How to Recognize and Resist Racial Gaslighting in Higher Ed

In today’s political climate, the discourse surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education has become increasingly hostile. A particularly pernicious narrative that has gained traction in recent years is that DEI policies discriminate against white people, a notion that has been used to justify the dismantling of DEI programs, personnel, policies and scholarships.

This misleading narrative is not new; it has been the backbone of many efforts to erode civil rights gains made since the 1960s. But it goes beyond just being misleading. This narrative is a form of racial gaslighting, a deliberate distortion of reality aimed at undermining the experiences of marginalized communities and, in this case, rolling back decades of progress toward representation and equity in higher education.

What Is Racial Gaslighting?

Before diving into the specifics of its role in higher education, we must first understand what racial gaslighting is. Racial gaslighting is a process of distorting, minimizing or outright denying the racialized experiences of people of color to undermine their validity and shift the burden of responsibility to them.

The term “gaslighting” usually refers to psychological manipulation in which a person is made to doubt their own perceptions of reality, a common tactic used by emotional abusers. Gaslighters typically minimize or dismiss their target’s emotions, deny that something occurred or pretend to forget events, deflect and change the focus of the discussion in order to avoid accountability, and shift blame to the victim. On an interpersonal level, racial gaslighting involves making someone question their experiences of racism. Statements such as “you’re being too sensitive” or “are you sure it was about race?” are examples of how this can show up in individual interactions.

When applied to political discourse, racial gaslighting functions by denying and distorting the lived experiences of marginalized groups, usually ignoring history and social dynamics to create doubt that racism is an issue. Racial gaslighting often frames antidiscrimination policies, which were created as a result of centuries of systemic racial oppression, as being racist and harmful to white people.

In the context of higher education, racial gaslighting manifests through political and media narratives that dismiss centuries of legalized exclusion of people of color from colleges and universities, and then frame DEI initiatives as harmful to white people. Racial gaslighting ignores the fact that DEI policies were created to address well-documented systemic inequities. Framing DEI policies and initiatives as “reverse discrimination” invalidates the realities of racism and the need for corrective action while positioning white people as the new victims.

The Political Narrative of ‘Reverse Discrimination’

One of the most blatant examples of racial gaslighting in recent political discourse has been the narrative surrounding affirmative action and DEI policies. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended affirmative action in college admissions, opponents of the policy celebrated the decision as a triumph of “individual merit” over identity-based politics. However, this narrative does two things: 1) It erases the historic and systemic barriers that have long disadvantaged and excluded people of color, making affirmative action necessary in the first place, and 2) it ignores and deflects all the times when white people have been advantaged and rewarded just because they were white, with nothing to do with their individual merit. (Homestead Act, anyone?)

This narrative of “individual merit” ignores the facts of history while painting a distorted picture based in misinformation, ahistorical reasoning and falsehood. Furthermore, to assume that people of color don’t have merit is a bigoted assumption rooted in negative stereotypes.

Historically, affirmative action was implemented to address the lasting effects of slavery, segregation and other forms of legalized racism that denied people of color access to education and opportunity. Yet, claims that eliminating race-conscious admissions policies will “level the playing field” ignore the ongoing structural barriers that still disproportionately impact students of color, such as disparities in college counseling and recruitment, legacy admissions that overwhelmingly favor white applicants, the underrepresentation of faculty of color and culturally inclusive curricula, and campus climates that remain unwelcoming or hostile to marginalized students. Arguments that DEI policies “discriminate against white people” not only distort the purpose of these initiatives but also create a false equivalence between systemic racism and efforts to correct it. (They also overlook the fact that white women have been among the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action.)

Racial gaslighting plays a central role in the push to dismantle these corrective measures. Politicians and media figures have reframed DEI initiatives as “divisive” and a threat to American society, while ignoring the very real and persistent threat of racism itself. Gaslighting works by denying and distorting reality, and in this case, it turns long-overdue efforts to expand access and equity into something to be despised. The result is not just the undermining of DEI programs but the broader erosion of racial progress, which reinforces the very inequalities these initiatives were designed to address.

