Given the "white" nature of the majority of nonprofit boards and particularly those whose customers are people of color and/or facing any number of challenges because of their socio-economic condition or "class", it makes sense to me that diversity, equity and inclusion training can go a long way toward improving the ability of the organization and thus its board in driving positive outcomes and change in society.
Meanwhile, the current Federal supposedly non-racist Administration, through its (no, now our) "Justice" Department has been conducting investigations and issuing mandates toward when DEI training is "appropriate" or otherwise. One such investigation is being conducted in Seattle and in the mynorthwest.com I found the following statement within a story on this topic:
I’m also on nonprofit boards and one of the boards I’m on put the whole board through and their staff through diversity equity and inclusion training. I will admit that at moments I felt a bit uncomfortable learning about the ways that whites can be racist and at the same time I learned a ton, and I feel better for the experience,” he said
“I feel like I’ve got a ways to go, having grown up in a largely white culture. But the path to enlightenment starts with a single step, right? It’s not gonna be one training, not by any means.”
I blanched a bit at the quoted individual citing they had been "put through" a training as it really is up to a board to determine what it will and will not do. In my opinion, these folks accepted the principal that the effort was worthy. Kudos to them anyway and kudos to all nonprofit boards that see the value of DEI development.