DEI, Charlie Kirk, and the Ongoing Conversation After His Passing

With the recent passing of Charlie Kirk, I want to be clear: this blog is not written as an attack on him. As I’ve stated before, I did not watch much of his content, but I saw and heard enough to understand what he stood for. There were some conservative points that I did agree with, and there were others I completely disagreed with; particularly where I saw what appeared to be a complete disconnect from the realities of systemic discrimination in America.

Ultimately, this blog is not specifically about Charlie Kirk. It is about addressing a viewpoint he strongly held, and one that many others in America still hold, often ignorantly. That viewpoint is that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) lowers standards and allows minorities or women into spaces they are not qualified for. I want to address that belief using facts, data, history, and a well-rounded perspective.

The Weight of History and the Need for DEI

Charlie Kirk often argued that DEI created unfair advantages. But this ignores the weight of history. America’s starting line was never level. For centuries, white men controlled schools, jobs, government, and wealth, not because they were inherently better qualified, but because others were legally and culturally barred from entry.

From slavery to Jim Crow, from redlining to school segregation, the rules of the game were written to ensure white men remained in power. DEI does not hand out positions to the unqualified; it simply removes unjust barriers so that qualified people can finally enter spaces where they were historically excluded.

The numbers tell the story. Bertrand and Mullainathan’s landmark résumé study (2004) found that applications with white-sounding names like “Emily” or “Greg” received 50% more callbacks than identical résumés with Black-sounding names like “Lakisha” or “Jamal.” In 2023, the University of Chicago confirmed the same bias in a study of 83,000 fictitious job applications: Black candidates were 24% less likely to receive callbacks than equally qualified white candidates. These are not emotional arguments. These are facts.

Minorities in America: Numbers and Reality

• White (non-Hispanic): ~ 59%

• Hispanic/Latino: ~ 19.1%

• Black/African American: ~ 13.6%

• Asian: ~ 6.3%

• Native American/Alaska Native: ~ 1.3%

A key clarification here: Hispanic/Latino is not a race but an ethnicity. Hispanics can be Black, white, Indigenous, or multiracial. What unites them is language and cultural heritage, not biological race. Too often in America, “Hispanic” is incorrectly treated as a racial category.

Charlie Kirk sometimes argued that DEI excludes Asians. But the data shows otherwise. Asians tend to outperform white males academically and on standardized tests. Their challenge is not lack of qualification but systemic categorization. White men, in contrast, are not the “most qualified”, they are simply the most privileged, benefiting from generations of being the majority group in power.

Side Note: Black Culture and Contributions

Though only 13% of the population, Black Americans have shaped much of what is recognized as “American culture.” From music (jazz, gospel, hip-hop, rap, R&B, blues) to sports, fashion, language, and food, Black culture is foundational to the nation’s identity. Much of what becomes mainstream in America first rises out of Black communities.

The same is true of innovation. Despite barriers, Black inventors transformed daily life:

Here’s a deeper look at profound inventions and discoveries by Black innovators:

• Traffic light – Garrett Morgan (1923)

• Gas mask – Garrett Morgan (1914)

• Automatic elevator doors – Alexander Miles (1887)

• Home security system – Marie Van Brittan Brown (1966)

• Blood plasma bank & preservation – Dr. Charles Drew (1940s) 🩸

• Carbon filament for light bulb – Lewis Latimer (1881), made Edison’s bulb practical

• Refrigerated trucks & air conditioning for transport – Frederick McKinley Jones (1935)

• Super Soaker & Nerf gun technology – Lonnie Johnson (1989), NASA engineer

• Lawn mower improvements – John Albert Burr (1899)

• Agricultural science/crop rotation – George Washington Carver, revolutionized farming

• Clothes dryer – George T. Sampson (1892)

• Railway telegraph (enabled trains to communicate) – Granville T. Woods (1887)

• Modern ironing board – Sarah Boone (1892)

• Automatic lubricator for steam engines (“Real McCoy”) – Elijah McCoy (1872)

• Automatic fishing reel – George Cook (1899)

• Heating furnace – Alice H. Parker (1919), early central heating system using gas 🔥

These are not small conveniences. They are transformative technologies that shaped safety, communication, transportation, energy, and daily living. From saving lives in war (gas mask, blood banks) to keeping food fresh on trucks, to heating homes and brightening cities, Black inventors built the backbone of modern America.

A Balanced Perspective

Again, I want to make this clear: I am not here to attack Charlie Kirk. My concern is the broader disconnect I often see in America when issues of race are addressed. Because the population is majority white, white Americans tend to hold more control over media, television, and public narratives. These narratives often reflect assumptions about what Black life is, or what Black Americans go through, rather than the lived reality.

This is where I also find fault in Kirk’s reliance on Candace Owens as proof of not being racist. I think Candace Owens is brilliant in many ways, and I respect her intelligence and courage.

At the same time, I believe she often aligns more closely with white America than with Black America.

“Hey Alexa, play Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar.” I.Y.K.Y.K... 😅 All jokes aside,

That does not make her any less Black, but it does make her a less reliable voice for representing the everyday Black experience.

My goal here is not to dismiss Kirk or Owens. I can respect what they stand for in certain areas while strongly disagreeing with others. I can admire some of their boldness while critiquing their disconnects. That is balance: seeing people fully, not idolizing, not demonizing.

Final Words

DEI is not about lowering standards or giving opportunities to the unqualified. It is about opening doors for those who have always been qualified but too often denied access. White men have never inherently been the “most qualified”; they have simply had the greatest access. Black Americans, women, and other minorities have always carried equal, and often greater, qualifications; proven through resilience, persistence, and excellence in the face of barriers. The real work is to build systems that finally reflect this truth, ensuring opportunity is no longer tied to privilege but to true capability.