Thought you’d heard every anti-DEI argument there is...? Guess again! While defending legislation eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in public universities, Kentucky State Rep. Jennifer Decker threw out a wild card. (Hint: It has to do with white slavery).
Suggested Reading
Only a day into Black History Month, Decker marched over to the local NAACP chapter to defend a bill she introduced that would effectively dismantle public college DEI programs. The conversation took a turn when Decker was asked about her family’s role in the slave trade.
A defensive Decker then claimed that her father was actually a slave — a “white” slave, to be exact. “My father was born on a dirt farm in Lincoln County,” said Decker. “His mother was the illegitimate daughter of a very prominent person who then was kind enough to allow them to work for him as slaves. So, if you’re asking, did we own slaves? My father was a slave, just to a white man, and he was white.”
The Louisville Courier-Journal, which first reported the story, tracked her down for a response. Decker acknowledged that she’d blown her father’s situation — working on the farm of a family member — out of proportion by comparing it to slavery.
It was “probably overstated,” she said, acknowledging that her father’s childhood doing unpaid farm work (i.e., chores) was not the same thing as American chattel slavery. But let’s be real — anyone with a passing familiarity with American history could have told her that.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.