Overcoming prejudice in Wyoming

Recently, the University of Wyoming hired its first vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Arguably well-intentioned, this sort of top-down and often cosmetic posturing is a far cry from what’s required to overcome our nation’s long-standing and deeply troubling racial and ethnic bias. 

And yet, DEI has become a multi-billion-dollar industry complete with diversity trainers, equity consultants and the ever-present DEI officers. In Wyoming diversity training is increasingly common not only in colleges but also in K-12 schools, businesses, voluntary organizations and governmental agencies; to what effect is unclear. 

Decades ago, as a white, liberal college kid, I picketed Woolworth stores over the company’s corporate refusal to serve non-whites at lunch counters in the South. I also participated in interracial sit-ins to compel a small-town barbershop owner to serve all. To be sure, Dr. King’s dream that we judge all people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin, remains a clarion call for continuing action. 

If Dr. King were alive today, the numbers would discourage him. Racial prejudice still underlies lesser outcomes for non-whites; whether within financial systems, neighborhood and school investments, high school and higher education completion rates, family economic mobility, wealth generation and even health care. While out of my sight and out of my mind, and with a few notable exceptions, non-whites have entirely worse odds at prosperity than I experienced. Is DEI training the best chance for any of this changing?  

Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a diversity training session for a Wyoming corporation. The trainer’s personal story, experiencing racial prejudice growing up in rural Wyoming and attending college in Wyoming, was a startling revelation, which I found entirely credible. Unfortunately, however, much of the discussion was aimed toward categorizing ethnic, racial and social class identities — that we are judged according to which group we belong. This diminishes each person’s story, raises the hackles of a lot of decent folks, activates stereotypes and dangerously empowers the far right.

But even in Wyoming, young people filled with hope and uncorrupted by cynicism are telling us that out of sight, out of mind is no longer acceptable. Learning the whole truth about our history, and talking about it honestly, openly and respectfully, does help to set us free. In doing so, we stick to the evidence, using common words, not the trendy academic (mostly white liberal) acronyms. See Robert Livingston’s 2023 book, “The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations.” 

Whether or not we admit it, we all struggle with the matter of race. Invented millennia ago to justify the subjugation of one group of people by another, race is a social construct. Obfuscating the issue, the founders of our nation — all educated white men — advocated liberty from England while many held slaves as their private property. Among them, Thomas Jefferson, arguably the most outspoken slave owner on the matter, knew that slavery was wrong, and toward the end of his life advocated for gradual emancipation. But to get the southern colonies to join the union, he resorted to unfounded lies about intellectual and physical racial inferiorities. There is not a word about chattel slavery in our founding documents. Robert J. Larson’s 2022 book, “American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation,” is a worthy read on the topic.   

Living in Wyoming, we are extraordinarily aware of natural diversity; even the vast variety of flora and fauna on the seemingly desolate Red Desert. But what is diversity when applied to people and institutions? That is a question that begets more questions. To eliminate racial prejudice, what kind of diversity is actually meaningful? How do we achieve a diverse community, business or college? What are the qualitative as well as the quantitative measures for success? How will we know when success is achieved?

As much as we like to differentiate ourselves from Coloradoans, I truly believe that the City of Denver has come up with a single, straightforward statement on what success looks like: “Race and other social identities can no longer be used to predict life outcomes.” 

Rather than focusing on changing hearts and minds, which may not be possible, a more promising approach may be to focus on a few inarguable (and very measurable) prerequisites for individual and family success: food, housing, health care, early childhood education, job training and, most important but least discussed, ownership of assets. From my perspective, our in-state, non-governmental, philanthropic institutions are best positioned to propose and advocate for public policies that dedicate sustained public funding to accomplish our goal. 

Meanwhile, trust in and respect for one another doesn’t require agreement; but will go a long way to making Wyoming a more prosperous place for all.