The anti-DEI agenda

[zztop]

I thought there was already a topic about DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) but I could not find it in search.
Anyway, it seems one of the main goals for republicans is to destroy anything (even if only vaguely) DEI related

The Anti-DEI Agenda Is Reprogramming America

President Trump’s anti-DEI playbook doesn’t just affect the makeup of America’s workplaces. It also impacts cultural production. Just ask Netflix’s former head of diversity.

www.wired.com

Arlington Cemetery website drops links for Black, Hispanic, and women veterans

The cemetery website unpublished links to lists of notable graves, walking tours and other material about Black, Hispanic and women veterans.

taskandpurpose.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

I do think a lot (possibly a majority) of Americans thought the left's push for DEI was going too far. Bill Maher mentions this a lot. It was a real feeling/sediment in the country. But no one asked for the whole program to be eliminated. No one but hardcore MAGA supports what the President is doing. They are dismantling what took years and years to accomplish in a few months. This will set "DEI" back for a decade. I'm not even sure why the administration is pushing so hard and so far related to DEI. Does he think this is what America wants? Or is it the white supremacist in him?

If you are an American that belongs to a "DEI group", all of this has to be seriously disheartening.

It's called racism and putting woman in their place. It's not really about DEI, it's the excuse to be full-on racists.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Summertime at the Upijata Scissor-Tail Swallow Arts Company, an artistic program located on Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, is usually bustling.

The arts community center, created to help combat high youth suicide rates on the reservation, would normally offer twice-a-week classes to enrolled students. Traditional artists – quilters or beadworkers – would be paid to teach interested participants.

It was all a part of Upijata’s mission to emotionally and economically support the vulnerable community, the poorest reservation in the US.

But this year Upijata will have to significantly reduce its programming. Classes will now only be held monthly. Instead of hosting 20 students for workshops, Upijata will only be able to accommodate six.

The cuts at Upijata come after a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) was rescinded last week.

The funding, the first time Upijata has received an NEA award since being founded in 2019, made up about half of the company’s budget.

Upijata is one of hundreds of groups facing severe budget deficits after the Trump administrationswiftly cut millions of dollars in NEA grants.

Now, arts organizations nationwide, such as Portland Center Stage and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, are scrambling to cover the shortfall.

Groups specifically catering to marginalized communities are also caught in the fallout.

“We’re [building] a community where we’re creating a sense of belonging to combat the suicide rates,” said Upijata’s executive director, Shannon Beshears.

“If we cannot be that sense of belonging, because we don’t have the consistency, the ability to impact our participants’ lives in a positive way decreases dramatically.”

An email sent out to grant recipients on 2 May said that the NEA would “focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President”, several outlets reported.

Recipients of rescinded grants were given only seven days to appeal the decision.

Several top officials at the NEA have since resignedfrom the agency following the grant terminations. The NEA did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.……

Arts groups for people of color steel themselves after Trump’s NEA cuts: ‘They poked the bear’

Trump’s slashing of millions in National Endowment for the Arts grants has most affected non-profits centering Black, brown and LGBTQ+ communities

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Trump has fired the first African American and first woman librarian at the Library of Congress . . . allegedly because in the "pursuit of DEI" she included inappropriate books for children. At the Library of Congress

God these people are so stupid

 

[superchuck500]

 

[Optimus Prime]

Home Depot has enraged its customers, sparking calls for a boycott, after it decided to quietly axe a section of its website championing the company's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The recently removed DEI page, which was live on the site as of March, read: “We strive to ensure that our company culture maintains a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment so that we can attract and retain the best employees, amplify their unique experiences and ideas, and strengthen the communities where we operate.”

The move follows President Donald Trump’s orders to axe DEI programs in the private and public sectors across the nation.

While supporters have celebrated Trump's orders, they have been criticized by advocacy groups who say they might deepen inequities and undo decades of progress made to enshrine civil rights protections for marginalized groups.

Since then, Home Depot has replaced its DEI page with a “WeAreTHD” page that omits any mention of “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” reports Retail Brew…….

