The anti-DEI agenda (2 Viewers)

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The cemetery website unpublished links to lists of notable graves, walking tours and other material about Black, Hispanic and women veterans.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

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

I hope the reason they were careful to take them down without damaging them was to preserve them for when they can put them back up were they rightfully belong.

 

[zztop]

Philadelphia sues after slavery exhibits were taken down from President's House site

The lawsuit says the National Park Service removed the displays referring to slavery "presumably pursuant to the mandate” of an executive order from President Donald Trump.

www.nbcnews.com

The city said in the suit that it learned Thursday that the educational panels that referred to slavery had been removed.

"Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history," Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said in a statement Thursday. "History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable. Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record."

 

[Optimus Prime]

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was being deliberately provocative when he released a memo on Martin Luther King Jr. Day stating he wouldn’t enforce or defend dozens of laws that mention race, the Florida House minority leader said Thursday.

“I think he did it, basically, to flaunt that he has the power and to do it to taunt Black and brown people in Florida,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, at a news conference Thursday.

“I think he did it to be inflammatory,” Driskell added, “and I think he did it, frankly, to try to get a big reaction.”

On Monday — a holiday for state workers — Uthmeier issued a news release announcing an opinion identifying more than 80 state laws that he wrote “promote and require racial discrimination on its face.”

“Therefore, I requested, and I am now giving, an official legal opinion in writing on a question of law relating to my official duties,” the opinion states.

The list of laws varies widely, from programs to recruit minority physicians to student scholarships and efforts to encourage minority-owned businesses to bid on government contracts.

Uthmeier, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, cites heavily from the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that race-based affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unlawful. The principles behind that decision apply to “race-based state action occurring in any context,” Uthmeier wrote.

He wrote that he would not defend or enforce “any of these discriminatory provisions.”............

Florida AG issues MLK Day memo to ‘taunt Black and brown people:’ Dems

James Uthmeier said he wouldn’t enforce laws that mention race.

www.tampabay.com

 

[camdudetenger2018]

ever since d lemon went to that church for that raid he just became a much bigger arch enemy to the trump right wingers and the right wing media universe than he ever was before

its like he is now in the top on the americas most wanted

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Department of Defense is putting Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, on notice and warning them to comply with President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion executive order or risk losing funding.

Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell warned the organization Monday in a lengthy X post that the clock was ticking for it to “rapidly” implement “common-sense, core values.” Parnell said financial assistance to programs, such as the National Jamboree celebration, was under review.

“For more than a decade now, Scouting America's leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEl and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances. This is unacceptable,” Parnell wrote.

Scouting America has evolved vastly since its inception as the Boy Scouts. They began allowing girls to join Cub Scouts, its program for younger children, in 2018 and then expanded its Boy Scout program in 2019, allowing girls to become Eagle Scouts.

The organization has become more welcoming toward transgender youth, openly gay members or adult leaders, and accepts members of all religions.…….

Pentagon threatens to pull support from Boy Scouts unless they restore ‘core values’

In November, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed opposition to Scouting America’s ‘attack on boy-friendly spaces’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal agency for protecting workers’ civil rights revealed Wednesday that it is investigating sportswear giant Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through its diversity policies.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disclosed the investigation in a motion filed in Missouri federal court demanding that Nike fully comply with a subpoena for information.

The EEOC sought the company’s criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data, and information about programs which allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities, according to court documents.

In a statement, Nike said the company has worked to cooperate with the EEOC and the subpoena “feels like a surprising and unusual escalation.”
“We have shared thousands of pages of information and detailed written responses to the EEOC’s inquiry and are in the process of providing additional information,” Nike said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.”

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has moved swiftly to target diversity and inclusion policies that she has long criticized as potentially discriminatory, tightly aligning the agency with one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities.

Nike appears to be the highest profile company the EEOC has targeted with a publicly confirmed, formal anti-DEI investigation. In November, the EEOC issued a similar subpoena against financial services provider Northwestern Mutual.

“When there are compelling indications, including corporate admissions in extensive public materials, that an employer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion-related programs may violate federal prohibitions against race discrimination or other forms of unlawful discrimination, the EEOC will take all necessary steps — including subpoena actions — to ensure the opportunity to fully and comprehensively investigate,” Lucas said in a statement.

The disclosure comes two months after Lucas posted a social media call-out urging white men to come forward if they have experienced race or sex discrimination at work.

The post urged eligible workers to reach out to the agency “as soon as possible” and referred users to the agency’s fact sheet on DEI-related discrimination.

The investigation against Nike, however, does not stem from any worker complaint against the company.

