Charles H.F. Davis III speaks with the Chronicle of Higher Education about the response of institutions of higher education to attacks against DEI efforts

When the chief diversity officer of Johns Hopkins University, Sherita Hill Golden, defined privilege as the “diversity word of the month” in a school newsletter, she became the latest in a series of Black college administrators and faculty to face vitriol, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Assistant Professor Charles H.F. Davis III, who studies race and policing in higher education, told the Chronicle that researchers use the framework of power and privilege to look at asymmetries in who benefits from certain decisions and policies.

“When I look at it also in relation to the scholarship that exists on this topic, it is deeply and mentally well-founded,” Davis said of Golden’s definition.

Facing mounting scrutiny from within and outside the university, Golden recently resigned from her position.

“When institutions do nothing, they become not only culpable and complicit, but actively participatory,” said Davis, on the response of colleges and universities to attacks against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.