Latest news with #CivilRightsActof1964
Boston Globe
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump administration says New York mascot ban violates civil rights law
The Education Department had opened a civil rights investigation into the ban shortly after Trump weighed in. The ban had set off a backlash in Massapequa, a middle-class hamlet on Long Island's South Shore about 40 miles from Manhattan. Most residents voted for Trump last November. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The school district has used the 'Chief' nickname and logo for decades. The mascot's image, an illustrated side profile of a Native American man wearing a feathered headdress, is plastered across Massapequa campuses, welcome signs, and football fields. Advertisement The Trump administration's finding came after a particularly speedy version of what are typically lengthy inquiries. The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights often takes months to identify violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits the recipients of federal funds from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. Such investigations seldom result in the loss of federal funds, and the Trump administration did not immediately threaten New York's bottom line. But the federal government has increasingly targeted public school and university ledgers. Advertisement The administration recently reached a deal with Maine to restore federal money for its public schools, after education officials initially moved to slash school aid because the state allows transgender athletes on girls' sports teams. New York was the state least reliant on federal funding for its public schools in 2022, according to the most recent nationwide data. Federal money accounts for less than 8 percent of the state's overall spending on public education. New York education officials described the mascot ban as part of an effort to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools. It came amid a broader national movement to eliminate logos and nicknames that Native American people may find disrespectful. Many local tribes support New York's policy, and had pushed for a statewide ban for more than two decades. But the federal Education Department decided that the policy amounted to discrimination. On Friday, Linda McMahon, the education secretary, traveled to Massapequa High School to speak with students, administrators, and Nassau County leaders, who said the mascot was meant to convey respect. McMahon said the department would demand that New York offer a formal apology to Massapequa, allow the district to maintain the Chief nickname, and permit other schools to choose their preferred mascots. She added that she was alarmed that New York would deny Massapequa the chance to celebrate its heritage, and accused the state of unfairly targeting Native American representation in education. 'This is a racist environment,' she said at a news conference at the high school, adding that if New York did not comply, her department would refer the case to the Justice Department 'because that's how serious we are.' Advertisement Trump has often promised to give control of education 'back to the states,' but McMahon said Friday that the government's intervention in Massapequa was warranted 'because this is incredibly important.' JP O'Hare, a spokesperson for the state Education Department, said that it was 'shocking, but not at all surprising, to see the secretary completely reverse course by inserting herself and the federal government into this local matter.' He called it 'troubling' that the nation's top education official would 'take time out of her schedule to disrupt student learning in the name of political theater.' 'The district claims that it seeks to honor the area's Native American past and its people, but has failed to get even the most basic facts right,' he added, noting that the mascot was a historically inaccurate representation of local tribes. The president had taken a special interest in the fight on Long Island, posting a photo on Instagram last month that showed him in the Oval Office holding a navy sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase 'Massapequa Chiefs.' McMahon said Trump had told her: 'I need you to look into this because I think this is wrong.' Some former members of the Education Department's investigative office have questioned the basis for the mascot inquiry. Michael Pillera, a former longtime senior attorney in the civil rights office who recently left the department, said the Trump administration has argued that it is acceptable to restrict the teaching of Black studies, while saying that a Native American mascot ban is impermissible because it removes representation of a minority group. 'It's really hard to see how the department believes those two separate ideas coexist,' he said. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Trump administration's big week of gaslighting and censorship
President Donald Trump has a well-deserved reputation for gaslighting, and several members of his Cabinet have taken great efforts to continue his willful duplicity. Over the course of the past week alone — in the name of academic, scientific and online 'freedom' — Trump and his administration's bigwigs have explicitly threatened free speech in at least a half-dozen different ways. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — who during the 2024 campaign frequently cosplayed as a free speech activist and a victim of censorship — said on a podcast Tuesday that he might bar government scientists from publishing in some of the most venerable and respected, peer-reviewed medical journals. 