Yet Another North Carolina City Spending on DEI
September 22, 2026
When you pay taxes, you’d like to think your money is going toward roads, police, and schools.
But in cities across North Carolina, taxpayer dollars are also funding government DEI departments, programs, and training.
Sharon Williams is the Director of the Equity and Inclusion Department for the City of Durham, North Carolina. She spoke on camera with an undercover Accuracy in Media investigator about the department’s work.
Williams explained that her department is “internally facing” and does not work directly with the public.
“We work with the departments to get them ready to do that. They do that. We don’t do that. We work with them, so we talk with them about equity, make sure they understand equity and they embed it into what they do, but we’re internally facing.”
Our investigator pressed for clarification.
“So it’s just focused on the employees? It’s not doing any outreach in the community?”
Williams confirmed that the department works with city employees and departments to incorporate its equity policies into their work.
The investigator then asked whether the department provides anti-racism or implicit-bias training for government employees.
Williams responded:
“It’s just for government employees.”
This is what we continue to find across North Carolina: more DEI staffers, more DEI programs, and more taxpayer-funded DEI training inside local governments.
And there has been a pushback.
After Accuracy in Media visited North Carolina, the state House of Representatives passed legislation imposing strict limits on government DEI programs, including fines of up to $10,000 per violation. The Senate has yet to act.
If you want to push back against taxpayer-funded DEI in North Carolina cities, visit SaveCarolinaCities.com and take action.