The Impact of Racial Gaslighting in Higher Ed

The implications of racial gaslighting when applied to political and legal discourse are profound in higher education. For one, it diminishes the credibility of DEI programs and initiatives, which makes it harder for institutions to prioritize the needs of historically marginalized students. It also delegitimizes the experiences of students of color, who often receive societal messages that their struggles are simply a result of their own perceived inadequacies, not a consequence of structural discrimination.

Moreover, racial gaslighting perpetuates racial hierarchies by reinforcing the idea that efforts to address systemic racism are somehow harmful or unjust. This narrative has already led to the shuttering of DEI offices, programs and scholarships at some colleges and universities, further entrenching the racial inequities that these initiatives sought to address in the first place.

Recognizing Racial Gaslighting in Higher Ed

To combat racial gaslighting in higher education discourse, it’s important to first recognize when it’s happening. Here are some common red flags that indicate racial gaslighting:

1. Shifting the focus to white people as victims. Framing affirmative action and DEI initiatives as harmful to white students obscures the real victims of racial inequities: students of color.
2. Distorting historical truths. This involves erasing or minimizing the history of racism that necessitated DEI programs in the first place. The rhetoric of “merit” often ignores the fact that access to education for marginalized groups has historically been restricted.
3. Applying false equivalencies. Equating policies designed to address racial disparities with racist or exclusionary practices is another gaslighting tactic. For example, the claim that DEI initiatives are a form of “reverse racism” completely disregards the power dynamics at play.

Resisting Racial Gaslighting

Now that we understand how racial gaslighting functions and its consequences, what can we do to resist it? Here are some strategies for recognizing and fighting back against this harmful narrative:

1. Teach about, learn about and amplify historical truths. Racial gaslighting becomes easy to detect when you are aware of the centuries of policies that made antidiscrimination efforts necessary to begin with. Centering historical truth is critical for contextualizing DEI efforts and countering the gaslighting tactics that attempt to ignore this centuries-long history of racial injustice in the United States.
2. Center the voices and experiences of students, faculty and staff of color. These voices provide the lived evidence that counters false narratives that racism has ended or that Black and brown people are undeserving or lack merit.
3. Frame diversity, equity and inclusion as a moral and social responsibility. Focus your conversations on justice, equity and the imperative of addressing systemic racism. Rather than seeing DEI as a zero-sum competition, position it as a step toward a more equitable society that benefits everyone.
4. Hold institutions accountable and resist precompliance. Advocate for diversity initiatives to receive proper funding and remain integrated into the institutional mission. Push back against attempts to defund or undermine these efforts. If an institution is pre-emptively dismantling its DEI offices out of fear of political backlash, demand clear justification and mobilize faculty, student organizations or whoever is within your sphere of influence to speak up about the consequences of erasing these programs. If DEI offices have already been eliminated, work to embed diversity efforts into existing departments, advocate for policy changes at the institutional level and help build grassroots initiatives to continue the work outside of formal structures.

Protecting Your Mental Health

For faculty, staff and students of color, racial gaslighting can take a serious toll on mental health, especially when confronted with rhetoric like “we need to bring back merit-based decisions” (when we know that this country has never truly operated on merit). Many of us were taught from a young age that we have to work twice as hard as white people just to have a chance. This creates an internalized, heightened standard, with the pressure of knowing that one mistake can cost everything. It’s even more distressing when these narratives come from political figures who have not earned their positions through merit but rather through whiteness and privilege.

To protect your mental health, apply the same strategies used to counter interpersonal gaslighting:

1. Minimize exposure to people who perpetuate racial gaslighting rhetoric. Avoid unnecessary debates, including arguments on social media and with people who are unwilling to learn. If someone is willfully ignorant, let them be. Limit your engagement as much as possible. Remember that you don’t need to prove your reality to those who refuse to see it.
2. Trust yourself and your experiences. Remember that your reality and the history behind it is valid, no matter how much others try to distort it.
3. Seek support. Surround yourself with people who can understand and affirm your experiences.
4. Prioritize self- and community care. Regular meditation, grounding exercises, time in nature, physical activity and collective healing spaces can help with your mental health in general and make you more resilient in the face of harmful, toxic rhetoric.

Conclusion

The dismantling of DEI in higher education is just getting started, and racial gaslighting will continue to be a tool used to distort reality, silence marginalized voices and justify these rollbacks. But when we know the tactics, refuse to accept false narratives and stay committed to truth and justice, we can, and we must, push back.