The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WGTE public media.

Doni In the first few days of office.

Donald Trump reverse four years of efforts to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government, commonly called by the president his label these efforts as illegal and immoral, and has placed all federal D-I employees on leave.

Critics of DEI argue that hiring and promotion decisions should be based exclusively on merit, without consideration of race, color, or gender, stating that it fosters racism.

However, DEI defenders argue that policies promoting diversity and inclusio within organized nations do not contradict those that reward the most talented or hardest working employees.

With us today is Darlene Sweeney, Newburn, the president of the NAACP who certainly has her thoughts on this issue.

Join us for this provocative conversation.

I'm Doni Miller, and this is... To the Point.

Connect with us on our social media pages.

You know that.

You can email me at doni_miller@wgte.org.

And for this episode and any other that you might like to see, go to wgte.org/to the point.

I am excited today to spend time with my friend and the new president of the NAACP.

I'm sorry, the N-A-A-C-P.

Yes, we have a new branding going on there.

Darlene Sweeney Newbern, thank you so much for joining us today.

Darlene: Oh, so happy to be here.

I'm just excited to come and talk about my favorite topic, diversity, equity, inclusion, ACP, Civil Rights and the struggle.

Doni I am so happy to see that energy around those particular issues.

And you are coming into this organization at one of the best times, but also one of the most challenging times that this country has seen in a very long time.

But this organization has a long history of maintaining itself through whatever struggl and uplifting the community.

So I'd like to hear, though, even though you are following some really strong personalities and some really strong advocates for civil rights, I want to know what your vision is for the NAACP.

Darlene: Thank you.

Because I do have a vision for the NAACP.

The first thing is that I want the public to get used to calling us the NAACP, as opposed to the NAACP because each letter of that call letter, NAACP, those words has a meaning.

And so is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

We are the national office has rebranded.

So that's the first thing.

And keeping up with that thought.

I plan on rebranding the Toledo branch of the NAACP.

We're going to do things a little differently, even though my predecessors did the fine job.

I'm going to pick up the torch and just take it in the directio I want it to go.

What is that?

I do have a visit here, and that's how I see it.

What once was will be again, if you go to the history of the NAACP here in Toledo, we were the premie branch throughout the country.

We were the ones that every word, every doctor, Martin Luther King, everyone will run to the Toledo branch of the NAACP.

And we got it done.

Oh, wow.

We are going to return to that.

We're going to return to really fight the fight for civil rights.

We have got to relax.

Not only when I say we have got relaxed, I don't mean just NAACP have got relaxed.

I think the public has got to relax.

So there was a time when you were fighting hard just for diversity.

Equity inclusion equality.

And when we starte our four forefathers before us that fought that hard, hard fight opened up these doors.

You know what happened right.

We started getting a lifestyle.

We started getting money.

We got comfortable where we are.

And we believed it would never be taken away from us again.

You've been hoodwinked.

It's an illusion.

Now you know that.

What was so hard fought for have to start over and do it again.

There are some major changes to America that directly affects the people of Toledo, Ohio.

All Americans.

Doni: What would your priority these be in terms of those issues?

Darlene: So my priority of as I have stated, we're going to be visible to the community.

We're going to tackle the hard issues.

We're going to scream loud and long.

If we have to barge, we're cut a barge.

We're going to go back to grass roots fighting the fight there.

We're also going to use what we have available to us today with the media, with the Facebook, with the Twitter or the X, as they call it.

The tools that are available today in conjunction with the tools that were useful back then, because that's the era when we're back to the city and era, we're back to let's boycott the years.

We're back to having for sur our voices out front and heard.

If you believe that this is not necessary, can you just move aside and let us take care of this.

Doni: What would your priority these be?Listen to you, listen to you there.

There's much, much happening.

And I do want us to talk about it, Dana.

And the president's approach to the air.

But I want to do that later.

I want to spend a little more time right now getting, a sense of the, I hear your energy.

I hear your passion.

I understand that, being a longtime advocate of civil rights myself, I absolutely understand it.

But you've got huge issues.

In addition to D. You've got you've got people of color, struggling in unemployment still.

You have people of color struggling in housing, health care.

There's not.

Darlene Places of public accommodations.

Doni: What would your priority these be?

Places of public accommodation.

And we have one of the sickest, groups of folks of color now than we've ever had in our entire country.

You can't choose a disease where, where black folks are not getting it more often and dying of it more often than anybody else.

So when you look at all of those things, where do you think you will focus your energy and the energy of the organization first?

Darlene: We are going to capture what I call the low hanging fruit.

You are absolutely correct.

And and when you talk about the employment and health care and unfair treatment just all around at the NAACP, we have several different committees that we are going to have, and we're in the process of doing it now up in Fox, NE, all areas you just mentioned, there will be a chai in that area, each responsible for tackling the issues of that area bringing it back to the meetings to get this done.

I need warriors out there.

I need all people.

