NC School Board Member Apologizes For Telling Anti-DEI Advocates The Truth About ‘Mediocre White Men’

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In today’s episode of White People Making White People Apologize For Telling The Truth About White People, a Wake County, North Carolina, school board member is expressing regret for rightfully expressing that the DEI efforts only came after centuries of “mediocre white men” being hired in industries everyone else was excluded from.

Meet Sam Hershey.

Earlier this month, Hershey received national attention for saying during a board meeting that “mediocre white men” have been hired for 250 years for no other reason than because they are white and male. He also said that “DEI Hire” had become the new N-word, which is so demonstrably true that all one would have to do is go on any social media platform, type the words “DEI hire” into a search engine, and it would be proven instantly.

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Unsurprisingly, other board members, and many (white people) online — who never indicated that they took any offense to “DEI hire” being effectively used as a racial slur — all predictably took great offense to Hershey’s use of the words “mediocre white men.” Hershey, who is notably white, now feels compelled to apologize for telling the absolute truth about his fake-oppressed-ass people.

From The News & Observer:

On Tuesday, Hershey faced condemnation from a fellow board member and some members of the public, including U.S. military veteran Erik Shepard, who accused him of making racist comments against white people.

“I could have made the same points two weeks ago by being more nuanced and without coming across as being demeaning to anyone,” Hershey said. “Mr. Shepard and to those who feel I demeaned their own life, I am sorry.”

“I’m disgusted that you are allowed to spew hate, racists comments, call us losers from your podium,” said Jessica Lewis, vice chair of the Wake County chapter of Moms for Liberty. “You are unprofessional and your resignation would serve us well.”

School board member Cheryl Caulfield said Hershey’s speech demeaned men like her grandfather, uncles and cousins who were in the U.S. military. She said her relatives were “far from mediocre.”

“We do not all share the same racist point of views, and while sitting at this board it’s ironic to hear disheartening phrases around our students like low priority,” said Caulfield, one of two Republicans on the officially non-partisan nine-member school board.

Do you see how whiteness is operating here?

Hershey didn’t say all white men were mediocre, or that every white man hired over the last 250 years was underqualified. He simply noted that the only reason white men dominate every major industry in America is because, for generations, they were the only demographic that wasn’t systemically excluded from those positions. It only stands to reason that plenty of those white men were mediocre and landed jobs anyway. But the white school board members personalized it, made it about their own family members, and decided this white man was somehow being racist against white people by telling them the truth about the racist social norms their anti-DEI attitudes and policies reinforce. And because whiteness took over, everything else about what DEI truly is got obfuscated.

And, again, these people don’t have a fraction of the same smoke for their cousins who regularly use “DEI hire” to demean even the most accomplished Black people.

Anyway, despite calls for Hershey to resign, School board chair Chris Heagarty has said there are no plans for the board to reprimand Hershey, and, in fact, there were people at the board meeting who agreed with him and said so after his Feb. 4 speech.

“Mr. Hershey I appreciate your comments as well. For most of you on the school board, it’s so clear how deeply you feel for our children and how deeply you want them to be educated, all children,” said Renee Sekel, a member of the group Red Wine & Blue.

White fragility is what’s making white supremacy great again. It’s a shame that even the relatively few white people who are willing to admit it are being made to apologize for doing so.

SEE ALSO:

NAACP Creates ‘Black Consumer Advisory’ To Let Black People Know Which Pro-DEI Companies To Support

Op-Ed: The Electoral College Proves White Conservatives Actually Love DEI

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