Weaponized Color-Evasiveness: Analyzing the Parent Backlash to DEI in Suburban Schools

Over the past several years, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in schools have garnered increasing backlash from right-wing parents. In this article, I analyze these school board meetings, paying specific attention to how racial ideology works in this context. I ask: What racial ideologies are at play in parent debates over DEI efforts in suburban schools? How are these ideologies leveraged to political ends in school board meetings? Specifically, how do parents use their racial ideologies to argue against their school districts’ decision about DEIs? To answer these questions, I analyze data from school board meetings and parent Facebook groups from 2020 to 2022 at three school districts in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I find that while districts use diversity ideology to advocate for DEI efforts, critical parents weaponize color-evasiveness to oppose these efforts. I describe this weaponization, arguing that it occurs in three parts: moral claims, statements of harm, and demands for recompense. By analyzing how people use racial ideologies in conflict, I illustrate how dominant ideologies are dynamic tools that can be leveraged to achieve political goals.