Uniformity, Inequity, and Exclusion … Really?

A colleague and friend of mine—a fellow philosopher—was stopped recently at the U.S. border. Returning from giving a series of lectures abroad, he found himself pulled aside and questioned for some time. The reason? After much probing, it emerged that his talk was on biodiversity. That word—biodiversity—had triggered suspicion. The irony is thick. A scholar advocating for the value of biological difference was being treated as potentially subversive—perhaps even un-American.

Is that who we’ve become?

I’ve taught and researched at the State University of New York for 25 years. At a recent University Faculty Senate meeting, Chancellor John B. King reminded us that diversity, equity, and inclusion are in the DNA of SUNY. SUNY’s founding vision was not of uniformity, but inclusion. It welcomed the diverse peoples of New York and worked to iron out social inequities and prejudice. Chancellor King asserted that the mission has not changed. SUNY’s commitment resonates with my own long-standing intellectual and moral commitment to pluralism. Not merely a toleration of difference (though toleration is essential, even noble, as a starting place), but a celebration of it. A refusal to reduce the Other to my small world. A refusal to judge those who are not like me by the standards of my own comfort or culture. In my teaching and scholarship—and, imperfectly, in my life—I have tried to practice this ethos: that the presence of difference is not something to be managed but something to be honored. Something that deepens us.

The same could be said—at its best—of the American experiment. The U.S. Constitution did not begin with “I the king,” but “We the people.” Not the same people, not uniform people, but diverse people building a common life.

St. Paul captured a radical vision for community in his letter to the Galatians:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NRSV)

Centuries later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reasserted this principle of human dignity:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (Speech at the March on Washington, 1963)

But inclusion, equity, and pluralism are not uniquely Western ideals.

The African philosophy of Ubuntu teaches, “I am because we are.” It honors the humanity of each person through their place in a community.

In Confucian ethics, ren—often translated as benevolence or humaneness—emphasizes treating others with dignity, across social differences.

The Quran says,

“O mankind! We created you from a single pair … and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other.” (Surah 49:13)

These traditions affirm that diversity is not a threat. It is a fact. Quite simply, we are not the same. Existentially, we are diverse—different in race, culture, gender, faith, language, ability, and experience. The question is: What do we do with that knowledge? Do we try to erase the difference—forcing everyone to conform to a single norm? Do we fear those who are not like us, and use that fear to justify discrimination? Do we build walls of exclusion to keep “them” out and “us” in? That path—of uniformity, inequity, and exclusion—is not just mistaken. It is morally corrosive.

A better response is to celebrate difference as a gift. To see each human life as a unique expression of the shared mystery of being. To listen across our differences, not to flatten them, but to learn from them. To repair past injustices and build systems that do not presume sameness but honor the dignity of each. In doing so, we take a step toward the beloved community—one not of imposed unity but of joyfully celebrated difference.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not mere bureaucratic policies. They are marks of moral seriousness. A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is a commitment to the moral life. And it’s opposite? Uniformity, inequity, and exclusion. Really?

+Ab. Andy

Works Cited

Confucius. The Analects. Translated by Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont Jr., Ballantine Books, 1998.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “I Have a Dream.” Delivered 28 August 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by James M. Washington, HarperOne, 1986, pp. 217–220.

The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version. Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, 1989.

The Qur’an. Translated by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Oxford UP, 2004.

Tutu, Desmond. No Future Without Forgiveness. Doubleday, 1999.