'They're all corrupt,' Kennedy claimed, citing the fact that they sometimes publish studies that are funded by pharmaceutical companies. Kennedy also said he'd like to create an in-house publication, a nifty way of controlling what government-employed scientists publish. Already, Dr. Kevin Hall, a nutrition scientist at the National Institutes of Health, resigned last month, citing censorship of his work 'because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency's leadership about ultra-processed food addiction.' In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon was asked about the administration's intent to cancel all federal grants to Harvard University — upwards of $9 billion in research funding. The secretary's reply was telling: 'Universities should continue to be able to do research as long as they're abiding by the laws and in sync, I think, with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish.' The free speech tourists of the Trump administration probably know this already — which is why it's fair to call it gaslighting — but it is not the mission of academic institutions to be 'in sync' with any presidential administration. They're supposed to be bastions of free thought and inquiry, and though many (especially Harvard) haven't kept to those principles in recent decades, it's hard to fathom how blackmailing colleges into ideological submission could possibly further anyone's rights to freedom of expression. Moreover, McMahon's justification for sanctions on Harvard — that the university violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by insufficiently policing antisemitism on its campus — is remarkable insincerity. For starters, just this week the administration promoted Kingsley Wilson — who posted multiple antisemitic conspiracy theories online last year — to Defense Department press secretary. On Thursday, Trump announced his nomination of former far-right podcast host Paul Ingrassia to lead the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Ingrassia, in 2023, advocated for conservatives to welcome 'dissident voices' like antisemitic white nationalist Nick Fuentes into the larger MAGA movement. And then there's the matter of President Trump's executive order earlier this month directing the federal government to stop using a key enforcement mechanism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump has threatened another lawsuit against CBS in his brazen attempt to shake down Paramount Global for millions of dollars to settle a bogus lawsuit over what he erroneously claims was a deceptively edited '60 Minutes' interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The president's harassment — and Paramount controlling shareholder Shari Redstone's apparent prioritization of getting federal approval for a business merger over journalistic integrity — have already led to the departures of '60 Minutes' long-time executive producer Bill Owens and CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon. Let's be very clear: Trump is threatening both costly litigation and government retaliation against a news organization over its interview with a political rival. That's censorship, plain and simple, because the threats themselves have widespread speech-chilling effects. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday offered a particularly bold stroke of free speech gaslighting, announcing in a post on X 'a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.' Basically, Secretary Rubio is threatening to ban anyone who enforces online content moderation laws and policies abroad that affect U.S. citizens. One former State Department official put a rhetorical question to Politico, 'If there's an American Nazi posting stuff in France and France is like, banning pro-Nazi stuff, is Rubio going to say that the owners of that French platform doing content moderation are barred from entry to the United States?' If that weren't enough free speech gaslighting, this is all happening as the U.S. detains and attempts to expel from the country foreign students for such offenses as writing op-eds critical of Israel for their college newspapers. 'Every time I find one of these lunatics I take away their visa,' Rubio said in March. On Wednesday the State Department issued a cable to embassies and consulates advising them to halt student visa interviews 'in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting.' And on Friday, the department announced it would be starting this program with Harvard. Even the lack of a public-facing social media presence would be used by the government as evidence against student applicants, as it 'may be reflective of evasiveness and call into question the applicant's credibility.' Put plainly, the Trump administration is going to scour international students' social media posts for potential thought crimes against America — or even a lack thereof — in the name of protecting American values. 'Free speech is essential to the American way of life — a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority,' Rubio posted Wednesday. Rhapsodizing about the glories of free speech out of one side of his mouth while threatening draconian censorship out of the other is a long-standing Trumpian tactic. And some of Trump's most senior deputies this week proved adept at matching their boss's deception and hypocrisy. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Education secretary says universities must follow the 1964 Civil Rights Act
May 28 (UPI) -- Federal funding could be withheld from U.S. universities that don't abide by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Wednesday. McMahon was interviewed by CNBC on Wednesday morning regarding President Donald Trump's call to withhold all federal funding to Harvard University, threatening to revoke its non-profit status for failing to protect Jewish students and halting its intake of international students. "When we looked at different aspects of what Harvard was doing relative to anti-Semitism on its campuses, they were not enforcing Title VI the way it should be," McMahon told CNBC. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance," according to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "If a recipient of federal assistance is found to have discriminated and voluntary compliance cannot be achieved, the federal agency providing the assistance should either initiate fund termination proceedings or refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate legal action," the DOJ says. McMahon said the Trump administration had conversations with Harvard President Alan Garber and anticipated more conversations, but the university filed a federal lawsuit against the administration. McMahon said it's important for the administration to "call attention" to what Harvard and other universities are doing Harvard has a $53 billion endowment that it has invested and draws annual returns of between 5% and 10%, she said. "That's billions of dollars," McMahon said, adding that Trump might consider increasing the endowment tax on