By Bianca Flowers
(Reuters) – As the United States prepares to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and fight for equality, civil rights leaders are organizing efforts to oppose policies expected from President-elect Donald Trump that they believe will undermine decades of progress.
Enacting mass deportations and dismantling diversity initiatives and programs have become a priority on the agenda of the Republican Party. Trump has said he plans to challenge policies aimed at boosting diversity at companies and universities when he takes office, often attacking what he calls “woke” culture, a term for those focused on racial and social justice but used by conservatives to disparage progressives. policies.
Activists and organizations are holding rallies leading up to MLK Day and calling meetings with state lawmakers to strategize how to protect the policy and avoid funding cuts to social service programs that largely support black and Hispanic communities. They are also planning counter-challenges against corporations that have scaled back or eliminated diversity initiatives.
“Our concern and our emphasis will be on his policy announcements,” said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. – We will resist and oppose.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives, Trump has had the executive power to implement policy since his first day in office. However, experts say some actions could be subject to legal and constitutional challenges because they cannot overturn laws passed by Congress and require compliance with court decisions.
This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day. coinciding with Trump’s inauguration on January 20 is a rare occurrence that has only happened twice in history. The last time this happened was the second term of former President Barack Obama. The second inauguration of the nation’s first black president was seen by many as a symbol of civil rights progress.
dr. Bernice King, executive director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, told Reuters the day would serve as a dual moment to honor her father’s legacy of nonviolence and unity, while urging Americans to continue the fight.
“Me [have] an opportunity to take seriously what my father told us as a nation – to hold fast to the ideals that he taught us,” King said. “Don’t forget that they showed us that it was possible to keep moving forward and fight for freedom, justice and democracy — to nurture, protect and improve it.”
National Action (WA:) Network founder Reverend Al Sharpton stressed the importance of policy makers and local leaders rethinking their approach and coming together. “We’re not fighting without changing the law. It takes time, but it’s happening,” Sharpton said.
Kimberly Conway, senior policy adviser for the ACLU, said some Democratic lawmakers have already issued state mandates to support nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.
“We advocate that they go further with regard to those mandates.”
Some corporations that implemented diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the wake of the 2020 shooting death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer ended the programs over the past year following pressure from anti-DEI conservatives. Walmart (NYSE:.N), the nation’s largest employer, faced fierce criticism from civil rights activists after it announced it would scrap some of its diversity policies — including from a group of shareholders who wrote a letter to Walmart’s CEO this week.
As political lobbying has moved toward greater influence over corporations, Sharpton said traditional organizing tactics — similar to the Montgomery bus boycott — could pressure companies to rethink their actions by targeting their profits.
“We’re forming a commission that will include other civil rights groups that will study for 90 days, the companies that are announcing they’re pulling out of DEI. You can go with Trump’s philosophy, but it’s going to cost you.”
Supporters of Trump’s proposals claim that certain DEI initiatives constitute discrimination. Camilla Moore, chairwoman of the Georgia Black Republican Council, who is attending the inauguration, said she looks forward to Trump’s political actions.
“I think the Trump administration should consider removing any remaining barriers. There should be no barriers between me and a white person pursuing our dreams.”
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he “was the best president for black people since Abraham Lincoln,” often pointing to lower black unemployment figures and programs launched during his first term. Some supporters also credit him with passing criminal justice legislation to address mass incarceration, such as the First Step Act, a bipartisan sentencing reform bill that disproportionately affected blacks — an initiative advocates have pushed lawmakers for decades.
Clayborne Carson, a Stanford University historian who edited and published King’s autobiography, said there clearly won’t be any major civil rights legislation in the near future. “What we’re going to have is a different kind of society,” he said. “It’s up to us to decide whether they become more egalitarian or less.”
