Sen. Young comments on governor’s DEI executive order

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. George Young issued the following statement Thursday in response to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s executive order on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education and state agencies.

“The governor presented his executive order under the guise of ‘defunding discrimination,’ but the more accurate description is ‘defending discrimination.’

“It is obvious to those of us who have lived through and experienced the realization that freedom, in word and law, does not automatically result in opportunities for all. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not catch phrases that have gone out of style – these words make up a continued effort to fulfill the phrase in one of our most fundamental governing documents, the affirmation that we are all created equal.

“Without a reminder to be diverse, equal, and inclusive, this will lead us back to unfair practices of Jim Crow, slave codes, and the very essence of why the ongoing Civil Rights movement was and is important. We need reminders to open our eyes and respond to every changing need of a country that was created, supported, and finds its origins in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Another of the foundations of our democracy enshrined by our founders is the inalienable right to the ‘Pursuit of Happiness.’ Eliminating the reminder is a retraction of that basic, human right.” - Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City

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For more information, contact:  Sen. George Young at 405-521-5531 or George.Young@oksenate.gov