Home Depot facing customer boycott after quietly rolling back DEI policy

Angered customers have taken to social media to voice their concerns about the secret attempt to remove any mention of DEI on the hardware store site

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

Classroom culture wars continue to fuel partisan debate throughout Virginia, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently took his veto pen to a bill that would've allowed students a choice to substitute World History 1 or World Geography with African American History or Advanced Placement African American Studies.

Under the bill, those classes — for the first time — could have counted toward a student's graduation requirements.

“No one was going to be required to offer these classes,” said Del. David Reid, a Democrat who represents part of Loudoun County. “It was simply going to be a choice for students and parents to be able to use these for graduation requirements instead of using World History 1 or World Geography."

Reid was the chief patron of the House bill that passed the General Assembly with some Republican support.

Reid said more than 30 school districts already offer these courses as electives, but right now they don't count toward a student's history or social studies graduation requirements.

The Governor made amendments to the bill that the General Assembly rejected. Youngkin ultimately shot it down with a veto, saying, “While I am supportive of expanding choices in what elective classes students may take to satisfy graduation requirements, we must ensure that classes that replace others are germane to the comprehensive goals of high school education standards.”

Reid said Youngkin's veto flies in the face of his first executive order, which calls for an honest representation of history.

“Right now in this anti-DEI Trump environment, he decided to forgo his stated goals from when he first got elected and instead be subservient to Trump," Reid said.

This is Youngkin's last year in the Governor's mansion, and Reid said he fully intends to reintroduce this bill next session with a new governor...........

Youngkin vetoes bill to count African American history courses toward graduation

Classroom culture wars continue to fuel partisan debate throughout Virginia, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently took his veto pen to a bill that would’ve allowed students a choice to substitute World History 1 or World Geography with African American History or Advanced Placement African American...

www.nbcwashington.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

The NFL will not conduct a previously scheduled session of its diversity program for minority head coaching candidates during next week’s quarterly meeting of team owners in the Minneapolis area.

The league said Tuesday it is revising the program, which provides minority general manager and coaching candidates with networking opportunities with owners and professional training sessions. It plans to resume what it called “the next iteration” of its accelerator program with a joint session next May for minority candidates for both head coaching and general manager positions, combining sessions that have been held separately. The NFL said next week’s session is not being held because it plans to take steps over the next year to improve the program and enhance its chances of success.

“This will allow us to reimagine the program, reflecting on the feedback and engaging with stakeholders so we can ensure a successful program in the future,” Dasha Smith, the NFL’s chief administrative officer, said in a statement. “We’re steadfast in our commitment to strengthen our talent pipeline and create an environment that reflects the diversity of our fan base. The NFL strives to be a unifying force, and we are confident the next evolution of our efforts will take us one step closer to that goal.”

The league conducted a general manager accelerator at the owners meeting in December in the Dallas area, Smith noted, followed this year by a three-day candidate development program at the NFL combine and its ninth annual women’s forum.

“We believe diversity of thought and background is essential to our success,” Smith said, “and it’s reflected in the policies, programs, and partnerships that help us attract, develop, and retain top talent at every level on and off the field. … Every offseason, we take a step back to reflect on the positives and areas for improvement of our programs and assess ways to make them more impactful. This year, we assessed and identified additional opportunities with the Accelerator — including combining the Coaching and Front Office programs to ensure the Accelerator continues to be as impactful as possible.”

The owners are scheduled to meet next Tuesday and Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota.

The NFL has reaffirmed its commitment to its diversity initiatives in recent months while President Donald Trump’s administration has targeted such hiring measures and the federal employees who were involved in them — and as some of the country’s most prominent businesses retreated from or reworked their diversity programs.

“I believe that our diversity efforts have led to making the NFL better,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in February in New Orleans at his annual news conference during Super Bowl week. “It’s attracted better talent. We think we’re better if we get different perspectives, people with different backgrounds, whether they’re women or men or people of color. We make ourselves stronger and we make ourselves better when we have that.”.............

