Refuting 'The Downside of Diversity' My Letter to the Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal published a shortened version of my letter to the editor August 9-10, 2019 refuting Kronman's 'The Downside of Diversity' here. In case you cannot access it, here is the unedited version:
Mr. Kronman’s “The Downside of Diversity” August 3-4, 2019 is cleverly constructed to convince, but also ignores America’s own history. Diversity is not the equivalent of identity politics, much as that would help him convince us. I can understand why a law professor might miss nuances of the English language, but reading on, I realize he’s a master at twisting words, aka 'truth' as he defines it. Diversity within work teams has been demonstrated to be a plus, not a negative, in corporate decision making. The professor wants us to see the downside of diversity when suggesting students claim, “something is true because I believe it or feel it to be true.” Even Tocqueville and Aristotle honor the individual experience, which today means acknowledging the trauma faced for centuries by blacks in America. Toqueville’s “islands of culture” Kronman so admires exist – in spite of over half of America's enslaved population being separated from their families (see www.EJI.org) – in spite of the post-civil war domestic terrorism, when race riots erupted, entire business districts exemplifying black capitalism were burned and 4000 lynchings took place from 1867-1950. Still today, in spite of the mass shootings by white supremacists – in spite of the killings of unarmed blacks by police officers – in spite of the injustices, such as the Central Park Five, the black community is standing tall. These historical facts are not feelings but rather serve to retraumatize an entire people. Kronman criticizes this ‘culture of grievance and group loyalty.’ When Robert Smith gave his $40 million gift to Morehouse graduates this spring, he spoke of the resilience of the black community, challenging the graduates to pay it forward, take care of their own. If sticking together, voicing ‘true’grievances, naming historical facts, and calling out racist behavior is wrong, then I don’t want to be right. And that’s the truth!
Charlotte Beyer
August 3, 2019