Troy Carico: How wokeness repeatedly creeps back
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I thought the state of Alabama did much to put a final nail in the coffin on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) nonsense in 2024. In that year, State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) bravely introduced SB129, which Gov. Kay Ivey signed, enacting the “divisive concepts” bill that October.
Such a move seems to show strong support for anti-DEI measures on the part of our governor. However, there was an immediate notion of hypocrisy in SB129. It included an exception that kept the governor’s own “Office of Minority Affairs” in place.
Ivey’s hypocrisy on this specific issue has come under intense criticism from such voices as State Sen. Chris Elliott – who seems to be one of the few state legislators with the bravery to repeatedly challenge Ivey’s sometimes-questionable leadership (though at personal sacrifice). Even President Trump himself has apparently criticized Ivey for this specific hypocrisy.
Examples set by leadership go a long way in determining if subordinates will follow the law. Unfortunately, Ivey’s example had ripple effects.
To understand how the law is now being violated, it is important to read SB129’s language. It specifically prohibits any “diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” which it defines as “[a]ny program, class, training, seminar, or other event where attendance is based on an individual’s race, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, or sexual orientation, or that otherwise violates this act.”
The Act goes on to state that “[a] state agency, local board of education, or public institution of higher education may not … Sponsor any diversity, equity, and inclusion program or maintain any office, physical location, or department that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” as defined above. That’s fairly broad language, but state agencies and higher education institutions have found ways around the law.
As 1819 News reported, Shemaiah Kenon, assistant director of the Intercultural Center at the University of Alabama, openly criticized SB129’s ban on DEI programs and allegedly bragged about finding “holes” in the law. The University of Alabama doubled down, naming André Denham, one of the school’s top DEI advocates, as associate provost and dean of graduate studies. All of this came after University of Alabama political science professor Terry Hughston appeared to flout SB129 by including a DEI-based statement in his class syllabus, defiantly bragging that “the state government can come at me if they want to.” The university’s effort to circumvent SB129 even followed former University of Alabama president Stuart Bell in his attempts to become the next president of the University of Florida, with many rightly questioning his commitment to enforcing Alabama’s firm anti-DEI law.
The University of Alabama has not been the only state university defying SB129 and promoting DEI nonsense at taxpayer expense. As 1819 News’ Craig Monger recently pointed out, “a $316,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant awarded to Dr. Olivia Van Gerwen, an assistant professor in the University of Alabama Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases, [focused] on the ‘vaginal health of transgender men (TGM).’”
Even Auburn University – usually seen as a reliably conservative campus – was recently forced to alter a portion of its athletics website “after coming under fire from the popular social media page Libs of TikTok for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).”
Still others in state government have engaged in more direct assaults on SB129. A glaring example comes from the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, now unfortunately under the direct anti-veteran personal control of Ivey thanks to SB67 that horribly politicized ADVA, stripping almost all authorities from the state’s great veteran service organizations. That department recently created a new office focused solely on serving women, even though ADVA ostensibly offers no programs or benefits that exclude any demographic from customer service.
As a side note, the federal VA does offer specific healthcare services for female veterans, but I can find no state VA services in Alabama that are offered exclusively to women, which raises the question of why this new office is needed.
Attempting to be fair, I sent ADVA a series of questions offering them the chance to explain why this new office does not violate SB129, but as usual, I received no response beyond an acknowledgement that my questions were received. What’s next, ADVA, an office for LGBTQ+ veterans?
Such blatant defiance of SB129 signals the re-creep of DEI efforts – which can destroy a society. Our governor is the supposed “supreme executive power” responsible for all these miscreant state agency efforts to find ways around SB129, and she should be held accountable for the lapses. For many Alabamians, January 2027 and a new administration can’t come soon enough.
Troy Carico is a former infantry enlisted soldier (11B) and infantry officer with branch qualifications including counterintelligence (35E) and military intelligence (35D). He served with distinction in the U.S. Army for more than 22 years and is highly decorated and service-connected disabled. He also has prior service as a civilian intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency Great Skills Program and has served in numerous clandestine assignments throughout the world. You can find him on X @CaricoTroy, LinkedIn @Troy Carico, and Substack.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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