Rolling Stone, August 25, 2024, The Right Is Doing All It Can To Hamstring Racial Equity Groups
It’s a familiar story. After the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, there was national soul searching and protests, and racial justice suddenly became fashionable. Money that once had been a trickle flowed into racial equity and anti-racism efforts across the board, from corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs to Black Lives Matter.
Almost as quickly, the intensity of the epiphany began to fade as the public’s attention was absorbed by the Covid pandemic and other, political crises. Predictably, the right wing stepped up its critiques of “wokeism,” especially calls to reallocate funding for police, pointing — ironically — to the street protests as proof of escalating crime that actually necessitated more police.
