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Hundreds of demonstrators chanted \u201cwe are the people, we are the power\u201d on the Diag Thursday evening, as leaders of the Black Student Union<\/a> led a crowd of University of Michigan students and community members in protest against the University\u2019s recent elimination<\/a> of all diversity, equity and inclusion programs.<\/p>\n LSA senior Princess-J\u2019Maria Mboup, BSU speaker, was the first speaker of the rally. She condemned cutting DEI programs as a reversal of decades of progress<\/a> made by previous<\/a> Black activists hailing as far back as the Civil Rights Movement<\/a> of the 1960s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a quick regression back into the hostile, overtly white supremacist institution that (the University) was designed to be,\u201d Mboup said. \u201cThis university has undone decades of work centered around principles of diversity, equity and inclusion \u2014 principles that they\u2019ve claimed for almost a decade to hold as core values to the institution. They\u2019ve strategically taken down, all at once, the Office of DEI scholarships, programs and initiatives, including the campus-wide action item within DEI 2.0 that focused on enhancing Black student representation and experiences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mboup also expressed feeling betrayed by the University\u2019s decision after years of the administration claiming to support the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n