NFL to ‘reimagine’ diversity program, cancels next week’s scheduled session​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/05/13/nfl-minority-coaching-diversity-program/#:~:text=NFL%20to%20%27reimagine%27%20diversity%20program,coaching%20and%20general%20manager%20candidates.

 

[Optimus Prime]

The NFL has decided to cancel the Accelerator program that would have taken place next week during the latest round of league meetings in Minneapolis, citing a need for improvements. The tool is meant to promote diversity hiring practices on the head coaching and front office levels.

Two people familiar with the situation confirmed a CBS Sports report that NFL officials decided the accelerator program is in need of a revamp to make it more effective. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the NFL.

Officials maintain that the cancellation will not spell the end of the NFL’s commitment to diversity. Instead, officials focused on strengthening efforts to ensure that people of color and women receive fair opportunities are going back to the drawing board. The hope is that the improved accelerator program will launch at the 2026 May meetings.

In a statement issued by the NFL, executive vice president and chief administrative officer Dasha Smith explained, “Every off-season, we take a step back to reflect on the positives and areas for improvement of our programs and assess ways to make them more impactful. This year, we assessed and identified additional opportunities with the Accelerator – including combining the coaching and front office programs to ensure the Accelerator continues to be as impactful as possible.

“We have decided to hold the next iteration of the Accelerator in May 2026. This will allow us to reimagine the program, reflecting on the feedback and engaging with stakeholders so we can ensure a successful program in the future. We’re steadfast in our commitment to strengthen our talent pipeline and create an environment that reflects the diversity of our fan base. The NFL strives to be a unifying force, and we are confident the next evolution of our efforts will take us one step closer to that goal.”

Beginning in 2022, the NFL began holding its accelerator program at the spring meetings. That session featured 60 potential candidates for head coach or general manager positions, along with representatives from ownership and top executive groups from all 32 NFL teams. A second session, more geared toward aspiring front office and football operations executives, took place in December 2022.

NFL officials — including executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent and executive vice president and chief administrative officer Dasha Smith — saw a need for the accelerator because NFL owners have continued to pass over highly qualified people of color when filling top vacancies. The trend persists despite the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minorities for open general manager, head coaching and coordinator positions. When questioned about a lack of diversity in hirings, NFL owners blamed limited talent pools or developmental pipelines for minority candidates..............

NFL to pause Accelerator program designed to promote diversity hiring practices

To date, only two accelerator alumni have managed to secure jobs thanks in part to the program.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republicans engaged in scrubbing the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion programs are fielding a historically diverse ticket in Virginia in one of the only states holding elections this year.

Those two things aren't inherently incompatible, and some experts say nominating diverse candidates could reinforce the argument that officeholders should be chosen on merit. But in the shadow of Washington, where President Donald Trump's push to stamp out DEI programs has caused turmoil at colleges, businesses and throughout the federal government, things have gotten complicated.

Conservative stalwart John Reid, a talk-radio host whose father was a Virginia delegate, is the first openly gay man to be a statewide nominee in Virginia. He was sailing toward the general election as the GOP's choice for lieutenant governor when Republican opposition research linked him to a blog featuring photographs of naked men, first reported by The Richmonder, an online news site............


In a party that nominated a president who said at his inauguration that he would not allow the government to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” experts say, Virginia’s candidates were already in a precarious position.

“They’re not really able to capitalize on it as an advantage, because it works against too much of what else the rhetoric is saying,” said political analyst Geoff Kabaservice, vice president of political studies at the center-right Niskanen Center.


Still, GOP candidates have engaged in those conversations. Reid said in a statement when he launched his campaign that he was not a diversity hire. In a March Facebook post, he wrote: “Diversity itself is not a strength. Common values and shared goals amongst diverse people is a strength.”

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, seeking reelection as the first Latino man and first-generation Cuban American to hold statewide office, has supported dismantling DEI programs.

