Trump Launches Attacks on Diversity Training: ‘A Malign Ideology’
On This Day In 2020
In the wake of civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd, Trump intensified his polarizing actions on race. OTDI 2020, he issued Executive Order 13950 which put strict limits on all government agencies—including their contractors and grantees—from providing simple training on racial or gender biases.
This sweeping order declared those programs to be “un-American propaganda sessions” that brainwashed participants into thinking that the U.S. is “inherently racist and evil.” The order itself was murky, with deep infringement on First Amendment protections. Trump’s actions were decried as a “political stunt,” with several lawsuits filed to overturn the order.
The impact was almost immediate. His Labor Department went after Microsoft for committing to promote more Black employees into leadership positions. When Princeton admitted its part in systemic racism, the Trump Administration opened up an investigation into its practices (not into their racist practices, only into their efforts to combat racist practices). Universities began to cancel events celebrating different heritages, such as Hispanic Heritage month, worried they’d lose federal grants.
Trump’s action prompted copycat laws in Red States, as well as attacks on libraries and school curricula that have had a lasting chilling effect on diversity knowledge throughout the country.
The Biden/Harris Administration, on their very first day in office, rescinded Trump’s executive order.
(How many Trumpian policies did they rescind on his first day in office, you ask? Twelve. Plus they issued five more executive orders which adjusted policies.)
Dive Deeper
Trump’s Executive Order, 9/22/20
The New York Times covers the story
The Biden/Harris reversal
Trump Attack on Diversity Training Has a Quick and Chilling Effect
The 17 Things Biden/Harris did on Day One