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The historical denial of Black subjectivities and a rejection of Black yearnings to belong are longstanding features of systemic resistance to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DIEJ) in the American space. Such exclusions are motivated by a White existential ambivalence, alongside considerable anxiety to accepting Blacks as their equal, resulting in a feared devaluation of White worth. DIEJ initiatives are often perceived, as reducing White self-worth.
Systemically, the intractability of racism often results in a defensive legalistic inflected approach to DIEJ that marginalizes ethical concerns in favor of an amoral business case. Consequentially, despite the expenditure of nearly eight billion dollars annually, there is little positive change in the demographics of DIEJ (Williams & Dolkas, 2022). Various defenses are deployed to resist the substantive efficacy of DIEJ initiatives given that the devalued Other is a necessary depository for the unacceptable aspects of White aggression and anxiety.
A rampant capitalism combined with the negative objectification of Blackness results in an eons-old pattern of exploitation of their skills through surplus extraction, alongside a denial of their humanity and their concomitant rights. The longstanding demands by Blacks for substantive DIEJ therefore disrupts the splitting necessary in the White fantasy of an edenic world based on the denial of Black humanity alongside the exploitation of Black talent. Psychoanalysis, despite its historical indifference to Blackness, offers the potential to make sense of the irrationalities driving the disingenuous devaluation of Blackness and to contribute to understanding the possibilities of DIEJ initiatives (Tummala-Narra (2013)
Despite diversity being essential for survival and creativity, it also engenders strong defensive responses given its tendency to disrupt. DIEJ initiatives are often an attempt to disrupt longstanding patterns of subjugation, exploita