WaPo: “Black lawmakers in Virginia’s General Assembly joined the state’s NAACP Friday in calling for the resignation of Martin D. Brown, the state’s chief diversity officer, after he blasted diversity, equity and inclusion programs in a speech at Virginia Military Institute.
State Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond), the chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, described Brown’s rhetoric as “appalling” and said that all 19 members of his group believe that he needs to leave his job at once.
The Virginia NAACP also issued a statement demanding that Brown step down immediately, citing his “erroneous assumptions” and “lack of fitness for the critically important position he occupies.”
Brown, a Black Republican appointed in November by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), told hundreds of VMI faculty and staff that “DEI is dead” during an April 21 mandatory diversity training. Calling diversity the “wrong mission,” Brown argued that the pursuit of equity means “you’re not pursuing merit or excellence or achievement.””