Latest news with #IdentityMonths
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
CO agencies under Department of Defense delete social posts of diversity, inclusion mentions
DENVER (KDVR) — Following a new memo sent by the U.S. Department of Defense to its agencies, a number of posts have disappeared from Colorado organizations' social media. Alongside them have appeared several posts addressing the social presence purge. They all say nearly the same thing, reading nearly the same as this Colorado National Guard post: 'In alignment with Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 5400.17 and recent Executive Orders issued by the President, the Colorado National Guard is reviewing and adjusting its social media content to ensure compliance with DoD policies and priorities. As a result, certain posts have been removed or are in the process of being removed or modified in accordance with federal guidance. The Colorado National Guard is committed to transparency, professionalism, and adherence to presidential orders and DoD directives.' Colorado National Guard The Pentagon's missive sent on Wednesday directs agencies to remove any mentions that 'promote diversity, equity and inclusion.' The blanket statement provided on social media acknowledging the removal of the content was also required to ensure clarity for anyone on the social media accounts or websites. Colorado politicians respond to heated Trump, Zelenskyy meeting in Oval Office The deadline to comply is March 5 — next Friday. If the DoD components are unable to remove all DEI content by March 5, they are tasked with prioritizing the posts made between Jan. 20, 2021, and Jan. 19 of this year. 'While DEI-related content outside of this date range must also be removed, articles, photos, and videos from the last four years are the immediate priority to align DoD communication with the current Administration,' the order states. The order also outlines what the Trump Administration considers DEI: Information that promotes programs, concepts or materials about critical race theory, gender ideology, and preferential treatment or quotas based upon sex, race or ethnicity Other DEI-related matters with respect to promotion and selection reform, advisory boards, councils and working groups Content counter to merit-based or color-blind policies, for which the DoD order gave examples of articles focusing on characteristics like race, ethnicity or sex Promotion of cultural awareness months as outlined in a Jan. 31 memorandum 'Identity Months Dead at DoD.' That January memorandum, sent by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, declared that DEI divides the force by putting one group ahead of another, which he said would 'threaten mission execution.' 'Installations, units, and offices are encouraged to celebrate the valor and success of military heroes of all races, genders, and backgrounds as we restore our warrior culture and ethos,' Hegseth wrote. 'We are proud of our warriors and their history, but we will focus on the character of their service instead of their immutable characteristics.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon Wants to Erase All Evidence of the ‘Woke' Biden Admin From Internet
So much for government efficiency. The Pentagon's top public affairs officially sent out a memo Thursday tasking a large number of service members and civilian workers with the tedious chore of scouring through scores of websites, social media posts, photos, news articles and even videos to remove any mentions of 'diversity, equity and inclusion' over the past few years. If that takes too long, employees were given permission to simply delete all evidence the Biden administration ever existed. According to a copy of the memo obtained by news organizations, if employees fail to purge all of the department's social media sites of so-called 'DEI' by March 5, they are ordered to 'temporarily remove from public display' any content published during the Biden administration's four years in office. Military services are already spread quite thin as they prepare for a massive downsizing under the Trump administration. Service members have spent the past few weeks rushing to identify probationary employees and others that it can cut—part of a government-wide initiative to cut costs and shrink the federal workforce. To add to the tall order currently facing remaining employees, they are working to determine how many civilian staff have opted to leave through a purported government-wide buyout offered by the Trump administration. It is unclear how many have opted to take the buyout, whether their departures have been approved, or if the buyouts will materialize at all. The latest social media directive comes just days after the department issued a different memo to the services reminding them to remain apolitical and focus on the 'the non-partisan execution of their duties.' 'Given the intense focus on recent changes within the department, maintaining the public trust is more important than ever,' the memo signed Feb. 19, by temporary undersecretary for personnel Darin Selnick and obtained by the Associated Press, read. The initiative to axe all of the military's past DEI content comes in part because of Trump's executive order to end the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The president himself, however, marked Black History Month at the White House with a reception featuring golf icon Tiger Woods. Adding to the irony, Trump's celebration of the 'cultural awareness month' would seemingly be barred for military members under a memo penned by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth titled 'Identity Months Dead at DOD.'