I don't care wha your social economic background there is a misunderstanding or a commonly held belief that the NAACP only addressed those individuals who are more suburban or educated.

No, I want the people.

I want the people who are affect it by all those different issues that you're speaking of.

So I do plan on focusing on employment, places of public accommodation, health, education.

I have an extensive background in that area because I come straight from civil rights.

Yes.

You can't fool me in these areas.

Because I actually for 33 years with the law, I worked for the agency, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

That was the law in these areas.

So you're not fooling me.

I know the low hanging fruit.

And when you talk abou what is going on in these areas, what that and I've kind of segued into this and I stuff, don't want to, get ahead of you.

Go right ahead.

But I'm going to say this with that.

When the president signed those executive orders for Dee and I I was flooded with phone calls.

What does that mean?

Does that mean Darlene, that my employer to fire me today?

I give you a clue.

Ohio's at will state they could fire you.

Doni: They coulve fired you yesterday.

Darlene: That's right.

It doesn't matte that die order was was signed.

Get past that.

Because all these years you've been operating, you've been operating as wield.

They could fire you, but what they still cannot do die or not, they still cannot fire you based on your race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, eve disability, sexual orientation.

They still can't do that.

Doni: What would your priority these be?Hold that thought for a second.

I want to go back to something that you said earlier because I think it's important, to mention you said that it's a commonly held belief that the NAACP only helps people in the suburbs.

And I think you're right about that.

I think that is a commonly held belief.

It's also not well appreciated that the NAACP has made lots of its strides through the diversity of the people who have been in the organization, helpin the organization meet its goals.

So, yes.

So, the, the mission, as I understand it historically of the NAACP has been one that is inclusive, inclusive, that talks about raising the status and the value and the presence of every human being on this planet.

Darlene: And that's my point exactly, Doni.

Doni: Yeah.

Darlene: I want at my meetings.

I want Mr. Joe blow that on the streets, tha when he walks down the street, he says, I was crossing the street and officers just stopped me.

Right.

I want the individuals who are most affected by the differential treatment to come to these NAACP meetings.

I want to hear from the people.

I want to capture the hot button issue.

I never liked it when people who were in a specific job or power tell you what it is that certain people needed in order to make their life better.

Let the people tell you the people.

I want the people to talk.

Doni: What would your priority these be?Hold that thought.

All right.

We're going to go away for just a second.

Hold that energy too.

I want I want more of that.

We will see you in just a second.

Doni: Connect with us on our social media pages.

You can email me at doni_miller@wgte.org.

And for this episode and an other additional extras, go to wgte.org/to the point.

Please do that.

I'd love to hear from yo if you missed our first segment.

You really need to pull this show up so that you can see tha we are talking to the incoming president of the NAACP Darlene Sweeney Newberg, who is all fired up, is not a strong enough description of the energ that you bring to to the issue and the challenges that are faced, not just today, but yesterda and the day before by the NAACP.

But there's one that I want to talk to you about.

Very specifically.

And that is, President Trump's approach to DEI.

As you know he has, we've called it illegal.

He's called it immoral.

On diversity, equity and inclusion.

For those of you who might not, know what those symbols, what those letters mean, he's called it immoral.

He has put all federal employees who are working in, any program related to D, E and I on, leave on leave.

What was your first response when you heard that?

Darlene: Well, I can't swear the way I did when I first heard it.

Doni: No, please.

This is public television.

Darlene: I did say (bleep)?

We're still going to fight the fight.

Understand?

What he did was take, particular.

You could call it d initiative, programs and say, hey, taking that away.

And so when he did that, what it did for the people who are against it was yay, yay, rah rah rah.

It will be no more of promoting people or hiring people just because of their race or because of their sexual orientation, or because of their gender, or because of disability.

I'm here to tell you, you still have in Ohio, Ohio revised Code 4112.

You still have title seven.

These were the laws that were in place.

D I brought about an awareness just like the MeToo movement.

It brought an awareness of these things that were happening.

You see that a lot of the American public did believe that there were differential treatment.

So then you had the beating of George Floyd.

That really helped raise America's level of consciousnes when you had the MeToo movement.

So what did I did was put it right there in your face that, listen, this type of discrimination is happening.

And it did reach some people and then some people felt guilty that white guilt is no joke.

And so they said we're fatigued with this.

We're tired of this.

This is unfair to us.

Or let's not get admitted to a particular college or did not get a position.

And they believe that it was because of their race.

Their race.

White actually.

Because we know these things have been happening for years or years with the race is black.

So they said wait a minute.

In order to remedy what's happened to you you can't discriminate against us too.

So it's a belief tha that executive order reversing Dei has got rid of certain things in America.

One thing that is stable is that is still unlawful to discriminate against you.

Based on your race, color, religion, sex.

That's what words are that ancestry, disability, it age.

In the area of employment, accommodation, even higher educatio if it's disability and housing.

So you still have those very, very strong laws on the on the book.

And guess what?

