Andy Serkis said his upcoming &#8220;Lord of the Rings&#8221; film will not embrace “politically correct” casting, saying he won&#8217;t prioritize diversity for its own sake. 
Speaking to the BBC, Serkis, who is directing &#8220;The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum&#8221; and portrayed Gollum in Peter Jackson&#8217;s film trilogy, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c07y400jlngo">said</a> J.R.R. Tolkien&#8217;s fantasy world was inspired by Norse mythology and that diversity would be included only “where relevant.”
Serkis said Tolkien&#8217;s depiction of the Shire reflects its inspiration in Northern European folklore.
“The Shire feels very, very much like a very, a very white, you know …” he said, trailing off before continuing. “They&#8217;re not very concerned about what goes on beyond the borders of The Shire, but they know they don&#8217;t want people coming in.”
His highly anticipated upcoming movie features a predominantly white cast, including Jamie Dornan, Anya Taylor-Joy, Kate Winslet, and Leo Woodall, with returning stars Elijah Wood and Sir Ian McKellen. 
During the BBC interview, Serkis acknowledged criticism of the original franchise but added that diversity would be included only where it fit the story.  
“This particular film is somewhat acknowledging that, but I don&#8217;t think we will be doing a politically correct just-casting-for-the sake-of-casting-and-ticking-boxes version of the film,” Serkis said.
The original &#8220;Lord of the Rings&#8221; trilogy faced criticism from some commentators over its lack of racial diversity. Amazon&#8217;s later adaptation, &#8220;The Rings of Power,&#8221; drew criticism from others for introducing race-swapped elves, dwarves, and other characters. 
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to X in 2022 to comment on the movie, saying “Tolkien is turning in his grave.”
In a 2018 <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/black-panther-martin-freeman-andy-serkis-on-being-the-only-white-actors/">interview</a> with Radio Times, the 62-year-old voiced his agreement with Hollywood&#8217;s diverse casting. Serkis said his experience as one of the few white actors filming “The Black Panther” helped him understand how minorities feel on set. 
“[Director] Ryan Coogler said to me and Martin, ‘Guys, I have to tell you this, but this is the first scene I&#8217;ve directed with two White actors in it,’” Serkis said. “That&#8217;s an incredible perspective to find yourself in.”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum” is scheduled for release in December 2027.

New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Director Rejects ‘Politically Correct’ Casting

Andy Serkis

Diversity

Hollywod

Lord of the Rings

The Nashville Police Department held a diversity training session for recruits inside a gay nightclub during Pride Month, bringing trainees together with members of the city&#8217;s LGBTQ community.
The session took place at Play Nashville, known around Nashville for its drag performances. Video shared by the mayor&#8217;s office shows recruits seated inside the venue, participating in a moderated discussion. 
Officer Darci Stechman, the department&#8217;s LGBTQ liaison, told recruits to come prepared with questions before the discussion: &#8220;Otherwise it&#8217;s going to be awkward, and you’re just going to be staring at one another for an hour and a half.” 
She added, “Nashville is very diverse, so we’re exposing the trainees to these different communities and letting them learn a little bit more about the people they may interact with within the community.&#8221; 
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The video also shows recruits speaking with Councilmember Olivia Hill, the first transgender-identifying man elected to the Metro Council. 
Nashville Democratic Mayor Freddie O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s office said the visit was part of the department&#8217;s standard diversity tour for recruits, not a one-time Pride Month event. 
“Metro Nashville Police recruits do a diversity tour before they ever hit the streets,” O&#8217;Connell&#8217;s office said. “Mayor O’Connell is committed to a city for everyone and that starts by bringing people together.”
The mayor&#8217;s office and the police department both shared video of the training on social media.
The police training is one of several diversity initiatives promoted by Nashville government agencies in recent years. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-before-historic-storm-embattled-electric-service-asked-workers-if-they-had-gay-friends">previously reported</a> that Nashville Electric Service (NES) employees participated in diversity training before a crippling January ice storm left 230,000 customers without power. NES employees were asked to recognize their “implicit biases” and whether they had a diverse friend group. 
Trainings were required for all supervisors and managers, and modules were “completed by employees in 2023-2025,” according to an NES spokesperson. 
O’Connell is known for his leftist ideas, including his focus on climate change and anti-ICE stance. In May of last year, the mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nashvilles-democrat-mayor-doxxes-ice-agents">doxxed</a> multiple ICE Agents after his office released information on the interactions between ICE agents and Nashville emergency service personnel. The mayor’s office claimed the names were released by mistake.

