely nothing had changed at all in the past 4+ decades.
William Winter, as a former Governor was extremely dangerous. Bill Crawford, the wanna be - not so much so.
And, showing he is just as thin-skinned authoritarian as DeSantis by responding to each and every public media statement that opposes his own. I sure hope my tax dollars aren’t paying him while he’s drafting these responses in support of his gubernatorial campaign. I wonder who we could get to look into that? Oh, wait . . .
To the martyr at 11:45: Why are YOU still here?
The United States absolutely is built on white supremacy. Denying that is sticking your collective heads in the sand (which admittedly Mississippi is very good at).
350 years of forced labor, followed by another 100 years of apartheid, and I'm supposed to believe that white people DON'T have supremacist beliefs?
Are y'all insane?
@11:10, 10:17 here. Thanks. Most illuminating for a start. Here's hoping when young Shad looks in today he'll add more names and faces.
The only positive thing I can say about Crawford is that his writings are better than Sid's. But that ain't saying much.
Perfect Response! I am all for clarity when it comes to finances.. this is something that the City of Jackson knows nothing about.
Here's an idea for the auditor. How about he investigate what percentage of government contracts in Mississippi go to whites. Once he reports the number which is probably 90% or greater... maybe some of y'all will wake up. Or should I say woke up and finally understand America has a race problem but seriously how could you not know that?????
Shad gives DEI examples at Coca Cola and Wal-Mart. All private sector. Nothing to do with the public sector. While Shad is on his witch hunt at MS’s universities. He should expand to see how many MS state boards practice reverse DEI with their board make-up.
@2:35 PM
How many black owned business are there in MS that can meet bonding and insurance requirements to bid on government contracts?
I'll wait.
12:53: I've lived in 5 states and a U.S. territory, and Mississippi is the most integrated place I've ever lived, with the exception of the City of Jackson.
We can't make up for past slavery by trying to compensate for it in the present, and we can't "erase" prejudice from each other's (human) nature. Stop trying to play God. You ain't Him.
Shad filed a formal demand against Professor Thomas. That's the limit of his powers in this process. The law says the Attorney General SHALL file suit.
WHERE'S LYNN FITCH?
3:13 - there’s no such thing as reverse DEI. Ain’t that how it works?
Boom, Dad. And there it is.
@3:30 needed fewer than 25 words to put the kill shot to the lie of “white supremacy.”
12:53, this is 11:22,
If zero Dems in the House voted to keep males at birth out of female sports, and Thompson is a Dem in the House then what’s your point? You trolling?
Pitt Panther,
I respect your argument, but how many vampires live in the US?
Also, way to leave out all the Union soldiers who fought to end slavery that were white.
The 1619 project is a theory that is completely false. There were no slaves in 1619 to start off. Next, slavery was not the end all be all reason for everything in this country. People from every country came here wanting a better life and fought damn hard for it. Shad stated the truth and the libs that troll this site like all other libs can’t take the truth. DEI is poison to the children on all sides.
Any of you goobs who have hard, factual data to support 'Brain Drain' are welcome to produce it. Opinion doesn't count.
I don't disagree with the claim that graduates leave here, but there's no agency, not one, no college, no school, no government agency that tracks or reports on such. Not a single damned one.
Surely there's a rule out there somewhere that holds that if you postulate a theory, you must have data to prove it. Other than "I don't know any graduate who stayed here", where's your proof?
@4:10 pm Visit the website for MS Community College Board. Get back to me.
The 1619 Project isn’t an “interesting perpective” on history since it isn’t really history. The author isn’t a trained historian. Historians from the right and left have debunked it as a legitimate history. It is written to push a particular point of view and distorts and misrepresents a great deal of the history of the country. It shouldn’t be used in high school courses. It is appropriate to teach about the history of racism in the United States, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, segregation, etc. It need not be done with false information and using a perspective that the historical record doesn’t support. For example, claims about racist motives for the American Revolution are simply unsupported by the historical record. For a critique from the left: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/21/bynu-d22.html. For the response from other historians: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/174140.
When is Shad going to do some real work - Phil Bryant was the mastermind of the biggest welfare scandal in Mississippi history.
Why did Shad let the Gov go free?
3:36 for the win.
3:30, with a strong effort, takes 2nd.
Shad should have done his job and arrested Phil. Period.
Now he's campaigning and crusading with his social worker's cape angling for his next elected position that requires no real accountability, only optics.
Shad White coulda been a contender, but he's just another Mississippi pretender pandering to the poor of Mississippi that don't know the difference.
5:52 - Do you not think it's noteworthy that one of our four representatives supports boys and men participating against women in sports?
I assume that was the point. It could be YOU who is trolling.
Thinking, or even being convinced that there's a 'brain drain' and having actual hard evidence in data form are two different things.
No state agency tabulates or tracks or has available such data. Nor does the census.
Hollering about it from the top row of the bleachers offers no proof. And Shad is up there on the top row with some of you.
I see nothing that suggests DEI program spending might be unlawful, just that Shad disagrees with the concept. S just why is DEI any of Shad's lawful business? Maybe someone should audit
Shad's apparently unlawful expenditures.
Nailed it.
What did 7:19 just try to say?
Also, if you don’t think there is a brain drain in Mississippi then you must not know many people.
Sincerely 5:52
@9:57
If brain drain means today's college graduates leaving the state based on the product I see colleges currently turning out....GOOD !
@10:43PM
I’m not sure you get how this works, i.e. the English language. A perspective is defined as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” And I clearly said that in my view (perspective) the hypothesis wasn’t supported.
In 1872 Mississippi had a black Senator in the US Congress (history) and four other southern states had black Representatives in the House.
So what happened? I never learned anything in school about what happened. Were you taught? Can you offer your perspective on what happened in the south after 1877?
Also there are numerous contributors to the project, not one author. Many of them have won the Pulitzer Prize, and they are not historians. I suggest you read the 1619 Project and not formulate your perspective only from the regurgitated works of others.
Sorry JJ, couldn’t let it go…
@10:47
There have only been 11 black senators in the history of this country with the first 2 being from Mississippi in the 1870's. After their terms expired there was not another black elected to the US senate for almost a hundred years. Can you offer a perspective of what happened in the entire country after 1877 ? You see I realize Mississippi is an easy target but it's not the root of all racial prejudice in this country as some would have us believe.
11:20
I can. But it would take a while. I grew up in the northeast, Irish Catholic, in a family where all the adult males didn’t like black people. They were racists (they sent me to a private school, though, just like in Mississippi). They weren’t out lynching people - but that’s not the point - you don’t have to lynch people to have an adverse effect on society.
Two other points, one, we are inherently racist and prejudiced. It’s a defence mechanism. And second, European explorers left their continent and subjugated the people on every other continent on the planet (except Antarctica)). They were entitled. Manifest destiny it was named during the westward expansion of the US, or maybe just racism.
@12:05
"we are inherently racist and prejudiced"
Complete and utter garbage manufactured by race hustlers in their never ending quest for attaining their ultimate goal of being perpetual victims.
Hard for me to accept those folks at Jamestown had evil subjugation as their intentions.
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