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June 12, 2025: Deconstructing DEI – the future of diversity initiatives in Colorado

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Five people stand in front of an orange banner that says "Colorado Public Radio" at the top. The the foreground is a table with microphones.
Brittany Werges/CPR
Boulder author Rosalind Wiseman (left) stands next to Colorado Matters host Chandra Thomas Whitfield, CSU grad and documentarian Jevon “JJ” McKinney, community advocate and “actionist” Candice Bailey, and retired Denver County Court Judge Gary Jackson.

In the wake of 2020's racial reckoning, DEI initiatives surged across the country, from corporations to the classroom. But that momentum has taken a big hit in recent months under a new presidential administration as evidenced by federal funding cuts, restructured priorities and arguably a growing political backlash against DEI policies. So what's been learned? And what's next? Chandra Thomas Whitfield hosted a panel discussion at the Blair Caldwell African American Research Library as part of Juneteenth. She was joined by retired senior Denver County Court judge Gary Jackson, community advocate and "actionist" Candice Bailey, Boulder author Rosalind Wiseman, and recent CSU graduate and budding documentarian Jevon "JJ" McKinney.

People are seated in black chairs looking away from the camera toward a table with two large speakers on either side. Seated at the table are five panelists having a discussion facing the audience.
Brittany Werges/CPR
An audience listens to a panel discussion, "Deconstructing DEI: The Future of Diversity Initiatives in Colorado" at the Blair Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood. June 3, 2025.
Five people are seated at a table that is diagonal in the photo. There is a vertical banner that is orange behind them that says "Colorado Public Radio" and toward the right is a large audio speaker on a stand.
Brittany Werges/CPR
Chandra Thomas Whitfield (left) is seated next to Candice Bailey, Rosalind Wiseman, Jevon "JJ" McKinney, and Judge Gary Jackson. June 3, 2025.