Posts tagged with "white house"

Vanishing Words: The Trump Administration’s Language Ban and Its Implications

A recent New York Times report reveals a significant shift in language being used by the Trump administration. Hundreds of words, deemed “woke” initiatives, have been flagged for limitation or avoidance across federal agencies. This isn’t just about semantics; it’s a calculated move with profound implications for American culture, society, and education.

Need to Know:

  • Word Purge: Government documents show agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid, including terms related to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), gender identity, and climate change.
  • Website Changes: The New York Times found evidence of deletions or amendments of these flagged words on over 250 federal government websites.
  • Policy Reflection: This language shift reflects the administration’s priorities and its stance on issues like DEI, gender, and climate.
  • Executive Orders: The presence of certain terms can trigger reviews of grant proposals and contracts, potentially conflicting with Trump’s executive orders.

Key Takeaways:

  • Redefining Discourse: The administration is actively attempting to redefine the language used in official communications,
  •  shaping the national conversation.
  • Chilling Effect: This could create a chilling effect on discussions about critical topics like diversity, equality, and environmental issues.
  • Impact on Policy: Changes in language can lead to changes in policy and how government agencies operate.
  • Incomplete List: The list of flagged words is likely incomplete, suggesting a broader effort to control language across the government.

Implications:

  • American Culture: This language shift could further polarize American culture by limiting discussions on sensitive topics and potentially marginalizing certain groups. It could also impact how Americans understand and discuss issues related to identity, equality, and social justice.
  • Society: The changes could affect social programs and initiatives related to diversity, inclusion, and vulnerable populations. If these terms are avoided, it could lead to a decrease in funding or support for these initiatives. This could exacerbate existing inequalities and create further divisions within society.
  • Education System: The elimination of terms from school curricula could impact how students learn about important social issues. It could lead to a biased or incomplete education, potentially affecting students’ understanding of diversity, equality, and social justice. This could have long-term consequences for the next generation’s values and beliefs.

This deliberate reshaping of language is not just a change in vocabulary; it represents a shift in priorities and ideology. The implications of these “vanishing words” could have a lasting effect on American culture, society, and the education system for years to come.

Broken Promises: The Illusion of Corporate DEI

As President Trump launches attacks on DEI and other protected civil rights progress, the lack of Black representation in DEI leadership roles becomes a glaring contradiction, highlighting the disconnect between corporate promises and the reality of persistent inequality. This disparity not only undermines the credibility of DEI initiatives but also fuels the false narrative that these programs unfairly benefit certain groups over others. This discrepancy between words and actions erodes public trust in both corporate America and the government, raising serious questions about the sincerity of their commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Need to Know:

  • Following the 2020 protests after George Floyd’s murder, many companies pledged to increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts.
  • Despite these promises, a 2023 report found that only 4% of Chief Diversity Officer positions were held by Black people.
  • Experts suggest these DEI initiatives were performative, lacking genuine commitment and follow-through.
  • DEI roles often lack support and resources, and are sometimes filled by unqualified individuals.

The Harvard Business Review’s 2016 study found that diversity programs often fail due to companies’ neglect of data. The impact of bias or sensitivity training is often short-lived and can even trigger negative reactions. Mandatory diversity training for managers resulted in a decrease in Black, Latina, and women managers, while voluntary training led to better outcomes, particularly for Black men. The study also identified effective strategies for increasing diversity, including diversity task forces, diversity managers, self-managed teams, and targeted college recruiting.

Takeaways:

  • Performative Activism: The lack of Black representation in DEI leadership roles suggests many companies’ commitments were more about public image than actual change.
  • Unfulfilled Promises:  The disparity between companies’ pledges and the reality of DEI outcomes highlights a lack of accountability.
  • Structural Issues:  The challenges faced by DEI professionals, including lack of support and resources, reveal deeper structural issues within organizations.

Impact on DEIA, American Culture, and Society:

  • Erosion of Trust: The failure of companies to follow through on their DEI commitments erodes trust and fails on the promises of social responsibility.
  • Missed Opportunities:  The lack of genuine DEI efforts perpetuates existing inequalities and misses opportunities to create a more equitable and just society.
  • Continued Disadvantage:  Underrepresented groups, particularly Black Americans, continue to face systemic barriers and discrimination in the workplace.