And Earle-Sears connected DEI to slavery in a fundraising email first reported by Politico.

David Hopkins, a Boston College professor who studies voting behavior, said the strategy of distancing themselves from DEI, regardless of whether the idea is popular, made sense.

“There’s a political logic that says if you’re going to run against DEI programs and Democrats are saying: ‘Oh, you’re just playing to racism. You’re playing to prejudice,’ that actually nominating diverse candidates ... can be an especially powerful way to handle the issue."

Polls have shown growing frustration with Trump’s administration. Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has mostly focused on the wrong priorities as the right ones, according to a survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Another recent poll indicates that some disagree with his attacks on DEI, finding that people are more likely to support than oppose university services to help underrepresented students and courses that teach about racism.

The election was already going to be a challenge for Republicans in Virginia, which carries out statewide elections in the year following a presidential election. The commonwealth remains one of a dwindling number willing to elect leaders from both parties statewide. Its voters have often voted for a governor from the party opposite of the one in the Oval Office...........

Virginia GOP embraced a diverse ticket in this year's elections — then things got complicated

Conservative stalwart John Reid, the first openly gay man to be a statewide nominee in Virginia, has accused Gov. Glenn Youngkin's team of extortion.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

When he took office in January, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion in state government. Last week, he signed a bill making that order the law in his state.

“I pledged to root out DEI,” Morrisey said at a ceremonial bill signing. “Now I can report to you that we are following through with that promise and that's a wonderful reason to be here today. DEI is dead in the Mountain State.”

With President Donald Trump leading the charge, diversity initiatives have emerged as a new front in the nation’s culture wars. Now Republican-led states are joining the fight.

While most anti-DEI bills target higher education, 25 states from Louisiana to South Carolina are considering 101 measures that would limit DEI in state and local governments and other publicly funded institutions, according to Bill Kramer, vice president and counsel of state and local government relations firm MultiState.

In response, blue states are rolling out bills defending DEI.

“I definitely think state lawmakers have been emboldened by the actions on the federal level,” said Kramer, whose firm tracks legislation for hundreds of clients.

So far this year, nine states have enacted anti-DEI laws and nine more have passed a bill through at least one chamber. Just this week Iowa sent legislation barring DEI activities and offices to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature.

The aim of state legislation mirrors the president’s agenda, to throttle DEI across the public sector and increase pressure on the private sector.

In April, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican, signed a bill banning DEI offices, officers, policies or practices in local government.

“Governor Sanders was proud to sign this legislation because government should be focused on serving the people and saving taxpayer dollars, not wasting time and money on woke nonsense,” her spokesman Sam Dubke told USA TODAY in a statement.

Last week Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, signed an “unlawful discrimination” bill prohibiting public institutions from taking actions based on an individual’s identity such as race or religion. Braun signed an executive order in January banning DEI initiatives in state government.

For years diversity initiatives have come under fire in red states, either as “DEI” or “critical race theory.”

In 2022, those terms appeared for the first time in bills introduced in 12 states, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data compiled by bill-tracking firm Plural.

Dozens of bills targeting universities and state governments drafted by anti-DEI think tanks and foundations are part of a broader backlash against the DEI initiatives embraced after George Floyd’s 2020 murder to redress historic patterns of discrimination and exclusion in the workplace.

Critics like Russell Vought, and Stephen Miller – both now Trump officials – assailed diversity targets and other DEI strategies as an illegal form of discrimination that prioritizes race and gender over individual merit.

Trump seized on the wedge issue during his 2024 presidential campaign, vowing to defeat "anti-white" racism.

Just hours after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, Trump issued executive orders to dismantle DEI programs.

Wade Miller, senior adviser for the Center for Renewing America, applauded states for lining up to help Trump.

“We welcome all bills aimed at dismantling DEI,” said Miller, speaking for the conservative think tank Vought founded in January 2021.

The momentum of these bills in red states is unlikely to slow, according to Republican pollster Whit Ayres.