universities. "That's something that the American public can wrap its head around," she said. "There are a lot of issues that we'd like to look at, and we'd like to continue to talk to Harvard." The CNBC interviewer asked McMahon if she agrees the federal government should vet international students by reviewing their social media posts, which the Trump administration has proposed. McMahon said she doesn't know the criteria that the State or Homeland Security departments are considering to vet international students seeking visas to study in the United States. "The president certainly has great concerns," she said. "There are foreign students who come to this country ... who help create this unrest," McMahon explained. "There are activists who come in," she continued. "There are professors that are hired and brought in who are teaching ideology more than they are subject matter." She said it's important to know what the backgrounds and ideologies of international students and professors might be prior to the arrival at college campuses in the United States As the interview opened, McMahon said universities "should continue to be able to do research as long as they're abiding by the laws and are in sync ... with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish, but primarily abiding by the laws. That comment drew strong rebukes from some media outlets. Gizmodo accused the Trump administration of continuing an "attack on higher education." Rolling Stone ran a headline claiming McMahon said Harvard needs to be in sync "with Trump's political goals" after the Trump administration cut off all contracts with Harvard. "The Trump administration is warning the nation's universities that their federal funding and research grants will only remain safe if the school is compliant with the goals of the Trump administration," Rolling Stone reported. The entertainment magazine accused the administration of attempting to "force Harvard -- and other prominent American universities -- to surrender their academic independence and accept government oversight in respect to their curriculums, staffing decisions and student body."
UPI
3 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Education secretary says universities must follow the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the nation's universities must abide by the Civil Rights Act and do a better job of vetting international student activists and professors who teach ideology instead of subject matter during a Wednesday morning interview with CNBC. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo May 28 (UPI) -- Federal funding could be withheld from U.S. universities that don't abide by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on Wednesday. McMahon was interviewed by CNBC on Wednesday morning regarding President Donald Trump's call to withhold all federal funding to Harvard University, threatening to revoke its non-profit status for failing to protect Jewish students and halting its intake of international students. "When we looked at different aspects of what Harvard was doing relative to anti-Semitism on its campuses, they were not enforcing Title VI the way it should be," McMahon told CNBC. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act "prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance," according to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "If a recipient of federal assistance is found to have discriminated and voluntary compliance cannot be achieved, the federal agency providing the assistance should either initiate fund termination proceedings or refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate legal action," the DOJ says. McMahon said the Trump administration had conversations with Harvard President Alan Garber and anticipated more conversations, but the university filed a federal lawsuit against the administration. McMahon said it's important for the administration to "call attention" to what Harvard and other universities are doing Harvard has a $53 billion endowment that it has invested and draws annual returns of between 5% and 10%, she said. "That's billions of dollars," McMahon said, adding that Trump might consider increasing the endowment tax on universities. "That's something that the American public can wrap its head around," she said. "There are a lot of issues that we'd like to look at, and we'd like to continue to talk to Harvard." The CNBC interviewer asked McMahon if she agrees the federal government should vet international students by reviewing their social media posts, which the Trump administration has proposed. McMahon said she doesn't know the criteria that the State or Homeland Security departments are considering to vet international students seeking visas to study in the United States. "The president certainly has great concerns," she said. "There are foreign students who come to this country ... who help create this unrest," McMahon explained. "There are activists who come in," she continued. "There are professors that are hired and brought in who are teaching ideology more than they are subject matter." She said it's important to know what the backgrounds and ideologies of international students and professors might be prior to the arrival at college campuses in the United States As the interview opened, McMahon said universities "should continue to be able to do research as long as they're abiding by the laws and are in sync ... with the administration and what the administration is trying to accomplish, but primarily abiding by the laws. That comment drew strong rebukes from some media outlets. Gizmodo accused the Trump administration of continuing an "attack on higher education." Rolling Stone ran a headline claiming McMahon said Harvard needs to be in sync "with Trump's political goals" after the Trump administration cut off all contracts with Harvard. "The Trump administration is warning the nation's universities that their federal funding and research grants will only remain safe if the school is compliant with the goals of the Trump administration," Rolling Stone reported. The entertainment magazine accused the administration of attempting to "force Harvard -- and other prominent American universities -- to surrender their academic independence and accept government oversight in respect to their curriculums, staffing decisions and student body."