The Way Forward:

  • Accountability and Transparency: Companies must be held accountable for their DEI promises and transparent about their progress.
  • Meaningful Change: DEI initiatives need to be more than just symbolic gestures; they must lead to meaningful changes in organizational culture and practices.
  • Investment in DEI: Companies need to invest in DEI roles, provide adequate support and resources, and ensure that these positions are filled by qualified individuals.

The lack of progress in DEI, despite public commitments, is a stark reminder that words alone are not enough.  Real change requires sustained effort, investment, and a genuine commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive society.

Recent DEI Changes and Events

The Trump Administration’s Legacy on Racial Justice:

  • The Trump administration pursued an agenda to roll back racial justice, as exemplified by the “1776 Report,” which demonized efforts to achieve racial equality.
  • They ordered federal agencies to cease trainings on systemic racism and banned trainings on race and gender discrimination for federal employees and contractors.
  • Trump’s rhetoric and policies vilified and neglected communities of color, including his handling of white supremacist groups.

The 2024 Trump Campaign and the Backlash Against Racial Justice:

  • The 2024 Trump campaign fulfilled its promise to eradicate DEI policies, furthering the backlash against racial justice efforts.
  • The anti-DEI backlash aims to dismantle civil rights gains and is supported by right-wing foundations, think tanks, and political operatives.

Three Strategies Trump Will Deploy to Reverse Course on Racial Equality:

  • Censoring Academic Discussions of Race and Human Rights: This includes cutting federal funding for schools with “divisive” curricula and eliminating DEI positions.
  • Abandoning Civil Rights Enforcement: This involves ceasing enforcement of civil rights laws and weakening protections against discrimination.
  • Marshalling Federal Power to Ramp Up Right-Wing Attacks on Equal Opportunity Initiatives: This includes targeting affirmative action policies and DEI programs.
  • Trump also blamed DEI initiatives after the recent Potomac River crash involving a military helicopter and a United Airlines plane with 67 passengers on board. This accusation followed Trump’s firing of the FAA administrator without naming a replacement, implementing a federal hiring freeze that reduced FAA staff including air traffic controllers, disbanded the aviation security advisory committee and firing the TSA director. Read Trump’s DEI Executive Order HERE

 “The Defense Intelligence Agency is working with the Department of Defense to fully implement all Executive Orders and Administrative guidance in a timely manner,” said Lt. Cmdr. Seth Clarke. 

The Push Back:

  • Civil rights organizations and democratic members of Congress are fighting back with litigation, legislative advocacy, and policy advocacy to resist a second Trump administration’s attacks on racial justice.
  • They will challenge unconstitutional classroom censorship, defend access to educational opportunities, and challenge rollbacks of federal anti-discrimination protections.
  • The groups say they will work to insulate state and local DEI policies from rolling back civil rights protections.

American Voices On Donald J. Trump

 

BY JEANETTE LENOIR

 

Anti-Trump protesters gathered at the White House in Washington, DC to drown out the president during his Republican National Convention acceptance speech.

A lonely Trump supporter at the White House speaking of his support of the president.

Protesters from Dallas, TX spoke up against Trump in front of the White House. The group traveled to Washington, DC to protest the president’s RNC acceptance speech and to attend the 2020 March on Washington. 

 

Dear White House “Resister”: A Response To The Anonymous NYT Op-Ed Writer

 

BY JEANETTE LENOIR

 

Here’s a perspective. Like Drake, I’m upset. The timing of this letter is suspect.

Never in the history of modern day America has a White House administration exhibited such disarray and dysfunction endangering the country and the world. The Trump administration isn’t just dysfunctional; it is downright dangerous.

And this anonymous “resister” wants it all; to not only eat the cake, but to throw it in the faces of the American people by way of being part of forcing one-sided legislation down our throats and help do the bidding for the most prosperous among us who don’t need more wealth in a country losing its middle class to poverty.

Pointing out the president’s “amorality” as the root of America’s problem is equivalent to telling us that water is wet. Was “grab them by the pussy” not enough to “resist” or help thwart his political advances? What about his long documented business practices of cheating hard-working people? Why speak out now when the world is watching us crumble within, fighting amongst ourselves, and showing us to be the fools destined to perish by not coming together like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned during the civil rights movement.