Rather, Lucas filed her own complaint in May 2024 through a more rarely used tool known as a commissioner’s charge, according to the court documents.

Her charge came just months after America First Legal, a conservative legal group founded by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, sent the EEOC a letter outlining complaints against Nike and urging the agency to file a commissioner’s charge………

Nike faces federal probe over allegations of 'DEI-related' discrimination against white workers

The federal agency for protecting workers’ civil rights revealed Wednesday that it is investigating sportswear giant Nike for allegedly discriminating against white employees through its diversity policies.

apnews.com

 

[zztop]

No women of color appointed to federal judgeships in Trump’s first year back

The Trump administration often equates race and gender diversity with professional incompetence.

19thnews.org

 

[Optimus Prime]

Back to blaming DEI
===============

Republicans in Tennessee have blamed “woke” policies for major power outages that have seen Nashville residents plunged into darkness amid recent winter storms.

“[Nashville Electric Service] was so focused on woke policies and DEI that it failed at its most basic responsibility: keeping the power on,” GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote on X. “Despite ample warning, its failure to adequately prepare left thousands in the dark – it’s time for new leadership at NES.”

In his own post, GOP Rep. Cameron Sexton wrote: “Nashville Electric Service’s lack of a strategic disaster relief plan, pro-tree canopy policy and being more concerned about a DEI contract renewal - all of which jeopardized public safety - requires executive management to be fired and the board to be replaced.”……….

Republicans blame ‘woke’ policies as Nashville residents fume about power outages

Power outages in Tennessee stretched into a second week following the ‘historic’ weather events

www.independent.co.uk

 

[SystemShock]

I could say that I don't get why no one relevant is attacking Patel, Rubio, Noem, and the like as DEI hires. I know I would... every time I speak of any of them, I'd preface their names with DEI hire so and so... just to create some division... pointing out things like the brown Indian immigrant taking the [white] "Murican FBI job...

... but I know the reason why... all DNC sings mezzo-soprano.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

I could say that I don't get why no one relevant is attacking Patel, Rubio, Noem, and the like as DEI hires. I know I would... every time I speak of any of them, I'd preface their names with DEI hire so and so... just to create some division... pointing out things like the brown Indian immigrant taking the [white] "Murican FBI job...

... but I know the reason why... all DNC sings mezzo-soprano.

Because it's just stupid!

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

Because it's just stupid!

SystemShock believes the stupid DEI stuff, so to him it's not stupid, even though it is in fact very stupid. Forrest Gump had a saying about stupid.

 

[Dragon]

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[LA 2 L.A.]

I guess by DEI, kid rock means a tremendous amount of Dividends, Equity and Income.

 

[longtime lurker]

Philadelphia sues after slavery exhibits were taken down from President's House site

The lawsuit says the National Park Service removed the displays referring to slavery "presumably pursuant to the mandate” of an executive order from President Donald Trump.

www.nbcnews.com

The city said in the suit that it learned Thursday that the educational panels that referred to slavery had been removed.

"Removing the exhibits is an effort to whitewash American history," Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said in a statement Thursday. "History cannot be erased simply because it is uncomfortable. Removing items from the President’s House merely changes the landscape, not the historical record."

Judge orders slavery exhibit to be restored at the Presidents House

After being removed by the National Parks Service last month, a judge has ruled a slavery exhibit to be restored to the Presidents House in Old City.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Goldman Sachs is removing race, gender and other diversity-related considerations when evaluating prospective candidates for its executive board after pressure from an activist shareholder group to remove the criteria.

The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a small Goldman shareholder, quietly submitted a request to the company last September asking the bank to eliminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) board criteria.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Goldman recently informed the group that it plans to remove the DEI criteria, and the two parties signed an agreement under which the NLPC would withdraw its proposal.


Goldman’s board is expected to approve the changes this month, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.

Currently, the board’s governance committee evaluates qualified candidates based primarily on four factors. One of those includes a broad description of diversity, such as viewpoints, background and military service, in addition to “other demographics”. That “other demographics” category reportedly included race, gender identity, ethnicity and sexual orientation, but would be removed under the proposed change.

Earlier this month, the NLPC announced it reached similar deals with American Express and John Deere to “eliminate DEI for Board candidates”. The group submitted shareholderproposals to 11 Fortune 500 companies, including Goldman, challenging their DEI initiatives.

Both Goldman and the NLPC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The shift follows other recent changes at the bank. Last year, Goldman scrapped a policy meant to encourage diversity on the boards of companies it takes public.