WATCH: Police Dept Brought Recruits To A Gay Club For Diversity Training

LGBTQ

Nashville

Police

Tennessee

2025 Atlantic Festival

Exposing Every Lie In The New Anti-American Documentary From Ken Burns

American History

American Revolution

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Documentaries

Film

Film Reviews

Founding Fathers

George Washington

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Slavery

Woke Culture

Despite President Trump’s Executive Order 14151 declaring DEI initiatives illegal, wasteful, and discriminatory, and mandating their termination across all government agencies, DEI appears to be a sort of zombie — dead by decree, but animated by cultural and institutional inertia. On the same day — February 4, 2025 — that the so-called “Dismantle DEI” bill was introduced to both the House (H.R. 925) and Senate (S.382), I optimistically fantasized about a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-deserves-an-accurate-eulogy">eulogy for DEI</a>. Unfortunately, while some progress has been made, largely at the individual state levels, the leftist leviathan that is DEI remains well-entrenched across a wide swath of our institutions.
As we close out the year, there are no scheduled hearings, markups, or votes on the bill; and <a href="http://www.apple.com">a 2025 survey by Paradigm </a>(via DiversityResources.com) found that over 80% of major companies have either held their DEI budgets steady or increased them, with only 19% reducing them. These numbers are harder to track for universities and non-profits, partly because many schools and organizations have strategically rebranded DEI programs with titles such as “student success,” “inclusive excellence,” and “community equity,” but a report from <a href="https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DEI-Funds-UNIVERSITY-Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion-Funds-and-Fundraising_Final.pdf">Defending Education</a> earlier this year showed that DEI funds still exist for schools in at least 44 states, and hundreds of millions of dollars are still being poured into the cause. Non-profits are finding that many <a href="https://diversity.com/post/dei-in-philanthropy-equity-nonprofit-funding-trends">donors are doubling down</a> on DEI efforts, albeit tying funding to more measurable outcomes.
The velocity and volume of DEI spending over the past 15 years is staggering — not merely in millions or billions, but plausibly trillions of dollars. In 2011, Obama kick-started the campaign with <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/08/18/executive-order-13583-establishing-coordinated-government-wide-initiativ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Executive Order 13583,</a> which directed the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Management and Budget, and EEOC to develop strategic plans and metrics for DEI across over 50 agencies. It had no specific budget or spending allotments, but it served as the blueprint for such programs across non-governmental institutions, as well as corporations, universities, and non-profits. President Joe Biden&#8217;s subsequent <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EO 13985</a> required every federal agency to file an Equity Action Plan.
The Biden administration shifted DEI into overdrive, allocating some <a href="https://www.bizpacreview.com/2025/03/10/biden-admin-went-on-trillion-dollar-spending-spree-embedding-dei-across-govt-study-says-1527980/">$1.1 trillion to 460 programs across 24 agencies</a> based on the FY2025 Equity Action Plan filings. Importantly, all of these dollar amounts exclude indirect costs such as litigation, compliance audits, and opportunity costs from DEI-related mandates.
Universities <a href="https://www.emerging-strategy.com/dei-spending-in-u-s-higher-ed-a-carnegie-classification-analysis/">spend billions of dollars</a> per year on DEI programs, with the University of Michigan alone famously spending some $250 million for one of the more <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/magazine/university-of-michigan-dei.html">spectacular DEI failures</a>. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-dei-staff-at-public-universities-pocket-massive-salaries-as-experts-question-motives-of-initiatives">Salaries for the top officers</a> in these departments, which typically range in size from 3 to 25 people, average between $180,000 and $250,000 annually.
In the private sector, JPMorgan Chase committed $30 billion to racial equity and DEI initiatives over just five years (2020-2025). Microsoft invested $150 million in one year alone (2020) to expand its existing racial equity grants and DEI programs. Google previously contributed to over 200 groups dedicated to DEI  and has invested billions of dollars since 2014 in personnel, training, and supplier diversity programs. It is estimated that nationally, annual corporate DEI spending has averaged approximately $10 billion to $20 billion per year (see <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/private-capital/our-insights/discussing-the-state-of-diversity-in-global-private-markets">here</a> and <a href="https://buildremote.co/companies/keeping-dei/">here</a>).
Secretary Hegseth is working to repair the DEI damage in our Department of War, but he has a Herculean task in front of him. A host of veterans and patriots have written and spoken about the tremendous damage that DEI policies have inflicted on our military — eviscerating combat readiness, eroding standards, crippling morale and recruitment, and threatening our national security. [See Air Force<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Revolution-Marxisms-Conquest-Unmaking-ebook/dp/B0952DZ46D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ISCOE04FCUYF&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5ikuS0t11e1M8t_dVKVrK0TTRBBR-k0bvxb066YffGm6BPUZBcpEf9jSv9lIp0DqErCYDn-r2fzbdMYNma9Kf7N7olk95VSUBkM_oaV0VVY.g1mUHZ8H8y2vc0tRanN4ob_E0DV-GUXH8iuHQnuttM4&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=matt+lohmeier&amp;qid=1762282380&amp;sprefix=matt+lohmeirer,aps,333&amp;sr=8-1"> Under Secretary Lohmeier</a>, <a href="https://starrs.us/message-to-senators-dei-is-a-trojan-horse/">Major General Arbuckle (retired)</a>, <a href="https://starrs.us/mike-rose-dei-is-manifesting-itself-in-the-military-in-very-dangerous-ways/">South Carolina state Sen. Rose</a> (retired), <a href="https://starrs.us/report-of-the-national-independent-panel-on-military-service-and-readiness/">Lieutenant General Bishop</a> (retired), and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cigarettes-dei-and-our-military">Greg Salsbury</a>.]
Prominent scholars such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=christopher+rufo+america%27s+cultural+revolution&amp;crid=23UXO1WIKCS3R&amp;sprefix=christopher+rufo,aps,559&amp;ref=nb_sb_ss_p13n-expert-pd-ops-ranker_3_16" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher Rufo</a>, <a href="https://victorhanson.com/ten-problems-with-dei-that-frighten-the-public/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victor Davis Hanson</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Racism-Religion-Betrayed-America-ebook/dp/B095JLK96B/ref=sr_1_2?adgrpid=1343603773906492&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.IhO6sgetZ4xjVYkCQv6_yN8VU__vAYMgkAqNPiX-0dg5DjQYq04Sjw2s-sKvWOJnMVupxX_Yerqm02TXT5B99DUIyB6pCi2aSAbobw3mofKWFaCzcP5WxvsIn-bzbW5hLWqIQK9PimIL3x5tcvJkDnH6Gj8YaNot26qk2IxCtX0f2lnyfnYcAGD-3IwUM6JLr2cjH0ijk_I-zVPciT0hJFosnOibZXf_9SCjg30tpbb_LQpGO9MhO0grSda6P182tAWtWRCGRXAkcV_NXXLRrlPhJOhSlFSAt4kPEbl-oHo.pjLOCn7X5k3CptyBF2TDIFGiFcVN5Oqg_cKEOeGgdlU&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;hvadid=83975558545606&amp;hvbmt=be&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=71501&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=e&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83975581857106:loc-190&amp;hydadcr=8480_13544230&amp;keywords=john+mcwhorter+books&amp;mcid=359b8020a2b43364bd749073b564a123&amp;msclkid=0565530031fc1a91b3bc3a078790b5f4&amp;qid=1762113141&amp;sr=8-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John McWhorter</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=heather+macdonald+author&amp;crid=2GWXB3DP1BDRH&amp;sprefix=heather+mac,aps,328&amp;ref=nb_sb_ss_p13n-expert-pd-ops-ranker_1_11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heather MacDonald</a>, and many others have written extensively about similar destruction inflicted across our other governmental, academic, and private sector institutions and culture. <a href="https://starrs.us/the-dei-ruse-is-imploding/">Dr. Hanson</a> concludes: “In the end, DEI will implode because of its many contradictions: it is racist to the core; it is illegal and violates court decisions and the Constitution; it destroys meritocracy; and it is utterly incoherent in adjudicating who and who does not deserve racial preferences.” 
The implosion may take a while. The enormous spending led to an unprecedented propaganda campaign, helping to cement deep-seated misconceptions in a large portion of the population. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/11/19/views-of-dei-have-become-slightly-more-negative-among-us-workers/">Pew Research Center</a> reports that while the American public’s support for DEI has decreased slightly over the last couple of years, the country remains roughly split on whether it is a positive or negative influence. About half still view DEI as being about fairness and opportunity.
In a recent viral video, comedian Adam Carolla discusses the best way for the current administration to combat the anti-ICE protesters as it pursues illegal immigrants across the country. He wryly recommends that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement be retitled as something like National Immigration and Customs Enforcement — thus adding the letter “N” to the current ICE acronym, making it “NICE.” He goes on to make several jokes about how difficult it would be for anyone, including the media and Democrats, to attack NICE people.
In all seriousness, Carolla has identified the brilliant but insidious invulnerability of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and why it is so difficult to drive a stake through its heart (to mix zombie and vampire metaphors). Who could possibly argue with the promotion of such congenial-sounding words? Of course, the words are not the issue. Rather, it is the programs and policies that are implemented under their banner.
<a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-dei-corrupts-americas-universities">Christopher Rufo</a> observed that, in practice, the policies bearing these labels usually promote precisely the opposite of what the words would imply. Diversity almost always involves implicit and explicit racial discrimination, excluding or limiting some groups by their skin color or identity. This is how you get things like segregated dorms and graduation ceremonies (“affinity celebrations”). Equity involves disparate and often unfair treatment of various identity groups (typically based on race, color, gender, and sex) in an attempt to equalize not opportunities, but outcomes. This is what produces outcomes like the elimination of standardized test scores to ensure that underqualified candidates are still considered. Inclusion usually restricts ideas and people who oppose the prevailing doctrine of the oppressed and oppressors. This is how you end up with things like conservatives being blocked from employment consideration or targeted for special IRS consideration. Perhaps most importantly, as well argued by <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/new-clerisy-how-thomas-sowell-predicted-rise-and-ruin-dei-bureaucracies">Thomas Sowell</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Woke-Racism-Religion-Betrayed-America/dp/0593423062">John McWhorter</a>, these programs ultimately harm more than help the very groups they claim to champion.
I <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cigarettes-dei-and-our-military">previously identified</a> commonalities between the propaganda campaigns for cigarette smoking and DEI. Sadly, thanks to billions of dollars of marketing — akin to views of cigarette smoking in the past — many, if not most, Americans are blind to the real impact of DEI, and that it is part of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-state-of-our-political-divide?author=Greg+Salsbury&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+State+Of+Our+Political+Divide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new Marxism.</a>
The challenge lies in how to open their eyes. Which message resonates more: a rigorously documented essay by a scholar like Dr. Hanson, or a 30-second TikTok clip decrying that we “should not be haters,” and that “diversity is our strength” — with music, dance, and millions of likes behind it? Perhaps Adam Carolla could assist with a counter.
Killing off the other half of the DEI zombie will require a three-pronged initiative focusing on education, litigation, and legislation. 
Firstly, we must educate the public by exposing the specific and measurable harms caused by DEI — from the erosion of meritocracy to the suppression of dissent. The more the public hears about the specifics — such as biological men dominating women’s sports competitions — the more they understand and oppose DEI policies.
Secondly, many DEI policies and practices have been and remain illegal — often blatantly violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. More plaintiffs must come forward to challenge these violations in court. A few significant settlements or verdicts in such cases could have a massive impact nationally. Additionally, any non-profit organization engaging in ideological enforcement under the guise of DEI should face a review of its 501(c)(3) status and an investigation to determine whether it is violating nondiscrimination laws.
Thirdly, right now, formal opposition to DEI rests solely on President Trump’s recent executive order, which could disappear as quickly as the next presidential election. We must demand that our representatives advance the House and Senate “Dismantle DEI” bills — codifying reform beyond executive fiat.
* * *
Greg Salsbury, Ph.D., serves on the Board of Advisors for <a href="https://starrs.us">STARRS.US</a>., and is the former president of Western Colorado University. He earned his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Southern California and an M.A. from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Fist power painted on a wall