“I would know. I am one of them,” the anonymous “resister” boosts about the sabotaging of an American president as if he or she is a Marvel character in a super hero movie. Unfortunately, this is real life and the attempts to take away healthcare from the common man has real life consequences; giving “historic” tax cuts to the rich by taking more from the poor is the opposite of what a super hero would do; being silent when the president attacks minorities and shows support for racists is complicity in its true form; not writing sooner, you know, like when the president banned Muslims from entering the country, ripping Mexican and Latin American children from their desperate parents’ arms at our southern borders, calling Mexicans rapists, disrespecting the needs of those affected by Hurricane Maria, suggesting that black immigrants are less desirable in America because they come from “shit hole countries,” … I can go on but I think you get why I’m upset.

Your “dear America” letter is disrespect.

If your first duty is to this country, as you put it, why would you want Donald Trump to succeed in his efforts to “Make America Great Again” when all this campaign slogan embodies is a call to revive the atrocious history of a country still working to overcome it; a past that had black people in bondage and living as second class citizens in a country they built through slave labor. The extreme ideological platform you and your fellow “secret resisters” chose to build upon is exactly why America is in the pickle jar. From selecting Sen. Jeff Sessions to lead the Department of Justice despite the warnings of Coretta Scott King, putting Scott Pruitt in charge of protecting the environment when he’s only shown that it’s for sale to the highest polluter, looking to Betsy Devos to lead our nations education system despite her lack of experience or ability to even identity with people who attend public schools or live below the billion dollar income line; blatantly disrespecting long standing federal bidding practices by grossly handing out FEMA contracts to well connected friends with no business managing natural disasters, and handing out pardons like Mardi Gras beads…Thank God Joe Arpaio didn’t have to show us his man boobs.

The list of corrupt behavior is long. How many times has Jared Kushner changed his answers on his security clearance form? Against federal rules, Ivanka Trump’s clothing and jewelry line is being pimped out on television by top advisors like Kelly Anne Conway, and Fox News has turned into a propaganda machine for hate and intolerance, something the president and his enablers feed and supports. The entire family is benefitting financially from the blatant nepotism taking place and costing Americans millions in tax dollars. Let’s not forget, you “top advisors” blessed Kushner, a wealthy out of touch and inexperienced realtor, to be the savior of the Middle East while birthing peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

I’m upset; despite your letter full of regret.

You say the president shows no affinity for conservative ideas as if he hasn’t switched political parties before or shown the world his true colors. Just because you’ve enabled and made excuses for Trump along the way to this pile we’re now sitting on doesn’t mean majority Americans, decent and good hearted people, don’t see him exactly for who and what he is; a pathological liar and an all around terrible human being. Your house of cards is crumbling and like a rat you’re trying to jump a sinking ship. You may have changed your cloth but you’re still the being behind this new resister frock.

The same people that saw fit for then press secretary Sean Spicer demand the American people accept that their eyes were lying to them when he said Trump’s inauguration crowd was the biggest ever. Video and photographic evidence wasn’t enough to stop this perpetual lie; another attempt to cloud truth and blur the boundaries of right and wrong to appease Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States. And let’s not forget, Chief of Staff John Kelly has yet to apologize for lying about statements Rep. Frederica Wilson made about the president’s disastrous phone call with the wife of a fallen soldier and for insulting her using racially insensitive language.

Nonetheless, you want the American people to believe you all are the Space Force Avengers.

The disbelief of senior officials at the president’s words and actions is laughable considering Trump hasn’t changed since becoming president. He’s simply more powerful. And this is exactly what Trump’s base loves about him. “He’s not your typical politician” and “He speaks his mind” they excused no matter what Trump did or said. Even evangelicals found loopholes in their bibles to justify every sin Trump committed and turned a blind eye to every one of his hypocritical moves or ungodly behavior.

The adults in the room colluded with Russia to win an election and made Trump their messiah despite all the warnings and push back from the American people. And now, seeing a steady drop in his approval numbers, they want him returned to sender before the blue wave hits.  Ironically, the adults who stood silent while the president attacked the media as the “enemy of the American people” now turn to it for salvation.