How DEI, CRT and BLM Fixed the Grammys

The 67th Grammy Awards is a perfect analogy for the purpose of diversity, the power of protest and the importance of history.

Critical Race Theory: A movement that seeks to transform the relationship among race, racism and power. — “Critical Race Theory: An Introduction.”

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A set of values and related policies and practices focused on establishing a group culture of equitable and inclusive treatment and on attracting and retaining a diverse group of participants, including people who have historically been excluded or discriminated against. — Merriam-Webster, a dictionary.

If you wanted to see “how the fiction of race has been transformed into concrete racial inequities” – which is how critical race theory founding scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw defines the movement – look no further than the Grammy Awards.

Of the 11 fields recognized by the Recording Academy, classical is the only genre whose origin story does not begin with people of African descent. Gospel music evolved from negro spirituals (which is different from Christian hymns). Black Americans pioneered jazz. Sister Rosetta Tharpe invented the music that became known as rock & roll by combining blues and gospel. The R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry Field is unquestionably Black, which birthed the Pop & Dance/Electronic Music Field. The Latin, Global, African, Reggae & New Age Field is like the term “BIPOC” — it just means “music that is not white.”

Beyonce won her latest accolade in the Grammy’s Blackest field, Country & American Roots Music. Jimmie Rodgers, the “undisputed father of country music,” borrowed the blues traditions from Black railroad workers known as gandy dancers. The “father of bluegrass,” Bill Monroe, studied under Black fiddler and guitarist Arnold Shultz. Even the “West” part of the formerly named “country & western” genre came from Black musicians, including the “unofficial anthem of the West.”

In fact, before Kendrick Lamar released his first album, another music icon received a prestigious award for transforming the American soundscape. “For all the mystery, myth and misinformation surrounding the life and times of Hank Williams, one truth remains unchallenged,” wrote the Pulitzer Prize committee. “No one in the history of country music (perhaps in all of popular music) has so profoundly influenced those who followed.”

However, among actual country artists, there is no mystery regarding who taught Hank Williams the art form that “transformed country music into a major cultural force in American life.”

While the Recording Academy’s stated mission is to “recognize excellence in the recording arts and sciences, cultivate the well-being of the music community, and ensure that music remains an indelible part of our culture,” one doesn’t have to study CRT to understand why only four Black artists won a Grammy in one of the “Big Four” categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist) between 2012 and 2020. Despite dominating the Billboard music charts, only 11 Black artists have won Album of the Year in the Grammys’ 68-year history, mostly because the voting members were about 12% Black. According to a 2021 study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, 100% of the top executives at major music companies were white.

Simply put: Black people did not win Grammys because the academy was not diverse. Black creators had no equity, so they were not included.

During the so-called “2020 Black Lives Matter Protests” protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, The Weeknd called the Grammys “corrupt” for its lack of transparency. Tyler, the Creator also threw shade at music’s predominately white institution, calling his 2020 Best Rap Album nomination a “backhanded compliment.” In a letter not from the government, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D used one of the few Black terms that white people could understand, saying that the academy’s voting process “reeks of the same old jive.”

Because of the outcry by the people who built the $40 billion music industry, the Recording Academy followed the trend of many other white-owned businesses and instituted a diversity initiative.

“The board determined this action to be necessary in order to restore the confidence of the Recording Academy’s membership, repair Recording Academy employee morale, and allow the Recording Academy to focus on its mission of serving all music creators,” the academy said in a statement. “The Recording Academy Board of Trustees is committed to fostering a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace, music industry, and society.”

After Black artists spoke out, the number of Black members magically increased by 91%, Hispanic membership grew by 43%, and Asian-American/Pacific Islander membership increased by 100%. Before the hullabaloo, 20 people were tasked with choosing the nominees in the top categories. Today, the nominations come from a diverse group of 13,000 voting members. And, contrary to white people’s imaginary version of DEI, the first Black head of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason, is more qualified than his white predecessors. (To be fair, they weren’t all white men. Former chairs include a Turkish-American who was born in Istanbul when it was part of the Ottoman Empire, an Armenian-American who was born in Russia, and two white women).

Diversifying the awards didn’t just result in Black artists taking home three of the top four honors (Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter won Album of the Year while Kendrick Lamar took home Song of the Year and Record of the Year for “Not Like Us”); it made the ceremony better. When Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal won, the Tampa Bay, Fla., emcee not only became the third woman to win Best Rap Album, but the Grammys rewarded a good rapper for rapping well. The voters correctly acknowledged that “Not Like Us” was quite literally the song of the year (partly because Mustard was on the beat, heaux). Even white artists like Teddy Swims, Billie Eilish and Benson Boone represent a more inclusive swath of music with diverse audiences. Also, I think I am a Chappell Roan fan now.

This is how DEI works.

Some may criticize Black artists for seeking white validation, but in an industry as competitive and cutthroat as the music business, a Grammy Award can actually make a career. It’s why a songwriter like INK credits her work on Beyonce’s Grammy-nominated Rennaisance album for catapulting her songwriting career to another level. To Black America, Raphael Saadiq is a musical icon who is part of the culture. But Saadiq’s two Grammys came from songs that did not feature a Tony, a Toni or a single Toné. When people argue whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time, they don’t refer to the MVP trophies as “white validation.” Plus, who doesn’t want to be acknowledged by their peers?

More importantly, those white executives in the C-suite of those white labels aren’t responsible for the success of Black artists. Black culture did that. Kendrick Lamar wrote “Not Like Us,” Mustard produced it, and they released it directly to “the culture.” Universal Music Group is claiming credit for Record of the Year Grammy that it didn’t even distribute until it was already a hit.

So much for “merit.”

And none of this means that the Recording Academy’s white voters hated Black people for the first 67 years of its existence. Grammy voters aren’t required to listen to every song that was recorded in a given year. Music is subjective, and people nominate artists and songs from the music they like. When the electorate is disproportionately white, white artists who make music for white audiences are statistically more likely to win. But, by disenfranchising the people who built the institution, the Grammy's essentially protected a system that robbed Black artists of their power and self-determination.

This is how politics works.

Of course, there are some pro-white, anti-diversity white folks who don’t know things whining about the “woke” Grammys. Among the MAGA snowflake pearl clutchers are anti-vaxxer sports dude Clay Travis; terrible writer, failed politician and non-American MAGA supporter (who will hopefully be deported) Nick Adams; and a white man named Jacob.

To be fair, if the Recording Academy was really about diversity, the entire white race might win an award for Outstanding Caucasity by a Duo or Group.

This is how America works

The snowflakes crying about wokeness are really upset about losing the advantages built into the systems that historically benefited them. The same people denouncing Beyoncé’s win were lambasting Taylor Swift’s “leftist agenda” last year. They hate Chappell Roan’s sexuality, Garth Brooks’ beer choices and Billie Eilish’s stance on reproductive rights just as much as they love Kanye West’s MAGA hat. If they cared about country music, they’d love the Chicks, Lil Nas X and Shaboozey.

But even the harshest Caucasian critics don’t really hate DEI and CRT. If history teaches us anything, it’s that this country loves racial preferences. It’s white people who engineered this country’s relationship between racism and power. Then again, if America actually valued hard work, education and democracy …

Donald Trump wouldn’t be president.