Black
History
Month
feels
a
little
different
in
2025.
The
White
House
proclamation
announcing
the
annual
event
described
Black
history
as
a
celebration
of,
specifically,
Frederick
Douglass
and
Harriet
Tubman…
and
Thomas
Sowell
and
Clarence
Thomas.
I’m
sure
Douglass
and
Tubman
would
be
overjoyed
to
find
themselves
lumped
in
with
these
guys.
In
addition
to
these
four,
the
only
other
actual
Black
person
Trump
could
even
think
of
to
name
as
a
representative
of
centuries
of
Black
history
in
America
was
Tiger
Woods
because…
golf.
From
1619
until
today,
this
administration
came
up
with
mostly
guys
who
are
still
alive.
And
by
mostly,
we
mean
literally
3/5ths
of
Trump’s
statement.
But
some
law
firms
are
keeping
the
celebration
alive…
in
the
most
bewildering
way
possible.
Over
on
Reddit,
a
post
explains
how
a
firm
asked
a
minority
attorney
to
speak
at
its
Black
History
Month
event.
There’s
only
one
problem:
Firm
is
putting
together
a
black
history
month
event.
They
want
me
to
speak
at
it..
only
issue
is…
I’m
not
black??
I’m
not
sure
why
they
picked
me
(I
am
a
minority
but
I’m
not
black).
IMO,
I’m
not
the
person
that
should
be
speaking
at
this
event.
Idk
why
they
didn’t
select
a
black
attorney
to
run
the
event.
We
have
a
few
so
it’s
not
like
they
can’t
ask
them.
Some
people
are
just
so
disconnected..
like
I’m
glad
they
are
hosting
an
event
to
go
over
the
history
of
African
Americans..
but
wtf
why
do
yall
want
me
of
all
people
to
speak
on
it???
Just
bc
I’m
a
minority?
Like
who
even
approved
this
😭😭
The
assault
upon
DEI
efforts
both
within
the
government
and
the
private
sector
are
just
opening
moves
in
cultivating
a
legal
regime
to
favor
hostile
work
environments
for
women
and
minorities.
But
there’s
also
an
internal
attack
on
DEI
when
administrators
do
exactly
this
sort
of
thing
that
allows
conservatives
to
mock
DEI
initiatives.
A
genuine
commitment
to
DEI
on
the
occasion
of
Black
History
Month
should
—
at
the
very
least
—
involve
Black
people
instead
of
lumping
minorities
into
a
monolithic
group.
Such
actions
not
only
trivialize
the
distinct
histories
and
cultures
within
minority
groups
but
makes
DEI
look
comically
superficial.
Most
DEI
administrators
are
actually
good
at
their
jobs.
But
this
is
the
sort
of
misconception
that
can
multiply
whenever
one
of
these
projects
goes
awry.
It
doesn’t
take
many
missteps
to
birth
a
narrative.
Sure,
involving
an
outside
speaker
would
beat
having
overworked
attorneys
take
time
out
of
their
billable
day
to
take
on
the
mantle
of
“Mayor
of
Black
People”
for
the
day.
But
no
matter
how
bad
that
may
be,
it’s
not
as
bad
as
asking
the
random
other
minority
kid
to
serve
a
term
as
the
Mayor
because
the
firm
thinks
that’s
close
enough.
And
that’s
the
distinction.
It’s
not
improper
and
indeed
probably
good
to
involve
non-Black
folks
in
these
events.
But
it
matters
what
role
they
have
in
the
event.
It
probably
shouldn’t
be
“the
one
explaining
the
Black
experience.”
This
seems
a
bit
like
a
reverse
engineered
event,
where
the
firm
decided
on
the
format
before
figuring
out
who
would
be
doing
it
and
whether
or
not
the
whole
gathering
should
be
changed
based
on
who’s
available.
Effective
planning
will
require
flexibility
to
develop
the
curriculum
around
the
voices
interested
in
participating.
This
is
a
precarious
time
for
diversity
and
if
firms
want
to
make
it
to
the
other
side
of
this
administration,
they’re
going
to
have
to
make
sure
these
issues
carry
more
than
symbolic
value.
And
alienating
both
Black
and
non-Black
minorities
over
a
holiday
presentation
is
the
sort
of
thing
that
does
more
harm
than
good.