DEI: The Billion-Dollar Zombie That Won’t Stay Dead

American Universities

Biden Administration

Christopher Rufo

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Thomas Sowell

Trump Administration

A leftwing group dedicated to dismantling “structural racism” in finance has raked in millions of dollars in federal grants. But now its federal funding and non-profit status could be in jeopardy, as the group discriminates against white internship applicants in violation of President Donald Trump’s executive order.
The North Carolina-based Croatan Institute touts its allegiance to the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda on its website, promising to tackle “structural racism in finance” even as it imposed race-based selection criteria on its paid internship program. The program appears to violate President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">executive order</a> barring DEI policies and discrimination among federal grant recipients.
Now, a legal expert tells The Daily Wire that the program jeopardizes the federal funds currently en route to the organization, as well as any future funds that the Croatan Institute might hope to garner.
The Croatan Institute <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/BLAISE-1-Pager.pdf">boasts</a> the BLAISE internship program, which stands for &#8220;BIPOC Leaders Advancing an Inclusive and Sustainable Economy.&#8221; The program seeks to increase the representation of specific demographic groups in the financial industry.
The internship program’s eligibility requirements detail the race-based selection process. “Priority given to students of color or first-generation students from underserved communities,” the site reads. The group attempts to justify its racial preferences by writing that “in the world of finance, there is a dearth of people of color.”
The program could land the Croatan Institute in hot water, Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow GianCarlo Canaparo told The Daily Wire.
“Any entity that receives federal funds is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act from discriminating on the basis of race and other protected categories,” Canaparo explained. “Giving priority to certain races, as the BIPOC internship does, is textbook discrimination.” He added that the discrimination could be remedied by way of a federal lawsuit.
The Croatan Institute has <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/93c07c39-40a4-c537-677c-326962e00582-R/latest">garnered</a> more than $4 million in federal grants since fiscal year 2022. Included in that sum is a <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_25CA11083150101_12C2">$1.9 million grant</a> from the Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2025, of which just under $470,000 has already been paid out. The organization was also slated to receive <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_5850903013_12H2">$40,000</a> from the Department of Agriculture to host a “financial health workshop series for BIPOC farmers and landowners.”
“If Croatan continues to receive federal funds, those funds are absolutely in jeopardy,” Canaparo explained. “And if Croatan hopes to receive more federal funds in the future, it will have to terminate this discriminatory internship program or it&#8217;s likely to <a href="https://fedsoc.org/commentary/fedsoc-blog/understanding-the-liability-risks-posed-by-trump-s-dei-order-1">face False Claims Act liability</a> in addition to all the other sorts of liability,” he added, highlighting yet another legal risk that the organization appears to have exposed itself to.
The organization appears to have held the internship program for several years as it was raking in the federal money. The Croatan Institute announced the internship’s <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/blaise-pilot-launches-for-bipoc-students-2/">pilot program</a> in 2022 and stated even more blatantly that applicants “must identify as black, indigenous, Latinx, or person of color.”
The program could threaten more than just the organization’s federal funding, however. Canaparo pointed out that the discriminatory program “jeopardizes its nonprofit status,” adding that “the IRS can revoke the tax-exempt status of a nonprofit that engages in race discrimination.”
The organization&#8217;s internship program is part of a <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/reefs/">broader initiative</a>, called &#8220;Racial Equity, Economics, Finance and Sustainability,&#8221; which seeks to &#8220;advance opportunities for greater representation of underserved communities.&#8221; The <a href="https://croataninstitute.org/BIPOC-Financial-Health/">initiative</a> includes one project, called the Financial Health Investment Project, which seeks to promote &#8220;the financial resilience and long-term success of Black and other minority farmers and landowners&#8221; by offering online financial coaching. The program was <a href="https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fy-2023-2501-funded-projects.pdf">funded</a> by Department of Agriculture to the tune of $731,000.
The Croatan Institute isn’t the only federal grant recipient that’s discriminated against whites as it&#8217;s pursued the DEI agenda. A music ensemble <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-ensemble-hosts-bipoc-internship-barring-white-applicants-citing-systemic-allyship">investigated</a> by The Daily Wire received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and held a “BIPOC internship” that explicitly barred whites from participation on account of their race.
The group even posted the demographic breakdown of their intern classes, further proving that it had excluded white applicants. The organization <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/non-profit-freezes-internship-that-discriminated-against-whites-after-daily-wire-investigation">froze its internship program</a> in the wake of The Daily Wire investigation.
The Croatan Institute did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump Executive Order