USA Today
09-02-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
How advocates are stepping up for Black History month as federal agencies scale back
How advocates are stepping up for Black History month as federal agencies scale back Show Caption Hide Caption Here's why Black History Month is celebrated in February Black History Month is celebrated in February to commemorate the rich history and achievements of African-Americans. unbranded - Newsworthy WASHINGTON ‒ With some Black History Month activities being scaled back by the federal government, history and education organizations are ramping up efforts to fill the void. 'We are stepping in to that gap,'' said Karsonya Wise Whitehead, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. "You don't wait to be celebrated. We celebrate ourselves.'' Wise Whitehead said she's been getting calls from concerned workers at state, local and federal governments since President Donald Trump issued several executive orders ending support for diversity and inclusion and the Department of Defense issued a memo declaring 'Identity Months Dead at DoD." 'When our history is under attack what do we do? We stand up and we fight back,'' said Wise Whitehead, also a professor of communications and African American Studies at Loyola University in Maryland. President Donald Trump made a point of saluting Black History Month and the contributions of some African Americans in a proclamation on Jan. 31, the eve of Black History Month. 'Throughout our history, black Americans have been among our country's most consequential leaders, shaping the cultural and political destiny of our Nation in profound ways,'' it read. Trump went on to name some American heroes, including abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and golfer Tiger Woods. Every president since Gerald Ford in 1976 has issued a proclamation recognizing Black History Month. Trump's read, 'This National Black History Month, as America prepares to enter a historic Golden Age, I want to extend my tremendous gratitude to black Americans for all they have done to bring us to this moment, and for the many future contributions they will make as we advance into a future of limitless possibility under my Administration." But a proclamation isn't enough, said Wise Whitehead. And she and others worry that even with Trump's proclamation, the administration set a damaging tone when he signed an executive order last month rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the government. "People need to stick with Black history, not just have it proclaimed, but actually sit with it, discuss it and think about its relevance and its importance today," Wise Whitehead said. Who should lead celebrations? Some Trump supporters have said singling out groups for identity months celebrations can be divisive. New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in the Jan. 31 memo that his staff could not use official resources, including their time, to host events related to cultural awareness months, including Black History Month, Women's History Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. "Efforts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution,'' the memo read. Zebulon Miletsky, an associate professor of Africana Studies at Stony Brook University, noted that some companies are already following the government's lead and cutting back on diversity initiatives and efforts, which could include such celebrations. 'That's the danger,'' he said. 'That could happen because even though it's not mandated by any law or executive order, that I'm aware of, companies like Target voluntarily chose to end their programs around diversity, equity and inclusion." Target was one of several companies to roll back its DEI initiatives after Trump signed an executive order banning them across federal agencies. Black History Month is simply too ingrained now to cancel, Miletsky said. 'And even if you write an executive order, you can't cancel the Black inventions, the patents ‒ the 1000s of patents that have been issued to Black inventors,'' he said. Constructive responses Advocacy organizations are stepping up efforts to share Black history in response. One group, called Teaching for Change, is providing free resources to teachers, including some books, to help with Black History Month lessons. "So many places are scrubbing language and telling people to be careful,'' said Deborah Menkart, executive director of Teaching for Change. 'Our response is, this is the time that young people need to know history and to study history. They learn also from how adults respond. And if they were to see adults starting to censor, to self censor, that's a lesson right in and of itself.' Organizations and institutions that have more resources must take the lead, Wise Whitehead said. The organization she leads, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, is leaning more into advocacy and aggressively getting the word out about Black history. It is using social media and its website to promote organizations, including federal agencies, hosting Black History Month events. Its also tapping its network to share more information. ASALH was founded by Carter G. Woodson, often called the father of Black History. Miletsky called it ironic that ASALH's theme for Black History Month this year is African Americans and Labor. 'We've got a whole month-long list of events in which we're going to be celebrating that concept and talking about that and here we have an example in real time of folks having pressure put on them ‒ federal workers in this case ‒ about what they can and cannot celebrate at work,'' said Miletsky, also a member of the association's executive board. More: Black History Month starts Saturday. Here's the history behind the month-long celebration Meanwhile, he said, some protests have worked, noting a reversal by the U.S. Air Force to exclude the Tuskegee Airmen, Black military pilots, from course instructions. 