Kamala Harris condemned critics who suggest that 'DEI is a bad thing,' arguing such an ideology is essential for American society
During the kickoff of her tour through American colleges, Vice President Kamala Harris advocated a vision for American society that would provide "equitable outcomes."
Harris began her "Fight For Our Freedoms College Tour" at Hampton University on Thursday. The White House posted a press release about the series of events, declaring it seeks to "mobilize young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights," particularly causes like "critical fights for reproductive freedom, commonsense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and teaching America’s full story."
During the event, Harris was asked about how she will address environmental justice, particularly when "vulnerable minority populations" are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards.
She responded by noting that "everybody is impacted by the climate crisis but not everyone is impacted equally" and claimed that the "attack right now on diversity, equity, and inclusion" is seeking to avoid discussions about the issue by contesting the premise of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion itself.
Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off her "Fight for Our Freedoms" tour through colleges across the United States.
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Harris went on to lament that "supposed, so-called extreme leaders are suggesting it’s a bad thing to care about and pay attention to inequities, to say DEI is a bad thing, when, in fact, if we want fair outcomes, we must understand what are disparities and then accommodate and adjust for those disparities if we want equal outcomes."
She suggested that environmental justice is one such cause that ties into seeking equity.
"So, environmental justice raises those points, right? Equitable outcomes are, ‘is everyone coming out the same way?’" Harris said
The vice president told the audience that everyone merely being given the same amount of resources today does not address the injustice of the past.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the conclusion of the Investing in America tour at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 14, 2023. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
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"Look, if you don’t start on the same base, everybody can have an equal amount, [but] you still are not going to end up on the same base, right?" she asked. "If we want equal outcomes, we need to take into account not everybody starts out on the same base, and we have to make adjustments."
Enforced equality or equity was mentioned in the White House’s press release about her tour, by noting the administration had "Issued a Day 1 executive order on equity that charged the entire federal government to take action to support underserved communities and advance racial justice."
Harris has a history of rhetoric about creating a more "equitable" society.
Ahead of the 2020 election, then-Democratic presidential running mate Harris shared a video claiming, "So there's a big difference between equality vs. equity. Equality suggests, 'Oh everyone should get the same amount.' The problem with that, not everybody's starting out at the same place."
There’s a big difference between equality and equity. pic.twitter.com/n3XfQyjLNe
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 1, 2020
She went on to propose in the video that "if we're all getting the same amount, but you started out back there and I started out over here -- we could get the same amount, but you're still going to be that far back behind me."
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Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to