National group recommends Arkansas lawmakers defund DEI programs

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

A representative from a Virginia-based conservative organization told Arkansas lawmakers Tuesday that defunding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs is the best way to address racial discrimination.

Jon Schweppe, director of Policy and Government Affairs for the American Principles Project — a group that calls itself the “top defender of the family” — told the Legislature’s Joint Performance Review committee that DEI is a popular ideology among powerful people that “appears to be having a negligible effect or possibly even a negative one on solving animosities between racial groups.”

Instead, he said it divides people into groups, pits them against one another, and “provides opportunity for some, while cheating others.”

National group recommends Arkansas lawmakers defund DEI programs

Arkansas Legislature/Screenshot

Jon Schweppe, director of Policy and Government Affairs for the American Principles Project ,discussed DEI with the Arkansas Legislature’s Joint Performance Review committee on Oct. 24, 2023.