I am often asked why I chose to attend the University of Virginia for my PhD.  Particularly in that my study focuses on religion, race, equity and embodiment…words that are lightning rods in a largely conservative place like The Commonwealth.  My application included two essays, “The White That Binds: Unitarian Universalism’s Racial Covenant” and “Religious Equity: The Path to Greater LGBTQ Inclusion”.  I did not hide who I am personally or what my scholarly goals are in applying to the program.  My professional ambition was to have the experience of education outside of the “blue bubbles” that I have previously been part of: Princeton, Pacific School of Religion (Berkeley), Harvard, etc.  I recognized that if I am to be taken seriously as a scholar of race and religion in the world, I cannot have an experience that is limited to the traditional liberal bastions.

On Friday, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors voted to dissolve their office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  What these recent actions of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin are telling me is that I may not have been bouncing between blue bubbles as much as hopping from one enlightened but unaware oasis to another in a toxic and potentially lethal sea.  As UVa students, we don’t know what the upshot of these actions will be, but the language from the governor, (“The Board of Visitors voted for common sense, saying ‘no’ to illegal discrimination and ‘yes’ to merit-based opportunity,”) and state attorney general (“For too long, diversity, equity, and inclusion regimes have been misused to guarantee equality of outcomes instead of equality of opportunity,”) –emphasis mine–is clear.  Any work, actions or directions that intentionally speak to “diversity” will not be tolerated by this completely anti-historical ideology.  This leaves the black, gay, Unitarian Universalist minister, aiming to write a dissertation about a religious history and evolution of whiteness, and who mentors black and LGBTQIA+ students, and who has aspirations of being a dean for Diversity or a dean for Religious Life in higher education in just a bit of a head scratching moment about his future in Jefferson’s academical village.

Read the statement from the Governor, the attached articles and the full resolution, all linked below.  Recognize how the language of civil rights has been twisted and doubled over on itself to justify this ideological agenda.  It ignores recent history (hello Unite the Right rally) and willfully leans into the chilling effect that these actions will have on someone like me.  To that end, recognize the language of “legally permissible” which calls into question what is legal.  Am I or my work somehow potentially “illegal” now?

Again, as a student, I don’t know what this will bring.  I am excruciatingly aware however that this was done at the beginning of spring break when there is the least student presence on campus. If the “University of Virginia highly values diversity, including diversity of thought and experience, and fosters an inclusive environment, encouraging a culture of opportunity for all, which immensely enriches our Grounds, and is committed to providing every student an education that is free from discrimination and grounded in merit…”, they need to be willing to come out in the open and say to my face how on earth this policy helps me.

–ALD

University of Virginia Board of Visitors Resolution

Board of Visitors votes to dissolve Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion – Cavalier Daily

UVa Abolishes DEI Office – Daily Progress

Governor’s Statement on UVA Dissolving DEI Office