January 2026 marked the one-year anniversary of three Presidential Executive Orders on “DEI.” The Executive Orders followed the June 2023 Supreme Court decisions ending affirmative action in higher education, which laid the groundwork for lower courts to rule against other racial preference programs (e.g., fellowships for entrepreneurs of color, minority supplier preference programs). Both of these federal shifts have left many leaders confused about the legality and wisdom of key efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Not to mention fearful of retribution, given increased government and conservative activist surveillance of, and threats to, organizations advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
At Public Equity Group, we’ve watched, listened, and learned as highly sophisticated, well-resourced organizations - with deep equity and justice commitments - struggled to make sense of the evolving legal and political landscapes, and debated how much risk they could tolerate. Many of our clients eventually sought “best-in-class” legal counsel, and, over the past year, successfully re-assessed, re-aligned, and now stand resolved and resolute in their decisions.
Meanwhile, we’ve spoken with leaders at other organizations - especially smaller organizations - who remain largely unaware of the risks they now face (as this article highlights), and may benefit from support.
We’re not legal experts, but we still believe we can help. Thanks to our clients, their attorneys, and our own legal advisors, we’ve learned a lot since the 2023 SCOTUS decisions. We’ve read countless legal analyses, attended briefings, co-written literature reviews and articles about the shifting DEI landscape, presented at convenings and conferences, and engaged some of the nation’s leading experts in the fields of DEI and the law.
For three years, we’ve worked with legal experts to gather and curate the best resources we could find: now consolidated at Viva DEI. We’ve sought to distill each resource as simply as possible, yet still faithful to the authors’ intent — and hopefully now disseminate these resources as far and wide as possible.
We hope this “campaign” encourages more community leaders and organizations to assess their important work (and their risk tolerance); adjust, where necessary; exhale; proclaim “viva DEI!” - and continue the work.
Viva DEI !
