President Donald Trump has banned anti-racism training programs in the federal government, triggering outrage among advocates of critical race theory.
The moment: In a memo to federal agencies issued on Friday, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced Trump’s order to shut down the “divisive, anti-American” diversity training initiatives that have cost “millions of taxpayer dollars.”
- Tackling the notion of “white privilege”: “[E]mployees across the Executive Branch have been required to attend trainings where they are told that ‘virtually all White people contribute to racism’ or where they are required to say that they ‘benefit from racism,'” Vought said in the memo, citing press reports.
- Un-American: Vought said that while the federal government “can be proud” to employ people “of all races, ethnicities, and religions,” it “cannot accept our employees receiving training that seeks to undercut our core values as Americans and drive division within our workforce.”
What does Trump’s directive do?: While promising more detailed guidance in the future, the memo went outlined how the president plans to prevent federal agencies from using taxpayer dollars to fund the training sessions.
- The agencies have been instructed to identify “all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on ‘critical race theory,’ ‘white privilege,’ or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”
- They have also been directed to find ways to cancel such contracts or divert funds away from diversity training programs.
Some experts have found that diversity training is ineffective or even counter-productive.
- “A company is better off doing nothing than mandatory diversity training,” Alexandra Kalev, a sociologist at Tel Aviv University, declared in 2018 after conducting research on the topic with Frank Dobbin, a sociology professor at Harvard University.
The backlash: Still, liberal Twitter commentators, like “Jeopardy!” champion Alex Jacob, complained about the timing of Trump’s order, which comes amid nationwide racial justice protests.
Leading proponents of critical race theory — an ideology of racism most famously monetized by bestselling “White Fragility” author Robin DiAngelo — declared their worldview validated.
Ibram X. Kendi, a Boston University professor and author of bestsellers like “How to Be an Antiracist,” said it is no wonder “Trump’s America is getting sicker by the day—is dying.”
Valeisha Butterfield, the Recording Academy’s first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer, urged her colleagues in the field to stay strong.
POTUS replies: Trump responded bluntly when a reporter on Monday asked him about the directive ending racism training.
- “Yeah, I fired those people, they are all gone. It was a disgrace, frankly. And we are going to give you a big report that’s going to make you very happy,” he said during a White House press conference.
