Headlights Ep. 5: A ‘Pragmatic Progressive’ in North Carolina

Conservative legislators in the South have been attacking diversity programs for years, long before President Trump made a national priority of assailing “DEI.” This week, we look at some of this year’s anti-DEI bills in Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas — and why their allegations of anti-white discrimination are mostly bunk.

This week’s conversation spotlights North Carolina state Sen. Graig Meyer, a “pragmatic progressive” who represents the Chapel Hill area. He talked about how his background in social work and education led him to seek public office; how he seeks to be effective as a member of a legislative minority; and why he helped start a new North Carolina media company just a few years ago.

And in our arts and culture segment, we look at a Kentucky quilt show with a unique focus: the Black jockeys who won the country’s most famous horse race in the late 1800s, before the Jim Crow era forced them out of the Derby.

Show Notes:

U.S. Fortune 500 Corporate Governance Report

https://nationaldiversityconference.com/2023/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-diversity-first-top-50-companies-furtune-500-overview.pdf

Prevalence of Workplace Discrimination

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6612926

Texas anti-DEI bill

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB12

Georgia anti-DEI bill

https://georgiarecorder.com/briefs/georgia-senate-passes-ban-on-dei-in-schools-and-colleges-as-2025-session-winds-down

Louisiana anti-DEI bill

https://lailluminator.com/2025/05/20/needlessly-divisive-louisiana-advances-anti-dei-policy-despite-black-caucus-pushback

Tennessee anti-DEI bill