Lt. Gov. Robinson touts end of DEI as LGBTQ+ advocates seek protections, equity
North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Lt. Governor Mark Robinson made an unusual public appearance in Raleigh on Wednesday at a legislative day sponsored by the conservative advocacy group Moms for Liberty. During a brief talk on the lawn outside the Legislative Building, Robinson told a group of activists that he is proud to stand up for what is “right” and pledged to end Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools and government if elected in November.
Echoing what’s become a theme for conservative politicians and candidates across the country in the runup to the 2024 election, Robinson said, “DEI … it sounds nice, but we all know it’s wrecking systems all across the nation, all across the state.”
“My version of DEI is not diversity, equity and inclusion. My version of DEI is something this nation, this state, our institutions need to bring back,” he said. “It’s what we used to search for in this country … discipline, excellence and intelligence.”
Supporters say DEI initiatives help ensure that people who belong to groups traditionally treated as second class Americans — women, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities — gain inclusion in workplaces and educational institutions.
Robinson, who has condemned LGBTQ+ people and homosexuality in the past, said on Wednesday that he is not “against” any particular group, but that certain subjects and topics — an apparent reference to LGBTQ+ people and their lives and lifestyles — have no place in school. “These agendas need to be removed from our schools. They need to be removed from our government.”
Moms for Liberty was founded in Florida in 2021 and gained prominence for its opposition to COVID-19 school closures and mask mandates.
It is now a national organization with chapters in 48 states, including 20 in North Carolina. The group has shifted its focus to curriculum content and calls for limitations on discussions of gender, sexuality, and DEI in schools. The group also calls for the removal of books they believe are inappropriate for certain age groups.
Brooke Weiss, Chair of the Mecklenburg County Chapter, told reporters that the group was in Raleigh to advocate for a civics examination requirement for all public high school graduates, similar to the test immigrants are required to take before becoming citizens. “People are taking an oath of office that have never read the Constitution and don’t even understand what it is,” Weiss said. “Every American should be able to answer the same questions that we asked immigrants to answer.”
North Carolina high school students are currently required to take courses on civics and U.S. history to graduate.
Robinson’s sighting at the Legislative Building was relatively unusual. Though the Lt. Governor officially serves as President of the state Senate, Robinson, unlike his predecessors in recent decades, has rarely presided over Senate sessions during his three-and-a-half years in office.
As he has on other occasions in recent months, Robinson used part of his brief speech on Wednesday to criticize what he said has been inadequate outrage over antisemitic statements allegedly made by student protesters demonstrating against the Israel-Hamas conflict on campuses across the state.
“They did nothing while at the same time the same folks, that same ilk, called moms who went down to school boards simply to demand that their children weren’t being fed pornography and weren’t being indoctrinated in their schools and demanded to know what their children were learning were called domestic terrorist.”
