As Republicans continue to demonize diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and attempt to eliminate such programs, those in favor of diversity programs have been forced to defend these efforts. This week, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas went viral yet again as she defended DEI initiatives against her colleagues’ attempts to shut them down, with Crockett calling out bogus claims of white “oppression” being made by conservatives.

“There has been no oppression for the white man in this country.”

In a clip widely shared across social media, Crockett passionately calls out the assertion being made that white people are experiencing oppression in the United States because of DEI initiatives. Objecting to people who “misuse” terms like oppression, Crockett sternly corrected her fellow Congress members.

“There has been no oppression for the white man in this country,” she declared.

Detailing the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade that forcibly brought Black people to the United States, Crockett noted that this was an example of oppression, and white men in the country did not have a comparable experience.

“You tell me which white men were dragged out of their homes,” Crockett demanded of her colleagues. “You tell me which one of them got dragged all the way across an ocean and told that you are going to go and work.” Yet, Crockett noted fiercely, “it is white men on this side of the aisle telling us, people of color on this side of the aisle, that y’all are the ones being oppressed,” a notion that she called out as offensive.

Republican attacks against DEI

Crockett’s comments were made during a House Oversight Committee meeting on Wednesday. As noted on the congresswoman’s YouTube page, she made her remarks “against the Republican-authored H.R. 8706, legislation that would close all offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the federal government, as well as firing all staff within those offices and banning them from being reassigned to other roles within the federal government.”

Crockett also tweeted about the proposed legislation, noting that veterans would be among those fired and banned from reassignment based on the Republican law.

“How does firing qualified workers and Veterans improve efficiency?” she asked in her tweet.

Conservatives have waged a long campaign against DEI initiatives and other diversity programs, with various people — including Black activists and organizations — working together to defend these programs in the face of hostility. With Republicans set to control all three branches of government under the upcoming Trump administration, DEI proponents have feared that attacks will get worse, leading some to double down on their efforts to promote diversity even in the face of government hostility.

We will see in the coming months how Republicans continue their attacks against DEI and diversity. With this hostile political environment, expect voices like Crockett’s to continue to call out the nonsense some people in Washington are pushing.

Jasmine Crockett