The Gist Kenji Yoshino & David Glasgow: "Go Where the Pain Is"
Feb 24, 2026
David Glasgow, legal scholar focused on diversity and equality strategy, and Kenji Yoshino, law professor specializing in civil rights, discuss reframing DEI as Equality. They debate backlash legitimacy, warn against forced diversity statements, and call for systemic debiasing. They urge expanding the tent to working-class and faith communities and designing universal programs that address real harms.
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Diversity Statements Cause Fragile Support
- Mandatory diversity statements create preference falsification that produces fragile or dishonest commitments.
- David Glasgow explains people sign loyalty oaths or absorb slogans without grappling deeper moral arguments, weakening real support.
Support Dissent And Stop Policing Small Mistakes
- Welcome and tolerate dissent instead of shaming or canceling those who disagree or make mistakes.
- Kenji Yoshino gives the example of letting a well-meaning senior colleague use 'sexual preference' rather than policing minor language errors.
From Performative DEI To Systemic Debiasing
- Move DEI from performative gestures to systemic debiasing and universal programs open to all committed participants.
- Kenji Yoshino contrasts post-George Floyd scattershot bias training and heritage months with deeper fairness reforms.
