Sherry Sylvester - Distinguished Senior Fellow, TPPF Joins Houston's Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Oh man, don't be ditch in school. Seven twenty three
is our time here in Houston's warning news right. Governor
Abbott wants to extend the Texas DEI band currently in
effect for our colleges and universities to K through twelve schools.
I kind of thought we were already doing that, but
I guess not. Cherry Sylvester joins us distinguished a senior
fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. I guess let's

(00:22):
start with this, Sherry, because it's had a limited success
at our colleges and universities here in Texas. We as
much as we were worried about, many of the people
who are employed in DEI programs are still employed by
these universities. They just got different titles. It doesn't mean
that they've completely given up on trying to run a
DEI program.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Absolutely, Jimmy. We knew from the beginning that DEI is
so embedded in the institutions of our higher universities that
it would take it would take more than one piece
of legislation to get them out. There's more legislation. Uh.
You know, the last time we closed down the DEI offices,
they went through a phase of denial where they renamed them.

(01:07):
Then we went back again and closed them down. They
finally started firing people, but more people have to go.
But but you know, Jimmy, I just wanted. I just
saw a report on NPR, which is like moving the
lie on this, and it said DEI programs were part
of the civil rights movement.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Oh, come on, they weren't. Come on, yeah, no, that
said right there, or.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
No they weren't. DEI came out about a decade ago
with the whole philosophy that America is founded on white supremacy.
Every institution is racist, that's what fuels the country. So
you're either an oppressor or an oppressed person, or either
that or the other. And then they threw in all
the crazy gender in the ideology. That's what DEI is.

(01:53):
So uh, Abbott is absolutely right. We found it in
public schools. Some public schools have DEI officers. And then
here's where they really get you, Jimmy. The teachers will
go off to some training and they'll be THEI trainers there. Well,
we're paying for that techic're paying for that, right, and

(02:14):
they're teaching the teachers how to go into the classrooms
and say in the most convincing way. You know, kids,
we're all racist. The country is racist. You're either an
oppressed person, which means the deck is stacked. So no
matter what you do, you're not going to be able
to move forward, or you're an oppressor and you're guilty,

(02:36):
and let's feel guilty about that.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
You know what it is, you know, Sherry, as you
pointed out it me, it's been so hard to get
it rooted out of our colleges and universities. At least
we have a limited number of them in Texas, but
we have tens of thousands of k through twelve public
schools in the state of Texas. Who do you put
in charge of this the Texas Education Association and can
they be trusted in order to lead the way as
far as uprooting DEI in all of these schools.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Everybody should be in charge. Tea and would certainly pay
play a role in this battle. Local sports would role
in this battle. Parents will plas to play a role
in this battle. I mean we and you know, the
Trump model of getting rid of the DEI in the
federal government is going to provide a lot of talk
about this. People will begin to know it when they

(03:25):
see it, and you know, we just we just can't
tolerate it.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
You're right, we just and we have to get started
because it's going to take a while. Cherry Sylvester, always
a pleasure, this thing we've seen, your fellow with the
Texas Public Policy Foundation, Cherry Sylvester seven