ESCANABA — Despite concerns from the majority of the Delta County Board of Commissioners about the Michigan State University Extension’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, the commissioners voted during a special meeting Monday to approve supporting MSU Extension’s services in the county.

The commission has history of opposing programs that include DEI requirements, with multiple commissioners arguing it enforces racism against white people and promotes an LGBT+ lifestyle. Those commissioners requested MSU Extension District 1 Director Paul Putnam, who teaches DEI practices to MSU Extension staff twice a year, attend the meeting to speak about how DEI is incorporated in MSU Extension’s programming, including 4-H.

Putnam told the commissioners he had watched recordings of prior commission meetings to prepare for their questions, but had concerns about some of the statements made prior to his visit.

“There were some statements that were made that I’m offended at, truthfully, because they insinuated things without documentation, without facts or data — that we’re ‘slowly indoctrinating youth’ in the DEI. The short answer is that we’re not. We abide by the same federal rules, state guidelines as everybody else,” he said.

Holding a copy of the “And Justice For All” U.S. Department of Agriculture poster that outlines the USDA’s civil rights policies, Putnam explained that if an entity received federal funds they were required to abide by the federal prohibitions on discrimination outlined on the poster. The green and white poster states institutions are “prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity,” and outlines how program information may be made available in other languages or in formats more accessible to people with visual or auditory disabilities. It also explains how to file a discrimination complaint with the USDA.

“If you receive federal funds, this is part of who you are,” he said.

According to Putnam, DEI practices are not taught to children at all. Instead, MSU Extension staff are trained twice a year in DEI. That training includes things like identifying barriers in venues that could make it more difficult for those with disabilities to participate in programs and knowing what resources are available to better serve different types of participants.

To illustrate equity, Putnam handed the commissioners a printed page showing people with bicycles. The first set of images, labeled “equality,” showed a variety of people with identical bicycles, including people of different sizes and a woman in a wheelchair. The second set of images, labeled “equity,” showed the same people with bicycles that fit their body sizes. The woman who had been in the wheelchair was shown on an adaptive bike.

“Equity is trying to make sure that we can get the right equipment to the right participants based on their needs — not what we think that they need to have — to be able to accommodate and participate,” he said.

When it came to inclusion, Putnam explained the point was similar: make sure everyone has access to programming.

“We’re not teaching kids to be gay or trans or anything like that. But if they are, and they want access to a program, we absolutely will welcome them into it just like we would any other citizen, any other person, because they’re all people,” he said.

Multiple commissioners expressed their understanding of — and distaste for — DEI stemmed from their belief that it promoted “equality of outcomes,” where a person who would otherwise not succeed was promoted solely on a single factor of their identity. This echoed prior statements made by commissioners Dave Moyle and Bob Petersen at the recent League of Women Voters candidate forum that unqualified surgeons or pilots might be given positions based on the amount of “melanin in their skin.”

However, the harshest critic of DEI Monday, and historically, was Commissioner Bob Barron. During the meeting, he said DEI was a continuation of critical race theory stemming from academia and equated it to eugenics. He further went on to draw connections from eugenics to Nazis, the Holocaust and Planned Parenthood.

At least part of Barron’s issue with Putnam’s presentation Monday was how “equity” was defined. He said the word was what tied to individual’s worth and that “accommodation” was more appropriate for what Putnam was describing.

“We’ve had people who had different disabilities and we’ve provided for that, but we don’t call it equity … it’s just part of what we do,” said Barron, referencing pasture walks held at his farm by MSU Extension.

Barron, Moyle, Petersen, and Commissioner Steve Viau all expressed reservations about DEI during the meeting, but when it came time to vote on whether or not to continue supporting MSU Extension with a 4% increase in funding, only Barron voted against the measure.