By Mary Alice Miller
When Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General CQ Brown, Jr., the second-ever African American to serve in that position, on Feb. 21, it became obvious that Trump believed racial stereotypes that despite their accomplishments, Black people and other underrepresented groups are inherently unqualified and lack merit.
Apparently, Trump also believes that any preferential policies and programs that promote diversity for historically marginalized groups are reverse discrimination against white people.
In his Address to Congress on March 4, Trump asserted his derision of what he characterized as ‘woke’ DEIA policies.
Complicating matters, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Feb. 26 in a case where a heterosexual white woman claimed workplace discrimination from homosexual co-workers.
There are numerous lawsuits challenging Trump’s anti-Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessiblity (DEIA) executive orders, raising arguments about fairness, opportunity, inclusion and the proper role of government in addressing historical and current inequities.
Consumers have come to expect corporate social responsibility and consider corporate diversity practices when making their purchasing decisions.
The NAACP issued a Black Consumer Advisory that urges consumers to refrain from shopping at retailers that have eschewed their own DEIA policies.
“We encourage you to spend your money where you’re respected, support Black-owned businesses, and demand businesses prioritize people over profit,” said the NAACP in a statement on its Black Consumer Advisory web page. “Above all, we must continue to advocate for policies that ensure people of color, women, veterans, those with a disability, and all protected groups have equal access to opportunities across the country.”
The NAACP urges Congress, state legislatures, and federal and state policymakers to allocate resources and prioritize funding for DEI programs to help ensure equitable access and opportunities for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
A grassroots social media campaign from the People’s Union USA called for an ‘economic blackout’ on Feb. 28, during which consumers were asked to spend zero for 24 hours to raise awareness about retailers that are stepping back from their DEI policies.
Target incurred the wrath of its consumers when it announced it would drop its $2 billion commitment to supplier diversity made in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. The consumer backlash led Target’s stock to plummet $12.4 billion in market value on economic blackout day, Feb. 28.
However, consumers are not finished with Target.
TargetFast.org hosted a town hall at Brooklyn’s Antioch Baptist Church this week, calling on consumers to cease shopping at the retailer and divest from its stock holdings.
TargetFast is a national action calling for 40 days of economic fasting during this Lent season. “The economy is moved through people of color, and if black people remove our money, it creates a change in the economy,” said Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman.
We affect the economy because we spend a disproportionate amount of our income. TargetFast is equivalent to the Montgomery bus boycott, in which Black people removed their money to make change.”
“Target put the bullseye on themselves,” added Waterman, referring to Target’s logo.
Overall, analysis of the Feb. 28 economic blackout from Similarweb, a digital marketing intelligence company, found that web traffic was down 6% at the top 100 e-commerce sites, including varying drops in online spending at Walmart and Amazon, while Costco saw an increase. Foot traffic was down at Target, Walmart, and Starbucks.
There are more consumer boycott actions in the works against other retailers that have backed away from their DEI policies.
On January 19, the first day of his second term in office, Trump signed Executive Order 14151 called ‘Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.’ Two days later, Trump issued Executive Order 12173, ‘Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity’. These executive orders ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the federal government and the private workplace.
In response, NAACP President Derrick Johnson expressed displeasure in a statement condemning Trump’s rollback of DEI in the federal government.
“It is outrageous that the President is rolling back critical Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. DEI programs help ensure that everyone can prosper. It’s clear that President Trump does not value equal opportunity,” said Johnson. “His appalling executive order will only worsen America’s racial hierarchy and benefit the oligarch class.
This executive order threatens public services that benefit all Americans; it’s an attempt to consolidate power and money to a few wealthy individuals. And poor and working-class people will pay the price.”
Johnson added, “This is all part of a calculated strategy to redefine the role of government, privatize essential public services, and further discrimination. Elections have consequences and it’s clear that this election has put a target on Black America’s back.”
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke and other members of the Caucus issued a statement that said in part, “Since the conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to rollback 60 years of precedent and end race-conscious admission programs on college campuses, MAGA Republicans have set their sights on cutting off access to economic opportunity for Black and minority communities in the federal government, on college campuses, and in corporate America. This executive order is nothing short of an attempt to take our country backward and does nothing to help our communities grow economically or address the costs of living for hardworking American families.”
Federal DEIA contracts and grants, as well as housing, education, and workplace diversity and inclusion initiatives, are at issue.
On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter, giving K-12 schools, colleges, and universities 14 days—until Feb. 28—to end any race-based policies or risk losing federal funding.
Pushback in federal courts asserts that there are limits to presidential power and that executive orders cannot violate the Constitution’s First and Fifth Amendments or terminate programs that are statutorily mandated.
This is the latest in a long line of efforts to dismantle equity in civic life for Black people.
In February, The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal filed suit on behalf of non-profit advocacy organizations, including the National Urban League, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, asserting that the administration’s anti-DEIA stance will weaken civil rights protections.
On that same day, a coalition of higher education officials, restaurant workers, and the City of Baltimore filed a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s anti-diversity policies.
The NAACP has also filed suit to protect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which the Trump administration has vowed to dismantle.