Go Woke, Go Broke: Nonprofit Could Lose Millions In Federal Funds Thanks To DEI Program

anti-white

Discrimination

Racial Discrimination

Trump

Three dozen federal contractors are at “high risk” of violating President Donald Trump’s executive orders barring the implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies among those who do business with the federal government.
A new report from the 1792 Exchange highlights which federal contractors have previously advanced the DEI agenda most aggressively, honing in on companies that have offered rhetorical and financial support to leftwing organizations. It highlights 36 “high risk” companies that raked in $265 billion in federal contracts in fiscal year 2023 and are “likely to be maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender policies” in defiance of Trump’s executive orders <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/">addressing DEI</a> and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/defending-women-from-gender-ideology-extremism-and-restoring-biological-truth-to-the-federal-government/">transgender ideology</a>.
Daniel Cameron, the former Attorney General of Kentucky and the President of the 1792 Exchange, told The Daily Wire that the <a href="https://1792exchange.com/contractors/">database</a> provides the Trump administration with a tool to scrutinize companies that could be violating the president’s orders.
“The American people have the right to know if our hard-earned money is subsidizing any corporation’s subversive ideological programs. President Trump has taken bold action to remove DEI programming from federal institutions, including government contractors,” Cameron explained. “This report empowers government agencies and legislators to align procurement decisions with that vision of neutrality and excellence,” he added.
Among the 36 companies deemed “high risk” by the organization are Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin, which the 1792 Exchange says have discriminated against other companies “that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies.”
The three companies, the organization says, pledged to modify the demographic composition of its leadership “through the establishment of gender and racial targets” in recruiting and signed a “commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace” and “strategize on DEI programs.”
Raytheon pointed The Daily Wire to a statement it made in January, assuring the public that it would ditch the DEI agenda. “Our highly dedicated workforce is built and advances on merit in pursuit of our mission to protect and connect the world. RTX is taking the necessary actions to comply with the Presidential Executive Orders,” Raytheon said.
Another high-risk company is Honeywell International, which the 1792 Exchange said forced employees to attend “multiple controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology.” There’s also Boeing, which the 1792 Exchange said has emphasized “racial diversity in its hiring practices” and similarly required employees to attend DEI trainings.
Consulting giant Deloitte is also listed as a high-risk company, with the 1792 Exchange noting that the company joined the <a href="https://www.global-lgbti.org/who-we-are">Partnership for Global LGBTIQ+ Equality</a>, reflecting Deloitte’s “commitment to vet business partners based on LGBTQ+ policies.”
“These companies have engaged in politicized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that often include executive compensation schemes linked to diversity targets and the creation of employee affinity groups, race-conscious training programs, or gender policies that prioritize identity categories over merit,” the 1792 Exchange said.
The 1792 Exchange says its database will serve as “a resource for regulators, lawmakers, and watchdogs to scrutinize whether public funds are being directed toward companies that may now stand in violation of federal mandates.”

Lockheed Martin

Defense Contractors, Others At High Risk Of Violating Trump’s Anti-DEI Order, Watchdog Says

