Washington – The Trump Administration will celebrate Thursday the month in the history of blacks to the White House, preserving a tradition at the same time as the executive decree of President Donald Trump ending the programs of diversity, equity and inclusion of the federal government has disrupted its observation elsewhere.
The ceremony comes as Trump described the “discrimination” Dei programs and pushed to eradicate the government’s diversity programs, ordered Dei workers ultimately dismissed and exerted similar pressure on the private sector to go to an accent exclusive on merit.
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The radical effort has sowed discord and confusion between federal agencies, which have variously interpreted order to limit the way they can recognize the race in history and culture or report demographic data on the race and the sex.
Joining Trump at the East Room event will be black political figures and activists who have been his vocal supporters. The guests, according to a White House official, include the republican senator Tim Scott of South Carolina; Republican representative John James of Michigan; The defendant of the penitentiary reform Alice Johnson, whom he pardoned in 2020; ALVEDA King, a niece of the leader in civil rights Martin Luther King Jr.; And Herschel Walker, the legend of football which is Trump’s choice as an American ambassador in the Bahamas.
Other guests will include sports and entertainment figures, including the former ESPN Sage Steele host; Former NFL player Jack Brewer; And the rap features Kodak Black, Lil Boosie and Rod Wave, according to the official, who was not allowed to speak publicly and spoke under the cover of anonymity.
The event was initially to take place last week, but was postponed due to bad weather.
Following its decree, the Ministry of Defense published directives declaring “the months of identity” and declared that working hours would no longer be used to mark months of cultural awareness such as the month of the History of blacks, the month of the history of women and the national month of awareness of the employment of people with disabilities.
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It seemed to come up against a national proclamation of the month of black history signed the same day by Trump, who called for “civil servants, educators, librarians and all the inhabitants of the United States to observe this month With programs, ceremonies and appropriate activities. “”
While the White House expressed its position, government agencies discreetly discreetly if it is necessary to continue to recognize the month of the history of blacks, according to the official.
On February 1, the first day of the month of black history, the Secretary of Transport, Sean Duffy, announced that his department “will no longer participate in celebrations on the basis of immutable traits or any other observation based on ‘identify”. And in a diplomatic cable, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that the abolition of Dei’s policies by the agency would compete for “the elimination of our concentration on the political and cultural causes which divide at home and deeply unpopular abroad ”.
The administration has published a deadline for schools and universities to eliminate diversity initiatives or may lose federal money. Large companies have wrapped Dei policies in hiring, promotion and culture of labor in recent months, many of which citing potential legal challenges of the administration.
The month of black history has been recognized by all American presidents since 1976, including Trump in his first mandate.
“Black history is American history. And similar to the history of our nation, it is a story of strength, resilience and obstinate perseverance, “said CJ Pearson, national co -president of the Youth Advisory Council of the National Republican Committee. Pearson, who is black, was a frank defender of Trump against black civic leaders, civil rights defenders and democrats who criticize the president as a racist.
“The anti-dei policies of President Trump do not promote racism, but what they do is show the dream of the great Martin Luther King, Jr.: A nation where we are not tried By the color of their skin but rather by the content of their character, “said Pearson, who will attend the White House event.
Other black republicans are not so optimistic about the current course of the administration or what it predicts for the emerging breakthroughs of the GOP with black voters or other colored communities.
“Trump can rely on the coalition he gathered in November with blacks and Asians and Hispanics and young people,” said Raynard Jackson, republican strategist. “But if they leave him as he is right now, Trump will destroy the very coalition that he brought so wonderfully to the table in November.”
For Jackson, Dei is a tote for liberal policies which are “unrecognizable” of the original intention of civil rights laws intended to promote the social and economic progress of black Americans. But by removing and denigrating politicians, said Jackson, the White House risked being labeled as discriminatory by offering no alternative framework on how disadvantaged communities can move forward.
“How do you have diversity without it being a compulsory bean counting situation?” Asked Jackson. “They did a masterful job to tell me what they are against. I’m waiting to hear what they are.
Find out more: Civil organizations and human rights are pursuing the Trump administration on Dei, gender orders
During the 2024 campaign, Trump tried to reach black voters thanks to events in person in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. His campaign courted black celebrities and media personalities to increase his message. Trump’s black conservative allies, including representative Byron Donalds, r-fla., Down round tables at Black Barbershops and bus visits to mainly black cities.
But Trump also frequently disparaged black communities in his terrain and made allegations between colored voters to immigrants, who, according to him, took “black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs”.
Efforts to stimulate the support of black voters seemed to be some success. He won a larger share of black voters in 2020, in particular among young black men, according to the voting, a national survey of more than 120,000 voters in the 2024 elections.
Overall, around 16% of black voters supported Trump in November, while around 8 out of 10 voted for Democrat Kamala Harris. But that represented an improvement for Trump from 2020, while only 8% of black voters supported it and around 9 out of 10 went for Democrat Joe Biden.
