San Diego County's officials and its Democratic-led Board of Supervisors are facing backlash after an America 250 Fourth of July celebration was reshaped with DEI-focused sponsorship rules. The event, originally pitched as a tribute to the Declaration of Independence, now features a tribal blessing, a land acknowledgment, and nearly two hours of community-story segments centered on "historically underserved populations."
Bill Wells, the mayor of San Diego County's City of El Cajon, and other critics pointed out that America's founding appeared to be sidelined in tentative plans for the upcoming countywide Fourth of July event held along a San Diego-area waterfront. The event is lacking funds needed for a full setup, and at least one sponsor dropped out after it was mandated they attest to a series of DEI principles as a condition of participating.
The sponsor's pending $2,500 donation did not move forward after the donor declined to complete a required form mandating they show alignment with the county's values on DEI and support for immigrant communities. The county staff emails indicated that the event was short thousands of dollars needed for a full stage, lighting and sound setup.
Wells proposed an alternative plan: "Acknowledge America and its greatness. 2. Celebrate with fireworks and the American National Anthem." The current plan includes a "Tribal Intimate blessing welcoming to land," a "Welcoming and Land Acknowledgment," a "Tribal Invocation," the Black national anthem and regular national anthem, and nearly two hours of community-story segments focused on local tribal, Latino, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, LGBT, and Black and African communities.
David McIntosh, President of Club for Growth, described the event's official government July 4th itinerary as "the opening ceremony of the Democratic Socialists of America convention." Jim Desmond, a Republican San Diego County Supervisor, introduced an agenda item to bring forward a Fourth of July event "commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence," citing the area's "deep-rooted relationship to the nation’s defense and civic institutions."
Subsequently, the board introduced and passed a motion to amend, which directed the county’s chief administrative officer to coordinate with the Office of Equity and Racial Justice and the county’s Tribal Liaison to incorporate community engagement focused on tribal nations, immigrant communities, LGBT communities and other "historically underserved groups."
Independence Day, especially this one, is about celebrating and honoring America, according to Wells. "What the county of San Diego has created ignores this in favor of grievance and a sense that our country is not great or worthy of pride. That’s just offensive, especially in light of the fact that they’re using taxpayer money to do so."
Critics argue that the event's focus on DEI principles and "underserved populations" excludes White community members from the Fourth of July celebration. "Democrats are essentially excluding White community members from the Fourth of July," anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck contended.