Seattle University has been hit with a federal civil rights complaint over scholarships and programs that select students on the basis of race and sex, including one that’s administered in partnership with Costco.
In its complaint, the Equal Protection Project cites three different scholarships and programs that advance the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, including one sponsored by the retail giant. The complaint, first viewed by The Daily Wire, calls on the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate the university and enforce civil rights law.
The Costco Scholarship Fund, which both Seattle University and the University of Washington participate in, is intended for “underrepresented students of color.”
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-929909 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-05-at-1.01.07-PM-300x193.png" alt="" width="719" height="463" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-05-at-1.01.07-PM-300x193.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-05-at-1.01.07-PM-897x576.png 897w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-05-at-1.01.07-PM-768x493.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-05-at-1.01.07-PM.png 1124w" sizes=" (max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px" /></div>
William A. Jacobson, the founder of the Equal Protection Project, told The Daily Wire that the Costco program doesn’t outline specific racial or ethnic requirements, but that it could foster exclusionary practices.
“Costco has created a program for &#8216;underrepresented students of color&#8217; but allows others to participate,&#8221; Jacobson said. “We call on Costco to make clear both in its program and in its partnerships with schools like SU that discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is prohibited.&#8221;
Costco told The Daily Wire that the scholarship fund takes into account several factors when selecting recipients, including academic record, community service history, and whether or not the applicant is &#8220;part of an underserved group, such as youth in foster care, historically underrepresented minority students, and students who are the first in their family to pursue a college degree.&#8221; Costco added that &#8220;the program is legally compliant.&#8221;
Seattle University offers other programs explicitly designed for people of specific demographic backgrounds.
The Sinegal Fellowship, open to students who graduated from Seattle University’s undergraduate program and are going on to pursue an advanced degree at the school, is specifically designed for students who participated in the Costco Fund Scholarship. Seattle University states that the fellowship “provides support for underrepresented minority Costco scholars.”
&#8220;Creating educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin, or sex violates Titles VI and IX of the Civil Rights Act, as well as Washington State law and SU&#8217;s own non-discrimination policies,” Jacobson explained. “We are asking SU to live up to the law and its own rules, and to remove the discriminatory eligibility barriers it has erected.&#8221;
The university also offers the Justice Mary I. Yu Endowed Scholarship, which offers financial assistance to “underrepresented students at Seattle University School of Law, especially women of color.”
The Women of Seattle University Endowed Scholarship, available to current students who meet a certain GPA threshold, is targeted at “underrepresented student populations, especially women.”
Jacobson told The Daily Wire that Seattle University’s programs are in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
“Aggressive DEI programming must never be permitted to cross the line into unlawful discrimination in violation of the Civil Rights Act. This line, unfortunately, appears to have been breached at SU,” Jacobson said. “It is time for higher education everywhere to focus on the inherent worth and dignity of every student rather than categorizing students based on identity groups.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
&#8220;The Equal Protection Project calls on the Department of Education to require the senior administration of SU to uphold nondiscrimination standards throughout the institution,” he added.
Seattle University did not respond to a request for comment.
Seattle University isn’t the first institution that the Equal Protection Project has hit with a federal civil rights complaint. It also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/university-of-rhode-island-hit-with-civil-rights-complaint-over-discriminatory-scholarships">reported</a> the University of Rhode Island’s 51 DEI-focused scholarship offerings, which discriminated against white and male students. The complaint <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/education-department-to-investigate-university-of-rhode-islands-discriminatory-scholarships">prompted</a> a federal investigation from the Department of Education.

Costco

EXCLUSIVE: Seattle University Hit With Federal Complaint Over Costco-Backed DEI Scholarship

Academia

A federally-funded education program warned teachers that babies could be racist and pushed other forms of DEI and transgender ideologies on educators, The Daily Wire can exclusively report.
A new report from the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) reveals just how deeply woke ideology has permeated Head Start, a government program that provides education and other services to children three to five. Head Start held webinars for teachers on “anti-bias and anti-racism strategies Head Start programs can use in their practices, services, and systems.”
One webinar warned that even infants “discriminate between faces by race” and that “babies can categorize people by gender and race.”
Head Start also embraced transgender ideology, referring to pregnant women as “birthing parents” and “pregnant people” in social media posts. The program also proposed ways to make activities for children “more inclusive,” including by changing the lyrics to “Old MacDonald Had A Farm.”
“Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O And on that farm he/she/they had a pig, E-I-E-I-O,” the updated lyrics read.
<div id="attachment_927965" style="width: 660px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-927965" class=" wp-image-927965" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.24.55-AM-300x175.png" alt="" width="650" height="379" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.24.55-AM-300x175.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.24.55-AM-989x576.png 989w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.24.55-AM-768x447.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.24.55-AM.png 1168w" sizes=" (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" />FGI Report</div>
“Head Start now promotes radical diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology, peddling a divisive world view on the government’s dime,” the FGI report reads. “A microscope must be applied to the program to assess how, where, and why our taxpayer money promoted controversial political ideologies antithetical to the real progress America has made for children and families.&#8221;
The 2020 presentation, titled “Anti-Bias Teaching and Learning Environments in Head Start Programs,” sought to foster “anti-bias learning environments” and warned of “implicit bias.”
“Explore children&#8217;s understanding of race and identity development,” the seminar description states. “Discover strategies to promote anti-bias practices through supportive interactions and activities with children.” The presentation outlined the “four core goals of anti-bias education” of identity, diversity, justice, and activism.
Another presentation dealt with “Personally-Mediated Racism in Early Education” and featured a graphic with the phrase “They’re not too young to talk about race!”
<div id="attachment_927969" style="width: 680px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-927969" class=" wp-image-927969" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.25.54-AM-300x176.png" alt="" width="670" height="393" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.25.54-AM-300x176.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.25.54-AM-980x576.png 980w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.25.54-AM-768x451.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.25.54-AM.png 1280w" sizes=" (max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" />FGI Report</div>
“Apply a racial equity lens to all Head Start policies AND funding,” reads a slide titled “Addressing Racism in Early Childhood.”
Yet another presentation encouraged teachers to talk to young children about race.
“If we commit to collectively trying to talk about race with young children, we can lean on one another as we, together, envision a world where we actively challenge racism each and every day,” the slide said.
<div id="attachment_927973" style="width: 688px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-927973" class=" wp-image-927973" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.26.59-AM-300x175.png" alt="" width="678" height="395" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.26.59-AM-300x175.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.26.59-AM-988x576.png 988w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.26.59-AM-768x448.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.26.59-AM.png 1238w" sizes=" (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px" />FGI Report</div>
Head Start was <a href="https://acf.gov/ohs/about/head-start">launched</a> in 1965 and offers a variety of services to children from impoverished families. Program benefits are administered throughout the country by partner organizations, including school districts, non-profits, and faith-based organizations, which provide medical assistance, nutritional support, and education to eligible families.
Head Start also encouraged teachers to read texts on critical race theory, including the 1619 Project from Nikole Hannah-Jones and “How to be Antiracist” by Ibram X Kendi.
In September 2022, Head Start teamed up with Sesame Street to push for “racial justice” in childhood education. Sesame Street used the occasion to showcase new characters, including one that encouraged “black pride” among children.
<div id="attachment_927975" style="width: 709px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-927975" class=" wp-image-927975" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.28.26-AM-300x176.png" alt="" width="699" height="410" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.28.26-AM-300x176.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.28.26-AM-980x576.png 980w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.28.26-AM-768x451.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/Screen-Shot-2025-06-02-at-10.28.26-AM.png 1198w" sizes=" (max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px" />FGI Report</div>
A project of the Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start has funded organizations that cater to illegal aliens. The Mexican American Opportunity Foundation has received nearly <a href="https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/6c9a2ff8-db6c-4013-7cc9-de4f348b510f-C/all">$33 million</a> in federal grants to support the administration of the Head Start program across its various locations. The organization simultaneously offers free and discounted <a href="https://maof.org/community-development/immigration-services">legal services to illegal aliens</a>.
The organization offers assistance with applications for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shelters some illegal aliens from deportation.
Head Start did not respond to a request for comment.
Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro slammed Head Start in an April episode of &#8220;The Ben Shapiro Show,&#8221; calling the program &#8220;one of the great fails in federal history.&#8221;
&#8220;The data on Head Start has been pretty solid for a long time showing effectively no difference between kids who go to Head Start and kids who do not.&#8221;