'There are ways to push back in a constructive and effective manner that produces real results,'' Miletsky said. 'We'll find a way' Several federal agencies have long celebrated Black History Month with presentations and keynote speakers. Charles Hicks, nicknamed 'Mr. Black History'' in Washington, D.C, remembered attending a Black History Month event in 2016 at the Department of Justice where his longtime friend, the late-Dorie Ladner, a veteran of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was the special guest. It was important, said Hicks, for staffers 'to see someone who had been on the front line" of the Civil Rights Movement, and for those who didn't know her or SNCC's work to learn more. It is not clear whether the Justice Department will hold a similar program this year or whether it was canceled because of the president's order. With or without Black History programs at federal agencies, those lessons will be taught, Hicks and other historians said. 'We'll find a way," said Hicks, who kicked off Jan. 31, a series of Black History activities in the region. 'Nobody is going to stop because the government said, 'You can't do it here.'" Hicks said many older people learned Black history before it was taught in schools. He pointed to Freedom Schools set up by civil rights activists, churches and other places in the communities where lessons were taught. More: Black churches in Florida buck DeSantis: 'Our churches will teach our own history.' Menkart and others said it's important to continue those programs, including in the workplace. Most people 'still have so much to learn about the history of this country,'' Menkart said. 'People need to have a deeper understanding of how that history is American history and until we come to grips with that history we really won't be able to move forward.''
Los Angeles Times
06-02-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
A cautious Rob Manfred says MLB's ‘values on diversity remain unchanged'
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Three days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said his league would remain committed to its diversity initiatives, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said his league would, too — albeit more cautiously. 'Our values on diversity remain unchanged, but another value that is pretty important to us is, we always try to comply with what the law is,' Manfred said Thursday at the MLB owners' meetings. 'There seems to be an evolution going on here. We're following that very carefully. When things get a little more settled, we'll examine each of our programs and make sure that, while the values remain the same, that we're also consistent with what the law requires.' President Trump's executive orders aimed at curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts apply to the federal government, not to a private business like MLB. 'The best I can do for you right now is, our values on the issues of diversity remain unchanged,' Manfred said. Trump's effort to limit government programs to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has compelled companies across America to take a stand on the issue, with Costco, Apple and Delta among the corporations retaining their DEI initiatives and Target, Amazon and McDonald's among those scaling back theirs. On Inauguration Day, Trump unveiled an executive order entitled 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,' in which he said 'federal employment practices … shall not under any circumstances consider DEI factors, goals, policies, mandates or requirements.' Last Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo entitled 'Identity Months Dead at DoD,' citing 'unity and purpose' as the reason to discontinue official celebrations of 'cultural awareness months,' including Black History Month. The next day, tweets from MLB, its players union and its clubs commemorated the start of Black History Month. Is Manfred happy with the results of the diversity programs he has championed? 'Some better than others,' he said Thursday. 'I think we have been successful in terms of the diversity of our fan base. … In terms of our player participation efforts, they have produced a different mix of players being drafted at the top of our draft. We see that as a positive. 'I think there are other job categories where we haven't been as successful as we would like to be.' In 2017, Manfred said baseball's diversity initiatives included a particular focus on the hiring of executives within the sport, not by mandating certain hires but by launching programs to attract diverse candidates to baseball at a young age and provide opportunities for development. 'I do believe there is something fundamentally American about the idea that the best guy should get the job,' Manfred told The Times then. 'I think it's very difficult to ask owners to do anything other than that. I think they have to do that, in a really competitive business. 'I think our job is to make sure you have a pool of candidates where there is a reasonable likelihood that the best guy is going to be a diverse candidate.' Goodell said Monday his league would remain committed to its diversity programs. 'We're not in this because it's a trend to get into or a trend to get out of,' Goodell told reporters at a Super Bowl news conference. 'Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League both on and off the field … We see how it's benefitted the National Football League. 'I think we'll continue those efforts. I think it's also clearly a reflection of our fan base and our communities and our players.' The Athletic later reported that, for the first time since 2021, neither of the Super Bowl end zone markings would feature the slogan 'End Racism.' The NFL instead plans to use 'Choose Love' in one end zone and 'It Takes All Of Us' in the other. Trump is expected to attend Sunday's Super Bowl.
