In Honor of Martin Luther King Jr., We’re Dismantling Federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

“Trump administration uses King’s ‘Dream’ speech to introduce executive orders cutting DEI.” –NBC News, 1/21/25

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Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream: That all Americans be treated based on the content of their character, and not the color of their skin.

 

Dr. King never got to see his dream fulfilled because we killed him. But today, with a single Executive Order, we are that much closer to making King’s dream a reality. We are proud to announce the dismantling and rolling back of federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across all branches. We hope that this serves as a clear message for state and local governments to follow.

 

When King delivered his groundbreaking and iconic “I Have a Dream” speech right here in Washington in 1963, he dreamed of an America where no one was treated differently based on the color of their skin, where they came from, or what their background was. He pictured an America in which people were educated and hired based on their own personal merit. A nation where what you looked like did not determine where you ended up. No one should have a leg-up just because of what they look like.

 

We’re gonna ignore literally everything else he ever said and his entire career and body of work. Because that messaging plays perfectly into our strategic policy goals over the next four years. Plus, we’re pretty sure that when Dr. King delivered his seminal speech, he was also inferring that all the progress that needed to be made had been made. The work was done and he was just giving the nation a gentle reminder to treat everyone equally.

 

We don’t need diversity, equity, or inclusion in the federal government because racism in America no longer exists. The Civil War took care of that. It just so happens that when we judge everyone based on merit and not the color of their skin, we end up with all white men, but that’s just because we feel more comfortable with them. It’s not about race at all. Maybe we are separate, but we’re still equal.

 

We’d use this time to throw out more Dr. King quotes, but honestly we weren’t paying attention when his speeches were taught in school. And now your children won’t have to either. Since we’re judging everyone on the content of their character and not the color of their skin, we don’t need to teach any of the history that led up to this moment. Especially not in federally funded schools. That would put us three-fifths over budget.

 

And sure, our logic is the same logic that helped justify Jim Crow laws. But that’s different, because we aren’t racist. Just like how Elon Musk doing a Nazi salute doesn’t make him a Nazi, because he’s not a Nazi. He’s a neo-Nazi and that’s like a whole different thing.

 

When Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus, she wasn’t making some deeper statement about how ingrained systemic racism creates generations of oppression, she just wanted to make sure she didn’t miss her stop. In fact, we’re pretty sure she didn’t do anything else Civil Rights’ related at all after that day. When Malcolm X did whatever Malcolm X did, we’re sure… Wait, which one is he again?

 

We’re not killing Dr. King’s dream, we’re just removing the problem entirely from our line of sight so that it no longer exists. Not seeing color isn’t racism repackaged, it’s true equality.