Arkansas lawmakers pass bill to ban DEI efforts at every level of government

Credit: Arkansas Legislature

Some people never watched “Sesame Street,” and it shows.

The Arkansas House signed off Monday on Senate Bill 520, sending it to the governor’s desk. The bill will force local governments to give up any initiatives aimed at boosting diversity, equity and inclusion, aka the dreaded “DEI.” City and county governments will be barred from considering diversity when making hiring decisions, and will have to end efforts to promote equity and inclusion initiatives.

Let’s all stop for a minute and marvel that “diversity, equity and inclusion” are now largely considered bad words, at least in red-state politics.

The handiwork of state Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Jonesboro), the bill makes efforts to even the playing field for people of different races, ethnicities and orientations against the law.

“Book Ban Dan” Sullivan is the senator behind the 2023 law (ruled unconstitutional by a federal court) that threatened librarians and booksellers with criminal charges for furnishing “harmful” materials to minors . He’s also been codifying white privilege into Arkansas law for years now. Sullivan has split his time during the current legislative session between trying to gut the Arkansas State Library and trying to make sure his fellow white males maintain their increasingly precarious perch at the top of the pyramid.

In arguing for the bill banning local DEI initiatives, Sullivan has said the focus should be on “merit” rather than preferential treatment for certain groups.

While the Senate passed Sullivan’s bill easily, at least Sen. Reginald Murdock (D-Marianna) left a record of dissent. “Why do you want to bring this craziness down to the local level?” he asked before voting “no.”

Rep. Alyssa Brown (R-Heber Springs), the bill’s House sponsor, said no municipalities are against it. That’s not precise. A representative from North Little Rock came to the Capitol to testify against the bill in a Senate committee, and the city of Little Rock has an entire soon-to-be-outlaw Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

“It’s almost like we’re being censored,” North Little Rock DEI Director Arnessa Bennett testified earlier this month. When we checked the city’s website Monday afternoon to get the correct spelling of Bennett’s name, the tab for the city’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Alliance gave a “page not found” error message.

As happens more and more lately, Democrats have been the ones calling for local control so city and county entities can make their own policies here.

“Why is it not OK for local municipalities to make these decisions?” Rep. Tippi McCullough (D-Little Rock) asked during a House committee meeting on April 9.

Brown cited a 2023 Supreme Court decision about race-based college admissions and argued the anti-DEI bill is about fairness. She said the bill mirrors policy at the national and state levels, and she’s not wrong. President Donald Trump came out swinging against diversity efforts on his first day back in office. Anti-DEI laws are popping up in Republican-dominated states across the country.

Sure, minority groups in the United States were brutalized, dehumanized and marginalized for 400+ years. But according to Arkansas lawmakers, it’s time to get over it.