The move also reflects a broader pullback from DEI initiatives across corporate America since Donald Trump returned to office last January and launched a campaign against DEI practices in both the government and the private sector.……..

Goldman Sachs to drop race, gender and LGBTQ+ criteria from board evaluations

The move follows pressure from an activist shareholder group seeking end to DEI requirements

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration’s “war on woke” seems to have claimed its biggest victim in DEI. Not so long ago, diversity, equity and inclusion was the favorite term of Fortune 500 CEOs and the political elite.

More recently, it has been blamed for everything from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the deadly Los Angeles wildfiresto the crash between a regional jet and a helicopter in Washington DC.

“DEI means people DIE,” Elon Musk wrote last year.

Alongside culture-war attacks, DEI also became a legal liability after the US supreme court overturned affirmative action in higher education in 2023.

Some of the most powerful companies that once touted their DEI policies have backed away from them.

Webpages celebrating diversity have been taken down, teams dedicated to promoting diversity have dissipated and now there is seemingly no one left to defend DEI in its final days.

That’s where Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow, two law professors at New York University, are stepping in. Both are longtime experts in anti-discrimination law and have spent years consulting leaders on how to make their workplaces more inclusive.

In their new book, How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America, Yoshino and Glasgow argue that the project of equality is far from over – but it’s in desperate need of a survival plan.

Yoshino and Glasgow spoke to the Guardian recently about the new book and their hope that the essence of DEI can live past the political moment that killed it.

“DEI itself, as an acronym, is dead,” Yoshino said. “But the underlying value of equality isn’t. Not by a long shot.”

The authors outline several strategies for equality’s survival. One of the most important is understanding what advocates are actually fighting for and what they’re fighting against.

Opponents say that DEI leads to incompetence. People are hired or given opportunities not because they are qualified, they say, but because of their race or gender.

But the authors posit that reasoning ignores just how biased the hiring process can be. In 1970, before symphony orchestras used screens to hide a musician’s identity during auditions, only 5% of orchestra members were women. By 2016, that number jumped to 35%.

That increase didn’t come from the orchestras giving explicit preferences to women, but from the screens, which helped them remove bias from the process. Yoshino and Glasgow call this lifting versus levelling.……..

Beyond the social case for equality, there’s also a resounding business case for inclusion in the workplace as the US gets more diverse.

Research has shown the US will be a majority-minority country by 2040, a majority of college-educated workers are now women and 25% of gen Z identify as LGBTQ+, Glasgow noted.

“It’s really hard to imagine that your workplace, your organization or your community could achieve any of its mission if it wasn’t able to teach its people to work across differences,” he said. “That means the skills of diversity and inclusion are here to stay.”……

‘DEI is dead, equality isn’t’: experts chart path forward amid Trump’s culture war

Two law professors outline strategies for equality’s survival in a Trumpian post-DEI era in new book How Equality Wins

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Trump administration said Thursday its campaign to end diversity programs in higher education has led dozens of universities to cut ties with an organization known as The PhD Project, which helps racial minorities earn doctorate degrees.

The PhD Project was a little-known nonprofit group until it caught the attention of conservative strategists last year and became the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. The Republican administration says school diversity programs often exclude white and Asian American students.

The investigation, opened in March 2025, has resulted in 31 universities agreeing to end partnerships with the group, the department’s Office for Civil Rights said Thursday. Negotiations are continuing with 14 additional schools, it said.

The department said in its statement that The PhD Project “unlawfully limits eligibility based on the race of participants” and that institutions partnering with it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in education programs and activities that receive federal money.

“This is the Trump effect in action: institutions of higher education are agreeing to cut ties with discriminatory organizations, recommitting themselves to abiding by federal law, and restoring equality of opportunity on campuses across the nation,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.

Many of the schools promptly cut ties with The PhD Project after the investigation was opened, in order to avoid entanglements with the administration. It had undertaken the inquiries after warning schools they could lose federal money over “race-based preferences.”

The PhD Project is one of many nonprofits that helps underrepresented groups gain access to higher education.

“The PhD Project was founded with the goal of providing more role models in the front of business classrooms and this remains our goal today,” the organization said in a statement Thursday. The website says it has “helped more than 1,500 members earn their doctoral degree.”

The group of 31 colleges listed by the department included major public research universities such as Arizona State, Ohio State and the University of Michigan, along with prestigious private schools like Yale, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology............

White House pressure leads universities to cut ties with nonprofit that helps racial minorities

The Trump administration says that 31 universities have agreed to cut ties with a nonprofit that helps racial minorities earn doctorate degrees.

apnews.com