THE END OF DEI

 

The end of DEI. Shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, the CIA announced a “digital facelift” to increase diversity among its ranks. The rebrand included a new minimalist logo and this recruitment video, which features a female Hispanic CIA agent staring intensely into a camera. “I am a woman of color,” said the spook. “I am a mom; I am a cisgender millennial who has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. I am intersectional, but my existence is not a box-checking exercise.” What an era. And now it’s over. On Tuesday, President Trump signed Executive Order 14171, a sweeping document that aims to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in government. The work has already begun. Yesterday, the White House ordered that all federal employees working in DEI will be placed on paid administrative leave, effective immediately, as the Trump administration begins dismantling DEI-related offices and initiatives. The executive order also repeals a Johnson-era executive order that forces federal contractors to implement affirmative action policies. Many in the media are framing Trump’s move as a blow to racial equality and an undoing of the progress we made in the civil rights era. But in our lead story today, Coleman Hughes argues they have it back to front. As Coleman sees it, Trump’s dismantling of the federal government’s DEI apparatus “gets closer to the original intent of the civil rights movement than today’s DEI policies.” Coleman advocates for a color-blind America, including in a book published last year. He says that we will now see what federal enforcement of that approach looks like—and he suspects the country will be better for it. Read Coleman’s full article: “The End of DEI.”