Concession, Cooption, and Consequences: Free Speech, DEI Policy, and Congressional Testimony

• In Event: Defending Diversity: Navigating Legislative Attacks on DEI in Higher Education

Abstract

Derrick Bell's Critical Race Theory of Interest Convergence has been applied to educational policy, including that in Desegregation and Affirmative Action. In this paper, Interest Convergence theory is applied to examine how Interest Divergence and Imperialistic Reclamation is at work in the 2023 congressional testimony of elite college presidents through a discourse analysis that highlights the semantic concession and cooption that serves racist logics. This includes an analysis of who is allowed freedom of speech without consequence, as well as the ways that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is co-opted.

Author

• Naomi Nishi, Colorado State University