CRT has a Marxist ideological framework, which is part of the greater umbrella of critical theories that use the lens of race in addition to class. It purports to examine how race and racism are embedded in legal systems, institutions, and policies, contributing to alleged systemic racism.
Another term popularized during the same period as CRT, “racial justice,” appears also to be trending downward in Texas’s English-language press. The term peaked at 750 in 2020; this year, it is down to 300.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is another term that emerged during the same period and circumstances. The database indicates that the term gained momentum in 2020 and peaked at 1,500 in 2023. Usages are now trending downward and are currently at 950 for 2024.
LexisNexis has overcounted these figures as the actual figure is lower, seeing that the database will count the same story aggregated into multiple news outlets as an original story each time it is republished.
Moreover, after removing duplicative aggregations of the same story, the first ten results on LexisNexis would not be impressive to those who would like to see DEI discussed frequently in a positive light.
The results reveal a quick news blurb in a small town paper about a financial advisor qualifying to attend a DEI conference, a short news update about a company hiring a DEI officer, an editorial by E. Faye Williams in Texas Metro News calling the Supreme Court’s overturning of race in college admissions “social violence,” a story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with the headline “Texas Democrats decry Abbott memo warning against diversity, equity, inclusion in hiring,” an article about the University of Texas at Dallas closing its DEI offices and another similar story about other colleges in Texas, and an editorial on I Messenger defending DEI.
In most of this content, proponents of DEI appear to be on the defensive.
While LexisNexis records nearly every published usage of a term printed in English, that does not mean that each usage has equal exposure to the public. While terms like DEI continue to be used by Texas publications, it is worth noting that outlets like the I Messenger and Texas Metro News lack the widespread circulation of papers such as The Houston Chronicle.
This would indicate that while the term is falling in usage, each topic discussion is also reaching a smaller audience.
This comes as research from The Dallas Express previously revealed that “border security” has never been discussed more, and “abortion” has plummeted from a peak in early 2022.