You can't sign the executive order to get rid of those.

Doni: What would your priority these be?I think that, at least my perception from what I've heard over the last few days when people have been talking about this, is that by removing the the DEI, that title from things and eliminating those programs, that there won't be teeth in the laws that you talk about at the state level.

That people organize, companies will not be encouraged or expected to hire women or people of color or folks regardless of their gender.

What do you think about that?

Darlene: I wish I could disagree with you on that viewpoint, because one of the first things that I see myself is this is going to weake what these agencies are doing.

Right.

Understand, I was not always a thi.

Remember affirmative action.

Each organization had wa an affirmative action department and affirmative action program that.

Doni: Reported to the CEOs.

Darlene: Exactly.

That report it.

So there we switched.

I think it was something even in between the affirmative action directors and the D e and I, I think it was something in between.

I can't even remember what that was.

And so every so often you get another name.

But guess what.

We still fought on.

This is different here.

Doni: Is this a step back?

Darlene: Yes it's a step back.

But guess what.

It's not the end of the road.

I'd for those warriors out there to rise up with the hope and the belief that America would deliver the promise that was given to us so many years ago.

Because if America is not delivery, that we at the people deliver a message to America, we won't stand back.

We will not go backwards.

What was gay we're keeping?

What was what?

What what was.

You see, I'm going so fast that I'm stumbling right here because this is a this just.

It really angers me, right?

Right here.

But what's worse will be again.

Doni: Yeah, yeah, yeah I know.

How do we give people hope, though, when we see when so many people presume that, not only are we losing, is this country losing, with efforts like rescinding DNI, but, that other things.

Immigration, mass migration.

Darlene: Oh my goodness.

Doni: All of these things make it look as though the focus of this country is no longer on humanity, and the rights of others.

And that's exactly what the NAACP is fighting for, is humanity and the rights of others.

How do you give them hope that that that you're going to make a change?

Darlene: I go back to something that my mother taught me and wisdom that she gave me, that I was share right now.

And a lot of people heard me talk about all I need are people out there that have three bowls for sure.

The first thing they need is their whisper.

That is your vision of hope.

You do not stop hoping the fighting right there.

You must have a dream.

Realize that dream.

This was not the first time in America that we've been in this situation.

Guess what?

We still survived.

Well, I was born.

That was before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Still survive?

I still was allowed to grow.

So you have the wisp all day.

You have a backbone.

I want people to have a wishbone and a backbone.

This is what my mother told me.

So you have to have a backbone here.

And the backbone is you have t fight against these injustices.

You have to speak loud.

You have to let it know your.

Just let me know.

Your dissatisfaction here.

This is not the era of human rights right now.

It's obvious you're delusional if you think that we still have Hubert rights here.

That's not going on, right?

That's the priority.

Yes.

That's not what's going on on here.

Doni: And what's the third?

Darlene: And the third is your.

As you can tell, I have a jawbone.

You are to go out there.

You are to speak your truth.

You are to fight because she said you need these three bowls for show.

Mother, what do you.

Bill, you need these three things for show.

Daughter with these three bowls.

I want you to show up.

You fight that fight and you show when you do it.

Doni: Show up.

Darlene: There you go.

Doni: There you.

Darlene: Go.

So I want to use what I cal my three balls for show movement in order to get thi accomplished, to get this done.

I need the people ugly.

The people who are willing to fight.

I said, I want the NAACP to go from two 300 to 2 3000 strong.

So what?

I'm out there yellow describing screaming.

I want to say, you see my army behind me.

Doni: That's right.

Here we are.

Darlene: Here we are.

We will boycott.

We will protest.

We will do everything in a nonviolent way to get this done.

Doni: Let me ask you this before you go.

We only have a couple minutes left.

What?

I am going to assume that.

That you think that things would be differen had Vice President Harris won.

I'm just.

Just going to assume that.

What do you say to those people of color who voted who chose not to vote for her?

For all of the reasons we've heard, I don't want a black woman telling me what to do.

She doesn't have enough experience.

All of it.

What do you say to them?

Have they contributed to pushing the movement backwards?

Darlene: Yes.

Yes.

It just say, let me say this to you.

Sexism is real.

And I've often said men of all races will come together.

Would they would oppress a woman.

I can't have that woman in power.

I was so excited to think tha she would possibly be in power, because I kne she was going to move forward.

And in human rights, race.

So what I have to say is you get what you ask for.

Doni: And so folks have gotten what they asked for.

Darlene It just means we have to fight.

We have.

I just have one more.

Doni: Quickly Very quick.

Darlene: Real quick.

I want the, Toled people to join in as they help me burst the bloate belly of the beast of bigotry.

Doni: Listen to you, and you can find out more information about how to do that online.

Yes.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Your energy is infectious.

And I'm so gla that you were here this morning.

And I know you'll be back.

And thank you for joining us today.

You go out, you be kind just because you can.

And I will see you next time.

On... To the Point.

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