“The top four reasons people voted for Trump were to bring down inflation, juice the economy, stop illegal immigration and to get away from woke culture,” said Ayres, president of North Star Opinion Research.

Democrats warn the new wave of anti-DEI legislation could have sweeping implications for local and state government workers and the communities they serve.

“The best way to make sure that the government is working for all versus just the few is to have people working in government who understand the experiences of the people they are serving and who have the skills to be excellent in their jobs,” said Eliza Leighton, who advocates for DEI as executive director of Deliver the American Dream, part of the American Pride Rises network. “DEI work at the state level is ensuring those things.”

In Indiana, Senate Democrats condemned a new anti-DEI law as “a step backward” for diverse communities within the state who face discrimination.

"When we introduce legislation that claims that we want everyone to be treated equally, I love that. I have yet to meet a person on this Earth who said we should not treat people equally," said state Sen. Fady Qaddoura, a Democrat. "But what this legislation ignores is that people have different starting points in their lives."...........

'Root out DEI': Why red states are enlisting in Trump's war on 'woke'

A wave of new legislation targeting diversity, equity and inclusion is rolling through Republican-controlled statehouses. Here's why.

www.usatoday.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump seeks to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices on college campuses, a new poll suggests that while the concept of DEI is divisive, some of the initiatives being affected by his administration's guidance are less controversial.

The poll, conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found about 4 in 10 Americans “strongly” or “somewhat" favor DEI programs in colleges and universities, while about 3 in 10 oppose those initiatives and about 3 in 10 are neutral.

Support is higher for courses on racism and scholarships for students of color, among other services designed to help students from underrepresented groups.

The findings underscore that while “DEI” has become a politically toxic and unpopular term for many Americans, some components of DEI programs have much less opposition.

This is especially true among Republicans. While about 6 in 10 Republicans oppose DEI programs broadly, their opposition softens for many of their most common elements. Just under half of Republicans oppose courses that teach about racism. About one-third oppose scholarships for students from underrepresented groups. And roughly 3 in 10 oppose clubs and mentorship services for those students.

About 7 in 10 Democrats, by contrast, favor DEI programs on college campuses, with similar shares supporting courses that teach about racism and scholarships or extracurricular support services for students from underrepresented groups.

Some of this tension may stem from differing perspectives on what DEI means.

“I’m dead set against DEI,” says poll respondent Robert Ayala, an 81-year-old registered independent who leans Republican. His understanding of DEI is “giving someone a free ride” or hiring people based on their skin color, as opposed to their skill set.

But Ayala says he fully supports scholarships and mentoring to help disadvantaged students. Ayala, who has Mexican ancestry, grew up poor in rural South Dakota, faced prejudice as a child and lacked career direction. “If I was offered a scholarship or training or had somebody to guide me, I might have found my way faster,” says Ayala, who spent 22 years in the Navy, then went into contracting and is now retired near Palm Springs, California.

Trump, a Republican, has signed multiple executive orders to eliminate diversity practices in the federal government, private companies and in education, calling them “illegal” and “immoral.” He has threatened to cut federal funding to campuses that defy him. Some of his orders are being challenged in court.

On campuses, students of color say colleges responding to the new guidance have cut back scholarships, diversity offices and mentors that made them feel welcome on predominantly white campuses.

“Everybody should have the same opportunities as everybody else,” says Stanley Roberts, 61, a registered Republican near Knoxville, Tennessee. He is “somewhat” opposed to the idea of DEI and is “on the fence” about courses that teach about racism because he thinks dwelling on the past creates division. “What happened 200 years ago or 1,000 years ago shouldn’t have happened," he says, "but if everybody would quit talking about it, it would be a whole lot less of a problem.”

Americans are divided over DEI programs on college campuses, an AP-NORC poll finds

A new poll suggests that while the overall concept of diversity, equity and inclusion is divisive, some of the DEI initiatives being affected by the Trump administration’s policies are less controversial.

apnews.com

 

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FCC says it will not approve any deals with companies that have DEI policies.

