As a Black woman and working professional, I've never been a huge fan of affirmative action and the recent rise of critical theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has only bolstered my resistance. While it may seem necessary to some in order to right the wrongs of the past, I can sum up why these measures are an unmitigated disaster for hard-working Black Americans in two words:
Fani Willis.
Willis is the prosecutor in one of the nation's major cities and most high profile cases against former President Donald Trump. Her position and the historic nature of the case she is prosecuting put her in an elite class most Black people will never even dream of reaching. One would expect such a person to be polished and classy, and able to remain so even while responding to an uncomfortable barrage of questions on the witness stand.
Instead, what we got was a defiant, childish, sour woman who spoke with the sophistication of teenage girl at her first college party.
It wasn't simply that she sounded angry—she also sounded stupid.
FANI WILLIS: "When I took out a large amount of money on my first campaign, I kept some of the cash of that."
pic.twitter.com/gVuCGN7DWh
As I watched her testimony with my husband, an unspoken dread passed between us, weighted by a certain type of sadness. We understood instinctively that we were watching result of a diversity-first system that ends up elevating the weak while simultaneously besmirching the strong.
Willis is an elected official, but to even be in a position to run for one of the highest offices in her state means she has passed through elite job after elite job. She has received degrees, awards, and accolades.
How on earth, then, does such an "accomplished" woman sound like a freshman college student while participating in the trial of the century? Her foul demeanor and childish expressions only serve to magnify the grotesque consequences diversity hiring has for Black America in general.
They had to stop the testimony because Fani Willis just lost her composure and screamed that she was being lied about. Yikes: pic.twitter.com/Y6mzWcplOZ
Every time someone like me seeks professional advancement, I am forced to wonder how many people in the room think I shouldn't be there before I've even opened my mouth. I will have to swallow offenses I should really be battling, because I must battle not only my professional challengers, but the specter of the "angry, defiant black woman" who only got her job because she's not white. Many of my colleagues will look at any complaint I have as frivolous and rooted in entitlement. I must be my best, and then be even better than my best, because of the pathetic expectations Willis and her counterparts have sown on behalf of the rest of us.
We will forever be forced to carry Fani Willis on our backs into every professional situation.
Diversity-first hiring does the opposite of what I'm sure we all hope it really could do. It does not even the playing field. Instead, it puts all of Black America behind, left once again to prove to the elites in charge that we are more than our skin color.
I was deeply ashamed and discouraged to watch Willis' performance on the witness stand. As many inroads as I have tried to make in my own industry for Black content creators, I am doomed to be haunted by the inherent distrust sown by diversity-first practices.
It isn't fair of others to cast those aspersions on me simply because of my skin color, but that's just how it is. I must deal with the world the way it is, not the way I wish it would be.
And what I wish it would be is a world in which I would be judged on my merits, and my complaints and diverging opinions would be judged likewise.
Shame on Fani Willis and every corrupt person who allowed her to take the path of least resistance just to fill a quota. You've doomed us all.
A pox on your houses.
Kira Davis is the author of "Drawing Lines: Why Conservatives Must Begin to Battle Fiercely in the Arena of Ideas" and host of the Just Listen to Yourself podcast.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Fani Willis Is an Embarrassment to Black People and Proof That DEI Hurts Us
7
20
16.02.2024
As a Black woman and working professional, I've never been a huge fan of affirmative action and the recent rise of critical theory, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has only bolstered my resistance. While it may seem necessary to some in order to right the wrongs of the past, I can sum up why these measures are an unmitigated disaster for hard-working Black Americans in two words:
Fani Willis.
Willis is the prosecutor in one of the nation's major cities and most high profile cases against former President Donald Trump. Her position and the historic nature of the case she is prosecuting put her in an elite class most Black people will never even dream of reaching. One would expect such a person to be polished and classy, and able to remain so even while responding to an uncomfortable barrage of questions on the witness stand.
Instead, what we got was a defiant, childish, sour woman who spoke with the sophistication of teenage girl at her first college party.
It wasn't simply that she sounded angry—she also sounded stupid.
FANI WILLIS: "When I took out a........
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