“I am disheartened as a Harvard Law School alumna to see President Gay step down amid a targeted campaign to tarnish her integrity. Attempts to suggest that she was nothing more than a DEI hire are a slap in the face to every Black woman who has had to work twice as hard to get half as far. This is why I joined more than 1,600 fellow alumni in signing a letter of support for her last month and continue to speak out against these cynical and baseless accusations.

This event must be considered within the broader context of a national and coordinated attack on any perceived advancement by Black Americans, be it under the umbrella of DEI, affirmative action, or reparations. It is the continuation of a painful pattern in which these advancements are rebranded as harmful and toxic by those who see justice and inclusivity for Black and Brown people as a threat to their power. A prime example is here in my home state of California, where I am leading the fight to secure justice on behalf of the former Black and Brown residents of Palm Springs Section 14, who were violently displaced when their homes were burned to the ground by the City in the 1960s. Despite acknowledging history and apologizing on paper, the City of Palm Springs has done nothing to repair these wrongs, and securing justice remains an uphill battle. It’s no surprise that a highly qualified Black woman leading the nation’s oldest university into the future meets such vile opposition when we as a nation have so much trouble reconciling our past. 

Attacks and events such as these don’t just stall progress, they set it back significantly – which is of course the very intention behind them. 

This is a sinister attack. Every one of us who values freedom, truth, and basic fairness should be alarmed because this won’t stop with President Gay.”