Baby

EXCLUSIVE: Federal Education Program Warned Teachers About Racist Babies, Made Old MacDonald Trans

Critical Race Theory

As corporate America continues to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion schemes, Microsoft is doubling down on race-based hiring and pay policies — and a watchdog group is sounding the alarm.
Consumers’ Research, a non-profit that works to “educate and protect consumers,” is sending out a “woke alert” to warn consumers of the tech giant’s campaigns to push far-left ideologies, even as other corporations ditch the ideological agenda.
“Despite many companies distancing themselves from woke ideology, Microsoft continues to double down on its radical agenda,” the Consumers’ Research Executive Director, Will Hild, told The Daily Wire. “From promoting divisive DEI policies and harmful gender ideology targeting children, to advancing a politically charged climate crusade, Microsoft has made one thing clear: it prioritizes activism over innovation.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-axes-dei-programs-in-the-lead-up-to-trumps-inauguration?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=146&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Meta+Axes+DEI+Programs+In+The+Lead-Up+To+Trump%E2%80%99s+Inauguration">Meta</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-walks-back-dei-initiatives-changes-disclaimers-on-classic-films">Disney</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-rolls-back-dei-joining-other-major-companies-like-walmart-meta">Walmart</a>, and other major corporations have stepped back from their radical DEI policies in the wake of President Donald Trump’s re-election. Not so Microsoft, whose Chief Diversity Officer <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/doing-work-intention-inclusion-impact-lindsay-rae-mcintyre-cvg4c/?trackingId=S3Le8KssrO0uhupaH0qc8A%3D%3D">wrote</a> in December that the company&#8217;s &#8220;diversity and inclusion work is more important than ever.”
Just two months earlier, the diversity officer wrote in a <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/10/23/microsofts-2024-global-diversity-inclusion-report-our-most-global-transparent-report-yet/">DEI report</a> that “if ever there were a critical time for the business case for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, it is now.” That report featured a section on “pay equity” comparing the average salaries of employees by their race and gender, irrespective of the roles that are held across the different demographic groups.
Microsoft says its goal is to increase the number of women and non-white employees in leadership roles, in part to ensure a leveling of any pay gaps.
“As we continue to increase representation for women and racial and ethnic minority groups at more senior levels, and continue to ensure pay equity for all,” the report reads, with the Vice President of Global Compensation Mike Cyran adding that “any pay gaps indicate opportunities to increase representation at more senior levels.”
“Microsoft seems to be implying diversity metrics should be a main factor in salaries, rather than professional performance and merit,” Consumers’ Research says in its woke alert.
Microsoft’s commitment to DEI policies — especially those that could be used to engineer specific demographic balances within various roles — may place the tech giant on a collision course with the Trump administration. Shortly after taking office, Trump ordered the Department of Justice to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1388501/dl?inline">author a report</a> on actions that the federal agency could take to enforce civil rights law to “investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector.”
Microsoft has already taken an oppositional posture against the administration and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3398418/microsoft-support-europe-hires-anti-trump-law-firm/">threatened to sue</a> it amid tariff negotiations between the United States and Europe.
The company’s 2023 DEI report appeared to indicate that Microsoft pays white employees <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/microsoft-brags-that-it-pays-white-employees-less-than-non-white-employees-despite-same-job-title">less than</a> non-white employees, often for performing the same job.
“All racial and ethnic minority groups who are rewards eligible combined earn $1.007 total pay for every $1.000 earned by US rewards-eligible white employees with the same job title and level and considering tenure,” the report said.
The company also maintains an “<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/inclusion-journey/library">inclusion journey library</a>” with videos on “allyship,” “inclusive perspectives,” and how to fight implicit bias. The library, Microsoft says, can be used for “re-learning past behaviors and approaches to constantly improve our self-awareness and adopt inclusive behaviors.”
Microsoft’s left-wing agenda has seeped out from its workplace and into its products. The company <a href="https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/articles/2024/06/xbox-pride-2024/#:~:text=Since%202019%2C%20Xbox%20and%20its,head%20over%20to%20Xbox%20Wire.">partnered</a> with the Trevor Project in 2019, an organization that advocates for child transgenderism, to create “more inclusive” video games.
In 2024, the company <a href="https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2024/05/31/xbox-pride-2024/">boasted</a> that one of its video games “allows players to romance and marry characters regardless of their gender,” while another “tells the story of Tyler, a transgender man, with sensitivity and depth.” A third “features openly LGBTQIA+ characters.”
The Trevor Project, which runs an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schools-across-u-s-push-kids-to-chatrooms-where-they-can-talk-transgenderism-with-lgbtq-adults">online chat platform</a> where children can talk to adults about transgenderism and their sexual identity, is just one of the far-left LGBT organizations that Microsoft has bankrolled. The company and its employees have dropped more than $16 million to “organizations that support LGBTQIA+ communities.”
Hild says that it is time for the tech giant to drop its left-wing agenda.
“As if subjecting millions of people to Microsoft Teams wasn&#8217;t bad enough, the tech giant has become a megaphone for left-wing politics,” Hild said. “It’s time for Microsoft to get back to what&#8217;s made it successful — rolling out poorly conceived products, full of bugs, with annoying features no one wants, and using their monopoly status to force it on the world.”

