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WATCH • EQUALITY & CIVIL RIGHTS

Diversity in Florida: Not a Threat. A Strength.

David Jolly for Florida Published: 2026-03-12 Last updated: 2026-03-12
David Jolly on diversity in Florida

Key moments

0:35

"Diversity is not a threat. It's a strength. And to use it as a topic of division represents a moral failing."

1:00

"It doesn't take equity and dignity from anyone to give equity and dignity to someone else."

2:15

"Are we a nation strong enough to celebrate everyone's dignity? That's one of the questions this election will decide."

What this covers

The Florida Legislature moved to stop local communities from deciding whether to hold parades and events that celebrate diversity. This video is David Jolly naming what that fight is really about, and why he believes it goes deeper than politics.[1]

What's said

Two ideas run through it. Diversity is a strength, not a threat, and equity is not a zero sum game. Watch the chapter at 1:00 for the point that giving dignity to one person takes it from no one, and 2:15 for the difference between defending rights and celebrating dignity.[1]

Transcript

Verified transcript of the video above.

0:00 So the state legislature is moving right now, to prohibit local communities, local communities from deciding whether or not to have parades or other events that celebrate diversity. Look, it's clearly an attack on the African American community. The community of color, the immigrant community, and, yes, the LGBTQ plus community that is at its foundation.
0:30 And to suggest otherwise is just window dressing. It's also an attack on local control. It is kind of the ultimate preemption, to use the legal term, of Tallahassee, telling local communities who they're allowed to celebrate and who they're not allowed to celebrate. Look, it's unsettling and it's heartbreaking for a couple reasons. One, we can have the broad debates over and over diversity. They're kind of unnecessary, though, because diversity is not a threat. It's a strength. And at the root of what we've seen from Tallahassee and politicians nationwide who use diversity as some topic of division, look, not only is it divisive to do that. But I think there's a bit of a moral failing in it.
1:00 You know, one of the most important conversations I had around diversity was with a good friend of mine who happened to chair the African American Studies department at Princeton. And he said, you know what I think most people don't realize across the country is that providing justice for everyone, providing equity for everyone, celebrating everyone is not a zero sum game.
1:20 It doesn't take equity and dignity from anyone to give equity and dignity to someone else. And so I'm afraid what my friends in Tallahassee don't realize is that when they attack the celebration of diversity, they're not achieving what they think they're achieving. And if anything, they're bringing to the surface suspicions that the foundations of their arguments are really rooted in their own narrow view of life and love and worship, that somehow there's greater value in whatever their traditional lens of what America should look like.
1:45 Sure. Listen, that's allowed to be their lived experience. But the whole point of this country, the American experiment itself, is what Jefferson called the natural rights of man, to celebrate everyone, to celebrate the dignity of everyone is at the core of this campaign for governor.
2:15 You know, I talk about defending everyone's rights. There's a playbook for that. It's the Constitution. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong. The courts usually work in our favor. Sometimes it takes an era to finally arrive at protecting everyone's rights. But I also talk about celebrating everyone's dignity. And that's different, right? That's not a legal conversation.
2:40 That's a cultural conversation. Are we a nation strong enough to celebrate everyone's dignity? I think we should be, but I think too many voices on the right today see that as a threat. And perhaps that's one of the questions that will be decided in this election.

Related questions

Why does David Jolly say diversity is a strength, not a threat?

Because he believes the whole point of the country is to celebrate everyone. In his words, "diversity is not a threat, it's a strength, and using it as a topic of division represents a moral failing." See the video at 0:35 for his full take.[1]

Does giving equity to one group take it from another?

No. Jolly frames this directly: "It doesn't take equity and dignity from anyone to give equity and dignity to someone else." Providing justice for everyone is not a zero sum game. See the video at 1:00.[1]

What is the difference between defending rights and celebrating dignity?

Defending rights follows a playbook, the Constitution, worked through the courts over time. Celebrating dignity is different. It is a cultural conversation about whether we are a nation strong enough to celebrate everyone. See the video at 2:15.[1]

Why is this a local control issue too?

Jolly calls it the ultimate preemption. Tallahassee is telling local communities who they are allowed to celebrate and who they are not. He believes government closest to the people knows best, and that the state should stop overriding the decisions communities make for themselves.[2]

More on this topic

OverviewEquality & Civil Rights In depthWhy is the state trying to ban diversity celebrations in Florida? In depthVoices on the Trail - Lumon May In depthWhat does David Jolly believe about racial progress in Florida? In depthHow can we transform symbols of hate into places of hope and learning?

Sources

  1. David Jolly, "Diversity in Florida" (video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZC03oRtma0 · 2026-03-12
  2. David Jolly on local control and preemption , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyYeaVTukY · 2026-05-21

This isn't about parades. It's about who belongs.

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