Baltimore mayor fights back against attacks on DEI initiatives with ‘Definitely Earned It’ campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's attack on diversity, equity and inclusion programs have led military and government agencies — along with some private companies — to roll back observances of diversity and celebrations of Black History Month, which goes through February.

Brandon Scott is pushing back against that trend. The mayor of Baltimore was the subject of racist attacks online last year after a major bridge collapsed near his city. Online commenters labeled Scott, who is Black, a “DEI mayor” and suggested his race was linked to the fatal accident.

Scott saw the attacks on him as part of a broader backlash against Black Americans and other historically disenfranchised groups in leadership. He said he heard echoes of those attacks last week when Trump blamed diversity hiring for the fatal collision at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The president acknowledged that the crash was still under investigation when pressed on his claims but then said he knew DEI was to blame because he had “common sense.”

“The Left’s divisive focus on DEI policies undermines decades of progress toward true equality,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement. “The Trump administration rejects this backward thinking and will pursue an agenda that lifts everyone up with the chance to achieve the American Dream.”

Scott, 40, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he wants Black History Month to be an opportunity to set the record straight on DEI policies, which he views as enacting American values.

Here are excerpts from that conversation:

Why — in your view — are Trump and Republicans blaming DEI for government failures and working to eliminate it from government agencies?

SCOTT: “When we had a horrendous tragedy here in Baltimore — we had a container ship run into a bridge, and the bridge is completely knocked down — we lost six lives. The fact that immediately, instantaneously, you had some of these far-right wing racists saying that it’s my fault — ‘It’s the DEI mayor’s fault, diversity, equity and inclusion caused this.’ Well, let’s break down how ridiculous that is. One, the bridge was built before I was born. Two, when you look at when that bridge was built here in Maryland, I can assure you that very few people that look like me and very few people who were not white males worked on building that bridge. Three, the ship that caused it isn’t from this country, let alone operated by some Black person.”

“We know what they mean when they say it to women. We know what it means when they say it to people from the LGBTQ+ community.”

“What these folks who unfortunately think that way think is that unless you are a straight white male from a certain background — because I want my poor white brothers and sisters to understand that they’re not talking about them either, right — unless you are from a certain background, wealthy historic families with straight white Christian men, then you should never be in a position of power and that your thoughts and opinions don’t matter. And that is the saddest part of it all.”

What do you make of Trump's blaming of a recent plane and helicopter crash on DEI?

SCOTT: “When you’re in a moment of tragedy of that magnitude, leaders are supposed to lead and tell things as they are, not as we want them to be, not as a certain section of the country wants to hear from us, not for an agenda. Leaders lead in that moment. And it’s unfortunate that we’re discussing DEI when it comes to a horrendous tragedy that caused dozens of people to lose their lives.”

How should supporters of diversity and Black history respond to attacks on Black history?

SCOTT: “You have to fight in every single way with every breath in your body until there’s no more breath, no more blood in your body.”

“That’s why I decided to do a ‘Definitely Earned It’ campaign as we go through Black History Month, because we have to be bigger and Blacker and louder than ever. We cannot allow that darkness to try to come and overtake our light, because darkness can’t overtake light, only light can overcome darkness. Don’t run away, don’t hide, don’t shrink in the moment, be who you are and push back in every single way that you can.”

What does the ‘Definitely Earned It’ campaign look like?

SCOTT: "Typically, every Black History Month, I normally have a video and then we go through the month highlighting people. We’re going to take that to the next level this year and really be highlighting folks, obviously starting here in Baltimore, with a significant role when it comes to Black history in this country. We'll be noting that these people weren’t DEI — well, that they were DEI, but DEI in the sense that they definitely earned it. They earned every single thing that they accomplished because it wasn’t given to them. We can show people what it truly means when you have to work 10 times as hard, when you have to work through systems that were built up for you to fail, when you have to make sure that you leave the door open for other folks coming behind you. And in my case, DEI means duly elected incumbent, but I also definitely earned it.

“And we’re going to continue to highlight those folks throughout the month through every mode of communication that we have. We’re showing the folks who are right now wondering, ‘Will government still celebrate Black History Month?’, ‘Will everyone just run and hide because they’re not going to be doing it at the national level?’ No, we’re going to do it, and we’re going to be proud of doing it.”