NIU’s Grassroots Push for Diversity in an Anti-DEI Era

A senior majoring in psychology, Northern Illinois University student Kaleb Deer has seen first-hand how the current push from Washington, D.C. to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs can trigger feelings of anxiety among minority students on campus, like him.

“They call diversity initiatives ‘divisive,’” he says. “But stripping them tells us we don’t belong.”

Fortunately, Deer and several other students came up with their own antidote: biweekly “healing circles,” where students process their stress through art and dialogue.

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“We share stories, paint, write poetry,” Deer says. “It’s about reclaiming our joy.”

“They Definitely Not Like Us”

As administrators at the nation’s colleges and universities come under pressure to slash racial equity and social justice programs or lose federal funding, students and faculty aren’t waiting for rescue or resolution. Student and faculty groups are taking steps toward racial healing on their own, emphasizing community-driven strategies — from healing circles to curriculum overhauls — instead of waiting for more formal programs that could draw the attention of powerful officials in Washington.

The need for grassroots solutions on campus was the focus of a recent panel discussion, “They Definitely Not Like Us: Advancing Racial, Social, and Cultural Equity in an Era of Unprecedented Challenges,” held in March at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.

The event was designed to promote and inspire bottom-up solutions for schools, healthcare and community organizations that are grappling with sweeping, anti-DEI policies coming from the new presidential administration.

Weaponizing Civil Rights Laws

Moderator Eugene Robinson Jr., Chicago Public School’s director of Black student success, underscored the tangible consequences of the federal government’s recent policy shifts towards diversity and equity in public education.

“Scholarships intended for minority groups are already under attack,” Robinson said, pointing to a conservative activist’s lawsuit against the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship program. “When we lose these pathways, we lose generations of diverse leaders.”

Gina Miranda Samuels, a professor at the Crown School, linked historical policy failures to modern inequities. Now, she said, attempts to right those wrongs are being used to attack the very people who need the help.

“Civil rights laws meant to dismantle white supremacy are now weaponized to protect it,” she said. “Affirmative action, for instance, disproportionately benefited white women — not the Black communities it was designed to uplift.”

When it comes to higher education, accusations that American colleges and universities are havens for liberal activism isn’t true, Samuels said, noting the stark lack of Black faculty in academia.

“If institutions truly opened their gates,” she said, “this room would be packed with Black scholars. We must call out their hypocrisy.”

Not Just “Adding Diversity Numbers”

Back at Northern Illinois University, Abu Bah, a sociology professor who leads NIU’s Task Force on Racial Justice, said in the fight with Washington over DEI, the school must stand its ground. But that requires a clear understanding of what it is fighting for.

“Healing requires dismantling the myth that equity excludes others,” he said. “True equity isn’t just adding diversity numbers. It’s repairing decades of exclusion.”

Quortne Hutchings, an NIU professor in the school’s Department of Counseling and Higher Education, emphasized curriculum reform as a tool for racial healing. His department recently infused courses with Afrocentric frameworks, prompting students to design community projects for local K-12 students.

“One group created a tutoring program for Black youth in DeKalb schools,” Hutchings said. “Racial healing isn’t just individual—it’s about rewriting institutional narratives.”

His NIU colleague, Kimberly Hart, says racial healing happens in face-to-face dialogue, not over video conference screens or social media. “Complex issues demand personal connection. A tweet can’t convey the urgency of a mother fighting for her child’s healthcare” Hart said.

Resilience Fatigue

Bah highlighted modest but meaningful progress at NIU: it recently expanded mental health services for students, and hired three Black tenure-track faculty members in 2023. “It’s incremental, but it signals commitment,” he said.

Still, challenges persist.

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Johnson noted that NIU’s counseling center still faces long waitlists, while Hutchings’ curriculum changes met resistance from some colleagues: “They called it ‘niche.’ But centering Black voices isn’t niche—it’s corrective,” he said.

The Chicago panel concluded with a call to leverage policy literacy and community networks to push back against attacks on DEI. For NIU’s students, that means continuing to speak truth to power.

“We’re tired of being resilient,” Deer said. “But until policies catch up, we’ll keep building our own tables.”

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