Microsoft Building

Woke Alert! Microsoft Slammed For Race-Based ‘Pay Equity’ Scheme

Microsoft

Wokeness

It’s not an exaggeration to say that conservative shareholder engagement is changing the corporate game. For years, Left-wing activists controlled the agendas at our largest companies, using not only their leverage as stockholders but their perpetual devotion to activism to get in the ear of America’s boards and directors. The result? Leftward drift in virtually every major company. But now conservative shareholders, from ordinary investors to major conservative nonprofits, are stepping into the game — and their engagements are bearing major fruit. The latest proof? IBM.
IBM’s track record on corporate bias and activism is notorious. The company was a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a group created by the World Federation of Advertisers that worked to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-daily-wire-addresses-the-ad-industry-following-the-fall-of-garm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">keep ad revenue away</a> from conservative news sites like the Daily Wire to free speech-centric platforms like X. And that’s before all the DEI concerns surfaced. After IBM CEO Arvind Krishna was caught on a <a href="https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1734374423124176944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1734374423124176944%7Ctwgr%5E42e55266e59ec08d85550be6ab044097866bd072%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdallasexpress.com%2Fbusiness-markets%2Fceo-of-tech-corp-ibm-enshrines-dei-hiring%2F">hot mic</a> discussing how the company uses quotas of ‘underrepresented’ minorities in determining their executive pay — in Krishna’s words, execs have “got to move both [race and gender] forward by a percentage point” in order to get a higher bonus. That means DEI. That means quotas. Following these snafus, the reputational, ethical, and (in the case of the Missouri AG who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/missouri-attorney-general-sues-tech-giant-ibm-alleging-discrimination-against-whites-asians-men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> IBM) legal scrutiny was swift in coming.
IBM’s motto since its early years has been “THINK,” referring to the innovative spirit with which the company solves problems. Yet when it came to political bias, that motto was missing in action — and shareholders took notice. In January, the firm I work for, Bowyer Research, began <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-expands-efforts-hold-corporate-america-accountable-end-its-discriminatory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">work</a> with the Heritage Foundation to hold IBM accountable for the DEI quotas that Krishna described. The argument? Simple — use of non-meritocratic quotas based on race and gender aren’t just bad for reputation, but illegal on their face and bad for business. Shareholders, from major nonprofits to ordinary mom-and-pop investors, shouldn’t have their business returns impacted by IBM’s belief in identity politics.
As the shareholder engagement heated up on the internal front, pressure from <a href="https://lunduke.locals.com/post/5515346/the-ibm-red-hat-leaks-what-weve-learned-so-far" target="_blank" rel="noopener">journalists</a> and <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1910425361034383545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">influencers</a> like Robby Starbuck increased on the external front. That pressure built and built — and the release began earlier this month, when IBM announced the end of many of its DEI initiatives and related goals, including the elimination of its diversity council, the phaseout of its supplier diversity initiatives, and no longer participating in surveys put out by radical corporate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-radical-intolerance-behind-woke-corporate-activism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">activist groups</a> like the Human Rights Campaign, which pressures companies to cover puberty blocker access for employees’ children in the name of “health care access.”
That would have been news enough — until several days ago, when IBM also <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-secures-commitment-viewpoint-neutrality-ibm-encourages-company" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to include viewpoint neutrality as part of its advertising policy in response to Heritage’s shareholder engagement. That means that biased, activist-driven, political censorship that ad cartels like GARM perpetuate is now explicitly banned under IBM corporate policy. IBM listened to its shareholders, its employees, and its customers — and the result is another company willing to make commitments to political neutrality. This is what happens when authentic shareholder advocacy, championing political neutrality, merges with external pressure to drop corporate bias: change happens, and happens in the form of concrete policy commitments, not just boilerplate PR statements. It’s a praiseworthy step.
But is the scrutiny over? Absolutely not. IBM needs to demonstrate that they’re committed to actually staying the course on being politically-neutral and quota-free. Outstanding questions remain. During our engagement on behalf of Heritage, the company <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/corpfin/no-action/14a-8/heritageibm3325-14a8.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notably claimed</a> to the SEC that they couldn’t give a definition of DEI as grounds to ignore shareholder concerns — so how did they go from not knowing what DEI is to getting rid of it? (You can probably guess how.) The company holds its annual meeting of shareholders today, and if they’re savvy will make a point of focusing their messaging on business, not activism.
Achieving the commitment to neutrality at IBM was the result of a myriad of groups, from shareholders like Heritage to <a href="https://adflegal.org/press-release/sec-sides-with-adf-denies-absurd-attempt-from-govt-contractor-ibm-to-hide-from-shareholders-on-dei-proposal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legal giants</a> like Alliance Defending Freedom to the courageous IBM employees willing to speak out about the bias behind the scenes. And it’s going to take all of those groups to be vigilant now — not paying attention to our boardrooms is what got us into the woke mess in the first place.
This is the next phase of rooting out bias and wokeness from corporate America — watching tirelessly to see whether companies that commit to ditching DEI are actually willing to put their messaging and money where their mouths are. Smart companies will be willing to commit to change. Foolish ones will hope to either avoid scrutiny altogether or reintroduce the same tired DEI policies under the guise of <a href="https://www.shrm.org/executive-network/insights/time-to-add-b-for-belonging-to-workplace-dei-strategy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">phrases</a> like “belonging.” It’s our job, as shareholders, as customers, and as Americans, to keep up the pressure for accountability with the leverage that we’ve been given. And above all, to make the case for what truly makes every company successful: the courage to resist activism and the fortitude to focus on business.
* * *
Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacWillour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@IsaacWillour</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Traders On The Floor Of The New York Stock Exchange As Fed Chair Powell Holds New Conference

