Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R-Missouri) says the city of Columbia is on record having a DEI program as part of a strategic plan going back to at least 2021.
Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, the state's largest institution of higher education.
The mission statement of the plan states, “We recognize the local government’s role in our community’s history of systemic oppression. We are committed to removing these barriers and rooting our priorities, decisions, and culture in the principles of diversity, inclusion, justice and equal access to opportunity.”
"Most recently, it's had several city council members meetings where they have recommitted themselves to achieving racial equity and viewing programming through a racial equity lens, and it's important that they be transparent about what they mean by those statements," says Bailey. "They refused to answer questions from the public in relation to those statements during recent meetings going back as recently as June 16th."
Bailey says the public deserves to know whether these are vapid platitudes or are these racial quotas that violate state statutes. Terms such as “racial equity toolkit” and “racial equity lens” within the plan opened the door for ambiguous policies that could be discriminating.
"The Supreme Court has made clear that using race to determine who gets access to programming, who gets access to employment opportunities, and who gets access to funding violates the law,” Baily reiterates.
Bailey points to the Students for Fair Admissions case as proof. The 2023 case struck down affirmative action programs in college admissions.
"Students for Fair Admissions was a clear statement from the United States Supreme Court that the best way to end racial discrimination is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," says Bailey.
The Attorney General's Office is demanding all records related to these DEI programs be turned over to Bailey for examination in the context of the law.
He states that the rule of law should apply to all Missourians across jurisdictional lines, and he believes that no Missourian wants to see public institutions participate in discrimination.
"And so, whether it be within Columbia or any other city, since the 1980's the Missouri attorney general's office has had enforcement authority against any entity that interferes with the full enjoyment of Missourians' rights afforded under the Missouri Human Rights Act. So, we are not going to hesitate to take action and hold wrongdoers accountable,” Bailey concludes.
