JD Vance furious over Forbes article on how to 'decenter Whiteness,' will investigate author's DEI firm
Vance called piece 'racist' and 'gross' and will probe if author's firm receives Ohio public money
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio., condemned an article published by Forbes about how to "decenter Whiteness" in the workplace, and declared his staff is investigating the organization of the woman who wrote it to see if it gets any Ohio money.
In an article on the Forbes website, "3 Ways To Decenter Whiteness In Your Workplace," senior contributor Janice Gassam Asare, who founded the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultancy BWG Business Solutions, talked about how to remove "Whiteness" from the workplace to better cater to people "of color."
She described "White-centering" as a system that "prioritizes White dominant culture to the detriment of non-White groups and cultures," noting that it "has been given many names including the White gaze and Whiteness as the default." She went on to suggest, "Because White-centering is often left unexamined and unchecked, equity and justice have continued to evade organizations."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vance was one of many who bristled at the piece and its rhetoric.
Senator J.D. Vance, a Republican from Ohio, during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, DC, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. Photographer: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"I'm just done with this s---. It's racist and it's gross. Forbes should be ashamed of themselves for publishing it," he wrote. "The author is a ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ consultant. I've directed my staff to investigate whether her ‘business’ receives any public money from Ohio."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reached for comment, Asare said it was clear Vance had "no idea" what he was talking about with his post.
"I would say this: It's obvious that the senator has no idea what decentering whiteness actually means and how it's about the system of whiteness and not one white person or white people," she told Fox News Digital. "I expound on what decentering whiteness in the workplace means in my book of the same name, which I'm happy to send to the senator or to anyone else that is confused."
Other public figures condemned both the piece itself and Forbes for sharing it.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So sick of this anti-American hate and racism from corporate media and corporate America," The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote. "People who push such racism are bad people destroying the country."
Diversity, equity and inclusion agendas have spread among a wide variety of well known companies in the past few years. (Adobe Stock)
MINNESOTA SCIENCE TEACHER CLAIMS CELL BIOLOGY LESSONS ARE PART OF 'CAPITALIST INDOCTRINATION'
"The only way to ‘Decenter Whiteness’ is by firing White people, because being White is not belief system or a faith or a way of living, it is an immutable characteristic," fellow Federalist writer David Harsanyi wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There’s no reverse racism, it’s just pure racism," Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy wrote.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Vance’s staff and Forbes did not immediately respond when Fox News Digital reached out for comment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This article was updated with a response from Asare.