Latest news with #RacialEquity
CTV News
28-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Emancipation Day event brings people together to reflect on history of Black communities
A gathering in Dartmouth, N.S., over the weekend brought community members, scholars, and leaders together to reflect on the significance of Emancipation Day, which falls on Aug. 1. The Dartmouth Heritage Museum hosted an 'Emancipation Day Social,' which featured a panel of guest speakers and open discussions about the legacy of slavery, the history of Black communities in Nova Scotia, and the ongoing fight for racial equity. Aug. 1, 1834, marks the day the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across the British Empire, formally ending slavery in most British colonies — including Canada. Among the speakers was Canadian Sen. Wanda Thomas Bernard, a longtime advocate for African Nova Scotian communities. She said Emancipation Day is not only a moment to honour the past, but also a call to action. 'What's really important at this juncture of our history is that we own all of our history,' she said. 'And when we own all of our history, it means owning the fact that some of our ancestors were enslaved. And it's also owning the fact that our ancestors were never compensated for that brutal enslavement.' Emancipation Day People gather at an Emancipation Day event in Dartmouth, N.S., on July 27, 2025. (Vanessa Wright/CTV Atlantic) Bernard added that events like these are key in bridging the past and present, especially for communities like North Preston, East Preston and Cherry Brook, which were founded by descendants of Black Loyalists and people who were enslaved. 'It's an opportunity for people to come together to talk about the history of the Preston Township, its relationship with the City of Dartmouth,' she said. 'It's a time for us to reflect on the past, but it's also time for us to sort of consider what are some of the things that are happening right now, and how do we best prepare for the future?' Organizers say this year's gathering was focused not only on commemoration, but also on ongoing conversations about systemic change, community empowerment, and reclaiming historical narratives that have long been left out. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's executive order blitz: What he's signed and what's changed
President Donald Trump signed at least 137 executive orders in his 100 days in the Oval Office, trouncing his predecessors' respective records on signed EOs in the same time period, dating back to at least President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trump signed 26 executive orders in his first day back in the Oval Office, and a total of 45 in his first 10 days. His 137 executive orders in his first 100 days is a benchmark that has not been met since at least Roosevelt, whose presidency began in 1933. Trump's executive order blitz has included rescinding dozens of policies implemented by the Biden administration, including cutting red tape surrounding the energy industry, striping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the fabric of the U.S. government and promoting the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Trump kicked off his executive order blitz on Jan. 20, his inauguration day, by focusing on rescinding Biden-era policies, as well as other orders such as ending the "weaponization" of the federal government, "restoring" free speech and designating certain cartels as terrorist organizations. Defunding Dei: Here's How The Trump Administration Has Undone Biden's Prized Programs Trump's Jan. 20 order called Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions revoked dozens of Biden-era policies, including Biden's 2021 order titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government; the 46th president's 2021 executive order called Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration; and Biden's 2022 executive order called Advancing Equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Individuals. Read On The Fox News App "The previous administration has embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government," reads Trump's order rescinding Biden's presidential actions. "The injection of 'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI) into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy. Orders to open the borders have endangered the American people and dissolved Federal, State, and local resources that should be used to benefit the American people. Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation." White House Opm Orders All Dei Offices To Begin Closing By End Of Day Wednesday Trump's second presidency has made education a top priority amid the flurry of executive orders across his first few months. Trump signed an executive order in March to dismantle the Department of Education and return oversight power of school systems to state leaders after years of the U.S. dragging behind other nations such as Finland and Japan in overall student performance. "Everybody knows it's right, and we have to get our children educated," Trump said while signing the order. "We're not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven't for a long time." Trump also signed an executive order in January that removes federal funding from K-12 schools that teach critical race theory and DEI curriculum. Trump Signs Education-focused Executive Orders On Ai, School Discipline, Accreditation, Foreign Gifts And More "In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics," reads the order called Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling. "In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed. These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity." Trump signed an executive order in February that prohibits schools and colleges that receive federal funds and are subject to Title IX from allowing men on women's sports teams and in women's locker rooms, and another in January expanding school choice. The Trump presidency established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January through an executive order that renamed the Obama-era United States Digital Service to the United States DOGE Service. DOGE has been a thorn in the side of Democrats since Musk, the office's public leader, and his teams began working through various federal agencies in the search of government overspending, mismanagement and corruption. DOGE has since saved an estimated $160 billion through cancellations of government contracts, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, asset sales and other cuts, according to the DOGE website. 