WASHINGTON: The Congressional Black Caucus and major civil rights groups on Tuesday marked Black History Month by relaunching a national plan to mobilize against what they say are the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to weaken legal protections for minority communities.<\/p>\n
The assembled leaders voiced outrage over the series of policy actions President Donald Trump has implemented since his return to the White House, as well as the president\u2019s personal conduct, but offered few concrete details about what they\u2019re prepared to do in response to the administration.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past year, we have seen a concerted effort to roll back civil rights underlying voting access, dismantle social programs and concentrate power in the hands of the wealthy and well-connected, at the expense of our community,\u201d said Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.<\/p>\n
Clarke, who spoke in front of leaders from major civil rights organizations and her Democratic colleagues, promised the caucus would \u201clegislate, organize, mobilize our communities.\u201d The coalition, which spoke privately before the press conference, discussed how to protect voters ahead of the fall midterms and how to build a policy agenda for Democrats should the party win back power in either chamber of Congress next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an all-hands-on-deck moment, and every tool available to the leadership collectively has got to be deployed to get this thing turned around,\u201d House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told The Associated Press after the press conference.<\/p>\n
Jeffries did not rule out mass protests, organizing boycotts and further legal action as potential steps organizers may take.<\/p>\n
The leaders\u2019 warnings come at a moment when the Trump administration has continued its crusade against diversity, equity and inclusion across the US government, in higher education and the private sector.<\/p>\n
At the start of his second term, Trump signed multiple executive orders banning the use of \u201cillegal DEI\u201d in government agencies, as well as organizations that interact with the federal government. Trump has threatened to withhold funds from major companies, non-profit groups and state governments as part of the administration\u2019s efforts to upend DEI.<\/p>\n
The administration has also sought to redefine the nation\u2019s culture and how history is taught in museums, classrooms and other educational settings. It also prioritized investigating and prosecuting civil rights cases of potential discrimination against white people through both the Justice Department\u2019s civil rights division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, among other agencies.<\/p>\n
Civil rights leaders and Democratic lawmakers have already filed dozens of lawsuits against the administration\u2019s anti-DEI policies.<\/p>\n
Locked out of power in both chambers of Congress, Democrats have fewer ways to conduct oversight or limit the actions of the Trump administration. And civil rights leaders, who were largely knocked on the back foot by a deluge of policy changes over the last year, are attempting to regroup ahead of this year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Progressive civil rights leaders, who are broadly unhappy with the administration\u2019s entire agenda, have argued that the president\u2019s agenda on immigration, voting rights, the economy and other issues is exploiting hard-won policies that civil rights leaders had, for decades, used to ensure anti-discrimination and economic advancement for Black communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about how this administration is using the tools we built as a Black community to ensure that all of our people are protected,\u201d said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Progressive state leaders and civil rights groups have also stepped up their efforts elsewhere. A coalition of state attorneys general and civil rights groups this month launched a coalition to promote DEI and accessibility policies through more aggressive legal action.<\/p>\n
\u201cState attorneys general are in a unique position to defend these fundamental rights, and this campaign will ensure everyone is heard and shielded from those who aim to weaken civil rights,\u201d Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a statement on Monday announcing the initiative.<\/p>\n
The initiative includes Democratic attorneys general from fourteen states District of Columbia, as well as over a dozen civil rights groups from across the country. The group intends to launch inquiries and file lawsuits across the country into instances where, the leaders argue, organizations may be violating anti-discrimination laws in response to the rollback of DEI policies by major companies and the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
The effort faces an uncertain and shifting legal landscape.<\/p>\n
Federal courts remain divided over the use of race in hiring and anti-discrimination in the workplace. And the conservative-majority on the Supreme Court has ruled against the use of race in college admissions. Several justices have voiced skepticism about how race and other characteristics can be used by government agencies and private institutions, even if a policy was meant to combat discrimination.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the assembled civil rights leaders repeatedly acknowledged the uphill battle that their movement faced on multiple fronts. Some said that the administration\u2019s policy decisions may set up stark political battles in the coming years.<\/p>\n
Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, said: \u201cWe commit today to fight and fight and fight until hell freezes over, and then, I can assure you, we will fight on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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