It didn’t take long for things to heat up in round one of political speeches at the 2024 Neshoba County Fair.
During his time at the stump on Wednesday, State Auditor Shad White took aim at taxpayer dollars being used by government-run entities, specifically public universities, to cover the cost of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. The Republican pointed his finger at another Republican, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, as the main culprit in allowing what White deems to be “indoctrination” funded from the pockets of taxpayers.
“Unfortunately, my office found that here in Mississippi – me and you, the taxpayers – we pay millions of dollars every single year for DEI training at our public universities. It makes absolutely no sense. It’s got to stop,” White said, adding that attempts to stop publicly funded DEI programs have proven futile under Hosemann’s leadership in the Senate.
“We’ve had some shots to stop it. There have been bills that went forward that would have eliminated taxpayer funding for DEI,” White continued. “There has only been one reason why all these bills continue to get killed and why we have to keep funding DEI. And the reason is the lieutenant governor’s office. To be honest with you, it’s Delbert Hosemann.”
White sits atop a long list of Republicans calling for an end to publicly funded DEI initiatives. Earlier this year, a Senate bill touted by many GOP members would have banned state agencies and public universities from using taxpayer funds to facilitate DEI. However, it died without ever going to the floor for a full vote.
The auditor asserted that DEI programs ostracize white individuals and it’s possible to promote the representation and participation of all races and backgrounds without the organizational framework.
“We have DEI offices telling students that the biggest evil in the world is ‘whiteness’ – whatever that is. What is that? It makes no sense at all. And we’re paying for it every single day. To me, it’s not just evil; it’s wasteful,” White said.
He didn’t stop there, either. White used his qualms with DEI to compare
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