'This Is Indoctrination, Not Education': Plaintiff In Scotus Case Slams Schools For Forcing Lgbtq+ Curriculum "He's an incredible … brilliant guy," Trump said of Musk this month. "He was a tremendous help both in the campaign and in what he's done with DOGE." Energy has also been a top priority for the Trump administration, with the president vowing to "unleash U.S. energy" that he said would lower prices for American consumers while bolstering the U.S. job market. Doge Slashes 'Wasteful' 'Problem-solving' Contract Worth $50K In Latest Round Of Eliminations Trump signed an executive order this month called Reinvigorating America's Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 14241 that will work to cut through red tape in the coal industry, including directing the National Energy Dominance Council to designate coal as a "mineral," end a current pause to coal leasing on federal lands, promote coal and coal technology exports and encourage the use of coal to power artificial intelligence initiatives. The order also instructs the Department of Justice to identify every "unconstitutional" state or local regulation that is "putting our coal miners out of business," according to Trump. "The value of untapped coal in our country is 100 times greater than the value of all the gold at Fort Knox, and we're going to unleash it and make America rich and powerful again under this order," Trump said Tuesday ahead of signing the order. "Pound for pound, coal is the single most reliable, durable, secure and powerful form of energy," Trump said. "It's cheap, incredibly efficient, high density, and it's almost indestructible. You could drop a bomb on it, and it's going to be there for you to use the next day, which you can't say with any other form of energy." He also made energy a top issue on his first day back in office, signing an executive order addressing Alaska's abundant natural resources, such as oil and timber. The order expanded and expedited the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in the Last Frontier State. Us Federal Agencies To 'Unleash' Coal Energy After Biden 'Stifled' It: 'Mine, Baby, Mine' "The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood," the Jan. 20 order reads. "Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation's economic and national security for generations to come. By developing these resources to the fullest extent possible, we can help deliver price relief for Americans, create high-quality jobs for our citizens, ameliorate our trade imbalances, augment the Nation's exercise of global energy dominance, and guard against foreign powers weaponizing energy supplies in theaters of geopolitical conflict." Following a spiraling immigration crisis under the Biden administration, Trump signed a handful of executive orders to lock down the border and end the crisis. Biden Blocks New Mining In Region That Produces About 40% Of Nation's Coal: 'It's A Disaster' In his first days in office, Trump signed a handful of immigration-focused executive orders, including directing the federal government to resume construction of the border wall; reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols, known as the Remain in Mexico policy; deploying U.S. troops to the border under U.S. Northern Command; designating international cartels and organizations, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump said ahead of taking office that he would move at "historic speed and strength" in just the first few days of his administration. Trump Signs Executive Order Ending Use Of Taxpayer Money To 'Incentivize Or Support' Illegal Immigration "Every radical and foolish executive order of the Biden administration will be repealed within hours of when I take the oath of office," Trump said in the lead-up to his inauguration. Trump will hold a rally in Michigan – the battleground state in which the Republican president has ended each of his three presidential campaigns – to celebrate his first 100 days in the Oval Office. The rally will be held in Macomb County on Tuesday article source: Trump's executive order blitz: What he's signed and what's changed
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This Riviera Beach board is suing Target for the DEI efforts it's already ending
