State Auditor Shad White, self-proclaimed as someone who “ruffles feathers,” decided to use his speech at the Neshoba County Fair last week to not only attack diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in Mississippi schools but to also go after expected gubernatorial opponent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in the process.
Within minutes of taking the stage, White referred to DEI as “indoctrination” funded from the pockets of taxpayers and blamed a fellow Republican in Hosemann for allowing it to continue happening. White vouched that Hosemann should have already used his position as Senate leader to nix publicly funded DEI programs in Mississippi.
“This stuff is just nonsense. It’s just a waste of money. We’ve got to find a way to stop this,” White said. “Somebody’s got to explain to me like I’m a four-year-old or a well-trained golden retriever how all of these other states can ban money going to DEI and somehow, we cannot. This is just common sense. Stop spending money on DEI and start spending it on the stuff that matters.”
Meanwhile, Mississippi State University Vice President of Strategic Communications Sid Salter paints a different picture of what DEI looks like in Starkville and other college towns. He asserted that university staffers are not working to indoctrinate students – as White avidly suggests – but instead, are working to instill values that will help carry them through life.
“From the standpoint of Mississippi State University, nothing that the auditor talked about in terms of ‘woke indoctrination’ or trying to influence students in any direction politically or morally is happening or has happened at Mississippi State University,” Salter said during an appearance on The Gallo Show.
Salter, a former journalist, contended that Mississippi State President Dr. Mark Keenum is only looking to help students through DEI programs, not promote any nefarious agendas. Keenum, who former President Donald Trump tabbed as chair of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development in 2018, has continued the tradition of opening the university’s doors to first-generation students, student-veterans, and other pupils of all backgrounds. Publicly funded programs aimed at diversity, equity, and
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