IBM Rolls Back DEI, Commits To Political Neutrality

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Wall Street

On the surface, the group that administers the MCAT seems to have left DEI behind. But behind the scenes, it&#8217;s working on plans to secretly push the ideology, an insider with knowledge of the situation tells The Daily Wire.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, which administers the medical school entrance exam and helps accredit medical schools, purged most DEI content from its website after a damning <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Activism-over-Meritocracy-How-the-AAMC-is-Corrupting-Medical-Education-with-Endless-DEI-Ideology.pdf">report</a> from the nonprofit <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/">Do No Harm</a> called the AAMC “the organization ruining medical education.”
But an AAMC insider tells The Daily Wire the organization is backtracking, telling employees to stay the course internally despite the outward changes.
“The AAMC has pushed DEI for about a decade. The leaders are not going to change their views overnight,” the AAMC employee explained. “Even though we now talk about it differently, the AAMC is still very much committed to DEI.”
An internal AAMC “language guidance” document obtained by The Daily Wire reveals that the organization is seeking to sanitize its messaging around DEI in order to avoid terms that “have become polarizing.”
The AAMC says it conducted research that found certain phrases “are widely misunderstood or misinterpreted,” including the terms “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” “historically marginalized groups,” and “systems of oppression.&#8221; Other terms that the AAMC warns against include “birthing people,” “anti-racism,” “minority,” and “inclusive excellence.”
<div id="attachment_912353" style="width: 879px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-912353" class=" wp-image-912353" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-25-at-12.54.19-PM-300x139.png" alt="" width="869" height="403" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-25-at-12.54.19-PM-300x139.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Screen-Shot-2025-04-25-at-12.54.19-PM-768x355.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px" />Obtained by The Daily Wire</div>
“Rather than use the frequently misinterpreted shorthand ‘DEI,’ be specific about the goals you understand those principles to support, such as solutions that lead to increased access to care for areas and populations that have been underserved,” the guide goes on to read.
In its report, Do No Harm revealed how the AAMC leveraged millions of dollars and its stature in the medical field to push DEI — embedding DEI in the medical school accreditation process, adding ideological questions to the MCAT, and approving race-based scholarships for medical schools.
Since then, the organization has removed webpages that discussed the group’s DEI agenda, including the AAMC’s “equity, diversity, and inclusion” <a href="https://www.aamc.org/about-us/equity-diversity-inclusion">page</a>, which <a href="https://archive.ph/HvJLK">previously</a> outlined the group’s DEI commitment and listed upcoming DEI trainings and seminars.
An AAMC report on “Creating Action to Eliminate Racism in Medical Education,” <a href="https://archive.ph/6W1jD">archived here</a>, is <a href="https://www.aamc.org/media/63076/download?attachment?attachment">no longer</a> publicly available. A page on addressing racism in healthcare has been <a href="https://www.aamc.org/about-us/excellence-academic-medicine/resources-address-racism-academic-medicine">removed</a>, and the organization has also taken down a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250221162046/https:/www.aamc.org/what-we-do/equity-diversity-inclusion/underrepresented-in-medicine">page</a> on its site that discussed demographic groups that are “underrepresented in medicine.”
Still, the insider alleges that various different leaders within the AAMC, including its CEO, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to DEI in a town hall earlier this year.
David Skorton, the AAMC CEO, told employees at the January town hall that the organization has “no plans to make a statement about DEI” and “no plans to eliminate our DEI cluster of employees,” the AAMC insider told The Daily Wire.
The sentiment was echoed by Danielle Turnipseed, the head of the AAMC’s Public Policy and Legislative Affairs branch. Turnipseed told employees “the important thing for us now is to get the work done and not make statements about [DEI]. We don&#8217;t want to spend time arguing with others about what we are doing. So, we want to focus on doing the work,” the employee explained.
“If we get investigated, we&#8217;ll handle it. We do the legal DEI,” added Frank Trinity, the AAMC’s Chief Legal Officer.
The AAMC did not respond to a request for comment.

Doctor

The Group Behind The MCAT Said It Was Ditching DEI. Insiders Say It Lied.

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A non-profit organization that hosted an internship program that discriminated against white would-be applicants has now frozen the program in the wake of a Daily Wire investigation.
Called Silkroad, the organization’s “BIPOC internship” aimed to “diversify” the arts sector. Now the program has been renamed and put on pause after a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/music-ensemble-hosts-bipoc-internship-barring-white-applicants-citing-systemic-allyship">investigation</a> revealed that the organization was engaged in anti-white discrimination.
“Applications are currently closed,” the site says of the paid internship program, adding that “Silkroad’s internship program is temporarily on pause.”
<div id="attachment_906237" style="width: 844px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906237" class=" wp-image-906237" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-300x43.png" alt="" width="834" height="120" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-300x43.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-1024x146.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-768x110.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road-1536x219.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silk-Road.png 1794w" sizes=" (max-width: 834px) 100vw, 834px" />Screenshot</div>
Silkroad boasted just months ago that its internship program was only open to those from certain racial backgrounds. “The Silkroad BIPOC Internship Program is a five-month remote professional development experience designed to prepare emerging arts professionals of color with fluency in non-profit arts administration and leadership,” the group previously said.
“With a commitment to systemic allyship and the diversification of the non-profit arts sector, we welcome Black, Indigenous, and other persons of color to apply,” it added.
Silk Road even produced a document bragging about the demographic balance of past intern classes, which did not include any white people. “Join us in diversifying the arts sector and providing opportunities for the next generation of arts leaders,” the group said.
Now the organization’s site says that the internship is on pause, and the downloadable internship booklet no longer includes the racial breakdown of past classes.
<div id="attachment_906239" style="width: 882px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906239" class=" wp-image-906239" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-300x108.png" alt="" width="872" height="314" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-300x108.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-1024x370.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2-768x277.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Silkroad-2.png 1230w" sizes=" (max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px" />Screenshot</div>
The change came in the wake of The Daily Wire’s investigation, which also explained that the program could be in violation of federal anti-discrimination law.
David Pivtorak, a lawyer who has active cases <a href="https://www.piv4law.com/new-blog/2022/8/23/former-american-express-employee-files-nationwide-discrimination-class-action">against</a> American Express for <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/amex-pushed-white-employees-promoted-black-colleagues-meet-racial-quotas-lawsuit-alleges">alleged racial discrimination</a> against white employees, explained why the program likely runs afoul of the law.
“It looks like it’s a paid internship so the usual state and federal laws prohibiting racial discrimination in the employment context would likely apply,” Pivtorak noted. “Any white candidate who’s otherwise qualified could potentially sue if the internship, on its face, disqualifies anyone who is not a ‘person of color.’”
Silkroad did not respond to a Daily Wire inquiry.
This isn’t the first discriminatory internship that’s been shuttered following a Daily Wire investigation. NASCAR removed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nascar-takes-down-blatantly-illegal-racial-requirement-for-internship-after-daily-wire-report">discriminatory selection criteria</a> from a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blatantly-illegal-nascar-bans-white-applicants-from-diversity-internship">diversity internship program</a> that barred white people and was called “blatantly illegal” by one lawyer.
The University of California Berkeley also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/berkeley-tries-to-rebrand-environmentalist-of-color-scholarship-after-legal-complaints?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Berkeley+Tries+To+Rebrand+%E2%80%98Environmentalist+Of+Color%E2%80%99+Scholarship+After+Legal+Complaints">reformed</a> its “environmentalist of color” scholarship after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watchdog-challenges-environmentalist-of-color-scholarship-at-notoriously-liberal-university?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Notoriously+Liberal+University%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Environmentalist+Of+Color%E2%80%99+Scholarship+Is+Illegal%2C+Watchdog+Claims">exposed</a> that it, too, was discriminating against white people.

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Non-Profit Freezes Internship That Discriminated Against Whites After Daily Wire Investigation

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