I’ve never loved a coward. I’m not specifically calling anyone a coward, but “what up doe?”

“What up doe” (or “what up though”) is a classic Detroit greeting and colloquialism, primarily meaning “hello” or “what’s going on”. It serves as a, recognizing a person’s humanity and hustle, often used between friends, family, or as a familiar, affectionate greeting.

A court challenge to Trump’s education department directive aimed at threatening to penalize schools for practicing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been successful. The Fourth Circuit court this month ruled that the directive was unlawful and put a stop to its enforcement, and low and behold, the Department of Education conceded. Talk about courage. Multiple groups of people, from educators, local governments, and civil rights groups, stood up and filed lawsuits to block these anti-DEI directives in education. And they won.

What’s that mean for MCCCD? Crickets. I smell fear. Dare I use the C word?

I wrote last year Erasing DEI at MCCCD is Erasing Us! to express how important I feel DEI is for us, our students, faculty and staff. People of color are tired of being erased, and our educational institutions were generally one place where we could be seen and heard and supported. No one should be attacked and threatened with vague directives to erase essential learning and support in our schools. No one should be allowed to stifle speech. We as educators know that these values are at the core of education in our country – a very diverse nation.

DEI is generally understood as fostering “a group culture of equitable and inclusive treatment.” District Court Judge Landya McCafferty

Let that quote sink in. DEI initiatives aim to create inclusive environments where students from all backgrounds, including different races, cultures, and LGBTQ+ identities, feel safe, supported, and capable of succeeding. How is that bad or discriminatory? or Radical? Maricopa does none of the DEI related discrimination accusations that fueled the initial EO on DEI, aside from “graduation ceremonies limited to specific racial or ethnic groups.” But I would argue that we don’t “limit” these spaces. We are all welcome to attend the LGBTQ+ graduation or join Equality Maricopa or any of our now defunct graduations or district groups.

Why didn’t we stand up to this nonsense? Will we see a return of all that we lost? And why is Maricopa still silent today on this? When will we show courage to stand up for ourselves? So, what up doe? and peace out.