Trump’s Executive Order which Limited Diversity Training Has Not Been Forgotten

When President Biden took office, he eliminated the Trump-era executive order banning “divisive concepts” in federally funded diversity training. Now Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country are seeking to implement their own bans against teaching concepts surrounding diversity and anti-racism, which is being defined as critical race theory. States are introducing bills modeled after Trump’s reversed Executive Order (EO) 13950 in which teaching that “one race or sex is inherently superior to one another,” and that “an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously” should not be conducted in schools and training in state and local government entities. Some of these bills are pending approval, while others are moving swiftly through the legislature. 

In Oklahoma and Idaho, bills banning colleges and universities from mandating diversity training and forbidding critical race theory from being taught in K-12 schools have been signed into law. Alongside, Arkansas passed SB 627,which prohibits agencies from teaching employees, contractors, or any other group, “divisive concepts” during racial and cultural sensitivity trainings. Other legislatures, like Iowa, Tennessee, Louisiana, and more recently, Texas, are aiming to pass similar bills. 

On May 12, 2021, a group of House Republicans took a step further to limit the conversation surrounding diversity by announcing a pair of federal bills, the Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act and the Stop CRT Act, to prohibit diversity training in the military and federal agencies. The trend for conservative leaders to criticize critical race theory came after Trump ordered the Office Management and Budget to stop funding diversity training in September of 2020 and in the wake of educators using the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 New York Times “1619 Project” to teach a more comprehensive history of inequality in the United States. 

When Executive Order (EO) 13950 came into effect, AAAED quickly called out its damaging effects to stall the nation’s movement towards diversity and inclusion and joined the lawsuit to fight against the order in National Urban League, et al. v. Trump. Although the order has since been rescinded, it’s left behind a blueprint for states to follow. Their rampant effort to reinforce the order is alarming as these conversations are expanding to a federal level. If more bills modeled after Trump’s order are introduced and passed, it will threaten all the progress the country has made towards advancing the conversation surrounding diversity and inclusion. 

American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity Commends President Biden on Revoking EO 13950 and Advancing a Comprehensive Equity Agenda

Organization of Equal Opportunity Professionals Sought an End to This Unconstitutional Order on Race and Gender Stereotyping

 

Washington, DC, January 21, 2021 – The American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED), an association of equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity professionals, commended the swift action taken by President Joe Biden on January 20th, the day of his inauguration, to revoke Executive Order 13950 (EO) on Combating Race and Gender Stereotyping. The revocation was part of Biden’s new Order “On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

Order 13950, signed by President Trump on September 22, 2020, required contractors, subcontractors, vendors, and, arguably, grantees to censor any use of language that falls within its highly vague definitions of “divisive concepts,” “race or sex stereotyping,” and “race or sex scapegoating.” AAAED issued a statement in opposition to EO 13950 on September 29, 2020 after the President's Order was issued. The Association wrote, "This Order flies in the face of the First Amendment and burdens Federal agencies with the role of a content review board." AAAED also joined the National Urban League and the National Fair Housing Alliance in contesting the constitutionality of the Trump order in federal court.

In meetings with the Biden Transition teams, AAAED called on the incoming Administration to immediately rescind the Order.

President Biden’s order not only revokes EO 13950, it mandates actions to actively promote diversity. In Section 1 of the Order, it reads: “Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism.” The Order calls for a government-wide equity agenda to address the challenges that the nation faces. It further calls on federal agencies to identify and address the barriers to equal opportunity that their programs may present.

Dr. Richard Baker, president of AAAED, stated, "We applaud the Biden Administration for articulating unequivocally the need for our government to embrace its role in identifying the roadblocks to equity and inclusion, including systemic racism and the more subtle obstacles that have a disparate impact on disadvantaged minorities and other groups. We commend the President for seeking a holistic strategy to remove these barriers to equal opportunity in federal programs.”

"In our collective fight for equal justice and against systems of discrimination, we all must do what we can to make sure that we are able to learn and work in environments that are free from bigotry and bias," added Dr. Baker. "We look forward to working with President Biden, Vice President Harris and members of the administration to implement this important order,” he stated.

For a copy of AAAED's Statement on EO 13950, click here:

https://files.constantcontact.com/ebf58109001/964ac7dd-8922-437f-b138-ee9f4db3ddbf.pdf

For more information about AAAED, go to: www.aaaed.org 

To join AAAED, click here:

https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/Join_Us.asp

Founded in 1974 as the American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), AAAED is a national not-for-profit association of professionals working in the areas of equal opportunity, compliance and diversity. The longest-serving representative of individuals in the equal opportunity and diversity professions, AAAED has 46 years of leadership providing quality professional training to practitioners and promoting understanding and advocacy of affirmative action and other equal opportunity laws. Nearly one-half of its membership is composed of EEO professionals working for academic institutions.

1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20006 • Phone: 866-562-2233 202-349-9855, • Fax: 202-355-1399 • execdir@aaaed.org • www.aaaed.org