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Laura Washington: Keep at it, mayor. Equity is the best tool you have against the White House.
Mayor Brandon Johnson is scrambling to beef up his Black bona fides. His moves have backfired. A cardinal rule of politics is that, if you lose your base, you're gone. Halfway through his first term, Johnson is laboring diligently to shore up his support among Black voters. That has put him crosswise with President Donald Trump. Johnson is bogged down by polls that show his popularity has plummeted. For example, a massive 79.9% of respondents disapproved of Johnson's performance in office, according to one survey of 700 likely Chicago voters taken in late February. Only 6.6% of voters viewed Johnson favorably, and about 12% of respondents said they had a neutral opinion of the mayor, according to the poll by M3 Strategies. Johnson's weak performance has brought out the knives. Two political organizations have vowed to fight the mayor and his progressive allies. Chicago Forward, a group of city business leaders, helped torpedo Johnson's prized Bring Chicago Home referendum. Its political consultant, Greg Goldner, told the Chicago Tribune that the group will continue to pound away at Johnson and his supporters. A 'dark money' group called Common Ground Collective has raised $10 million and is targeting aldermen who are close to the mayor, the Tribune reports. So, it's back to the base. Johnson won City Hall by besting opponent Paul Vallas in the 2023 mayoral runoff, taking every one of the city's African American wards. Now, Black voters are grumbling. They want more city services and social service programs directed to their neglected neighborhoods. They complain about the hundreds of millions of dollars the Johnson administration has plowed into supporting immigrants and refugees. They clamor for job and recreational opportunities for African American youths. Johnson is hitting Black churches, appearing regularly on Black radio and at events on the city's South and West sides to tout his record. On a recent Sunday, Johnson boasted about his hiring record at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. He listed African Americans he has tapped for top jobs in his administration. 'Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor, is a Black woman,' he declared. 'Department of Planning and Development is a Black woman. Infrastructure, deputy mayor, is a Black woman. Chief operations officer is a Black man. Budget director is a Black woman.' That unforced error blew up in his face. The U.S. Justice Department reacted by launching an investigation 'to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race,' in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a May 19 letter to Johnson, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote: 'Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race.' Johnson, Dhillon noted, 'highlight[ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration. You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race.' The Trump administration is on a crusade to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion in government, educational institutions and the corporate arena. 'We're not going to be intimidated by the tyranny that's coming from the federal government,' Johnson responded at a news conference. 'The diversity of our city is our strength.' He declared that 'we are going to show up for the Latino community. We're going to show up for Asian Americans. We're going to show up for Black folks in this city. We're going to show up for the LGBTQ+ community. Any group that has been marginalized and has suffered under tyranny and oppression, we're going to show up for them.' The racial makeup of the mayor's office staff is 34% Black, 24% Hispanic, 30% white and 7% Asian, according to data a mayoral spokesperson provided to the media. The latest census data shows that Chicago's population is 39% white, 29% Latino, 28% Black and 7% Asian. Of Trump, Johnson said, 'My administration reflects the country, reflects the city; his administration reflects the country club,' noting that Trump's Cabinet is overwhelmingly white. Our civil rights laws were not designed as racist tools to keep Trump in power. Five years, ago, we were all-in on fighting for racial equity in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd. America's racial awakening was in full swing. Now, we are in what the Chicago Defender has labeled the 'post-Floyd backslide.' DEI is under attack by Trump, who sees diversity as a dirty word, even a crime. Trump doesn't give a whit about fairness; he just wants to preserve and uphold white male dominance. For sure, Johnson erred by leaning heavily into his base at the church event, rather than his overall record of making equity a hallmark of his administration. No need to apologize for that. People of color everywhere despise Trump for his assault on our history, culture and achievements. Keep at it, mayor. The best political weapon you have against the White House is battling for equity. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
