DNC committee member claims DEI ‘foundation’ of Christian church

A member of the Democratic National Committee defended the party’s proposed DEI resolution by claiming it was the principle that founded the Church, during the DNC’s annual summer meeting this week in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bill Owen, a former state senator from Knoxville, Tennessee, advocated before the DNC’s Resolutions Committee on Tuesday in favor of a resolution affirming diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as American values.

The resolution passed the committee unanimously, according to Fox News Digital.

“These are American values. This is what America was built on,” Owen said before the committee, drawing applause from those listening as he went on to scold conservative Christians and Republicans who oppose the ideology.

“And to my Republican friends and fellow citizens who profess to be active Christians, I remind them that DEI is the very foundation of the Christian Church.”

“I get a little emotional on this, but Jesus loves little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white,” he added.

DNC delegate: “DEI is the very foundation of the Christian church.”

*round of applause* pic.twitter.com/cTjSPbVqmN

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 26, 2025

The DNC has drawn scorn for opening its meeting Monday with a “land acknowledgement” from Lindy Sowmick, a member of the Saginaw Ojibwe Nation who serves as treasurer of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and identifies as an “indigenous queer woman.”

“In many ways, we still live in a system built to suppress indigenous peoples’ cultural and spiritual history,” she said.

“As Democrats, I ask of every one of you to not allow land acknowledgments like these to simply be the checking of a box — be curious, ask questions, ensure our native neighbors are heard and work in partnership with your indigenous communities,” she also told the DNC members.

“Honor the legacy of this land and its people by engaging today with each other with honesty, humility, respect and compassion.”

In 2012, Democrats removed mentions of God and Jerusalem from their party’s platform, marking a change from their platform in 2008. The crowd on the floor at the 2012 Democratic National Convention booed when the chairman called for a vote to put them back.

The Trump administration has targeted federal DEI initiatives through executive actions, especially during his second term, fulfilling a major promise of his 2024 presidential campaign.

Key measures have included closing federal DEI programs and offices and eliminating affirmative action requirements for federal contractors in favor of merit-based hiring, which has prompted companies such as Amazon and Walmart to scale back DEI initiatives, according to Forbes.

Trump’s demand for states to affirm compliance with scaling back DEI practices in schools or risk losing federal education funds prompted pushback from multiple Democrat-run states, including New York, Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also led a three-phase purge of DEI-related personnel and content, including the removal of materials from federal websites.