It's not hard to find attacks these days on so-called DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion. But you wouldn't expect it coming from the city of Riviera Beach, which lists 'diversity' as one of the city's bedrock values. 'We celebrate diversity as a core tenant and fundamental aspect of government, and we look to be inclusionary in activities and programs in an effort to ensure everyone is equally part of the process,' the city's value statement reads. The government of Riviera Beach, which is 65 percent Black, reflects its minority-majority population. The mayor and four of the five city council members are Black. Five of the eight members of the executive staff of the police department, including the chief and assistant chief, are Black. The city manager is Black. The assistant fire chief is Black. So, it was a bit of a shocker to read that the lead plaintiff in a newly filed federal lawsuit that a New York law firm is trying to cultivate against Target for the economic consequences of that retailer's DEI policies is a city board in Riviera Beach. The City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund v. Target contends that the investments of the pension fund, in which a small share was Target stock, suffered because of the national backlash to the retailer's DEI policies. In the lawsuit, the pension board, which is chaired by a Black motorcycle officer working for the city's police department, paints itself as a victim of Target's diversity initiatives, which are characterized as a 'misuse of investor funds to serve political and social goals.' Speaking of social goals, the city's police department notes that qualified applicants can request affirmative-action hiring. 'The Riviera Beach Police Department values diversity and strives to be inclusive in its activities and programs,' the department's online site reads. 'The RBPD also has a community-oriented policing program that emphasizes diversity in representation.' So Riviera Beach city officials, including its police officers, know a thing or two about the advantages of diversity, equity and inclusion. Target's diversity initiatives grew from the 2020 police-custody homicide of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the corporate home of Target. Floyd's death and the subsequent civil rights protests it generated became the impetus for wide-ranging diversity initiatives at the company. Target pledged to grow its Black workforce by 20 percent, and establish a Racial Equity Action and Change committee to 'focus specifically on how we can drive lasting impact' for Black employees and customers. Target also announced it would spend more than $2 billion in buying more products from Black-owned vendors, while pledging millions more to support Black-led nonprofits and scholarships to Black students at historically Black colleges and universities. The company also pledged to do more to support women, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities. Target's CEO Brian Cornell characterized these wide-ranging initiatives as good business moves that would grow the company. 'The things we've done from a DE&I standpoint — it's adding value, it's helping us drive sales, it's building greater engagement with both our teams and our guests. And those are just the right things for our business today,' he said at the time. But the political right painted a sinister portrait of DEI as the central evil of a 'woke' ideology that constituted reverse-discrimination against straight white men. And Target became a focal point in the evolving culture war. Whipped up by this frenzy, incidents occurred when members of the public stormed the stores, vandalized merchandise and threatened employees during Target's LGBT-Pride campaign in the spring of 2023. The lawsuit filed by the Riviera Beach Police Fund contends that Target failed to warn its investors that its diversity initiatives could reduce the value of its stock. And that the failure to warn the investors constitutes civil fraud, the lawsuit contends. 'As the truth of the negative effect of these campaigns came to light, Target suffered tens of billions of losses in its market capitalization from May 2023 through present,' the lawsuit contends. An addendum to the lawsuit shows that the Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund bought about a thousand shares of Target stock in the fall of 2022 at $156.21 and $164.68 per share, and then sold them the following year for $133.54 per share. Opinion: Yes, Disney trips can be educational for students, even if you don't get it That's a loss of 14.5 to 19 percent. This stock represented a sliver of the pension fund's investments, which require that no more than 5 percent of the fund can be invested in any one stock. Rand Hoch, the founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, called Riviera Beach's involvement in this lawsuit 'insane.' 'I'm shocked that they would be involved with an action that is totally against what Riviera Beach has stood for for so long,' Hoch said. 'It's embarrassing.' Opinion: Gov. DeSantis keeps Florida in the dark by obstructing government transparency The Riviera Beach police pension board is the only listed plaintiff in the suit, which was filed by Grant & Eisenhofer, a New York based firm that calls itself 'a global leader in complex, high-stakes plaintiff advocacy.' The lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Florida, a federal jurisdiction that doesn't include Riviera Beach. The law firm is advertising for more lead plaintiffs to join the lawsuit by the April 1 deadline in hopes of making it a class-action case. Michael Brown is the officer who chairs the Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund, and the person who authorized the fund's participation in the suit. Brown declined to talk about the suit and how Riviera Beach got involved in it. He referred questions to the board's Miami attorney, Pedro Herrera. Herrera referred questions to a lawyer in Philadelphia, Marc Weinberg, who didn't return a call for comment. The mayor, the police chief, and all five city council members all failed to respond to questions about their prior knowledge of the lawsuit. As for Target, the company announced last month that it was ending most of its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts due to 'the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape.' This capitulation to DEI critics prompted some civil rights groups to call for a boycott of Target. Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today network. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Target DEI lawsuit finds an ally in Riviera Beach | Opinion