FCC approves Verizon’s $20 billion merger after it commits to ‘ending’ DEI

The merger will help Verizon expand its fiber footprint.

www.theverge.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

FCC approves Verizon’s $20 billion merger after it commits to ‘ending’ DEI

The merger will help Verizon expand its fiber footprint.

www.theverge.com

This is whats its going to be in the future, blackmail right in the open.

 

[superchuck500]

 

[Optimus Prime]

I don't want DEI to become a political ideological hot potato but part of me wants the next democratic administration to do a complete 180

No DEI program? no government contracts

No DEI program? Extreme audit

And as cynical as it would be I want to see these corporations trip over themselves trying to reinstate their programs while issuing PR written empty statements and airing eye rolling commercials about how important and vital diversity is to (COMPANY NAME HERE) and its mission and community

 

[zztop]

Next up cox and charter

FCC Chair Brendan Carr is letting ISPs merge—as long as they end DEI programs

Verizon got FCC approval after ending DEI. Now Charter and Cox plan to merge.

arstechnica.com

 

[Dragon]

Sometimes the Trump administration’s crusade against DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) ends up backfiring in the most unexpected places—even on foreign asphalt.

Case in point: a recent situation here in Copenhagen. The U.S. Embassy’s lease on a city-owned parking lot was up for renewal. But in a move straight from the culture war playbook, the Ambassador reportedly demanded that the city remove all DEI initiatives from its parking and parks division before they’d consider signing again.

The city’s response? Cool, calm, and devastatingly Danish:
“Do you officially wish to cancel the lease? Please confirm—there’s a long list of companies waiting for those spaces.”

Now, to understand just how bold (or clueless) this demand was, you have to know that parking in central Copenhagen is not a given. It’s not because of traffic jams, but because the city is actively designed to discourage driving—prioritizing bikes, pedestrians, and world-class public transport. In other words: parking is rare, sacred ground.

Unsurprisingly, the U.S. Embassy dropped the demands and quietly renewed the lease. Lesson learned: in Copenhagen, there’s no room for parking or performative politics.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Kid Rock has hailed President Donald Trump as the “dragon slayer” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within the federal government and praised him for ushering “cancel culture” out of the national conversation while acknowledging that, sometimes, “a little spanking” can be necessary.

Speaking to Fox News Digital at his “Rock N Rodeo” event in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, the singer was asked about the state of the culture wars in the United States since Trump returned to the White House in January.

“I think wokeness and DEI and cancel culture is starting to exit the building, and we can thank President Trump for leading that charge once again,” he answered.

“I call him the dragon slayer in that regard, ’cuz he just came and slit the throat of DEI and wokeness.

“There’s always gonna be cancel culture at some level, somebody getting butt sore about this, wants to protest and not buy a product or whatever. You know, me personally, I’m not into seeing people lose their jobs over some corporate decision that was made.”

Drawing attention to his own role in the anti-woke pushback, notably joining the conservative boycott of Bud Light beer in 2023 after the brand featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in a commercial, Rock continued: “Sometimes there needs [to be] a little spanking there, like Bud Light had from me and some other people, but at the end of the day, we forgave them, said, ‘It’s all good. Let’s get back on track.’

“I do think it’s exiting the building right now, and hopefully it stays gone, but we should be a merit-based system. The best and [most] hardworking rises to the top.

“I don’t know how we got here, because to me, that’s just common sense, that’s just the ultimate, highest level of common sense that just the best and the hardest workers rise to the top. It doesn’t matter, anything else.”

A long-time supporter and Florida golf buddy of Trump, Rock was invited to sum up the president’s first four months back in the Oval Office.

“My thoughts on President Trump’s presidency? Greatest president ever. I can sum it up like that,” he responded............

Kid Rock applauds ‘dragon slayer’ Trump for ‘spanking’ DEI groups

Rapper applauds president for silencing cancel culture since returning to power but claims his own role in Bud Light boycott two years ago was a necessary anti-corporate protest

www.the-independent.com