On Tuesday President Donald Trump announced a new Executive Order expanding a ban on racial sensitivity training to federal contractors. Today, Erin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, responded:
Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order is a directive to block data-backed research and training on bias in the workplace across both federal agencies and their contractors. It is gaslighting enshrined in policy.
This act is the real-life progeny of Orwell’s thought police. It cannot stand unchallenged. It is fundamentally un-American and it is dangerous. Our values prioritize dialogue over censorship.
This Executive Order is a perfect example of unchecked power, of weaponized privilege, and of dog whistles that inflame racial tensions — the very practices that these trainings are meant to eliminate.
We in the LGBTQ community know what it’s like to be discriminated against and to have the lessons of our lived experience denied by those who hold power. Today, we commit to the members of our community and others targeted by this order — be they Black, Indigenous, or other people of color, or women — we will stand together to fight for equality.
Our first reaction to the president’s action is to state the simple the truth of what President Trump’s thought police would deny us: America has a race problem. White people have unearned privilege. Men have unearned privilege. And this needs to change.
In 11 days, we will host the largest LGBTQ workplace conference in the world. The Out & Equal Workplace Summit brings together more than 70% of the Fortune 1000 companies to learn how to confront bigotry and racism and build cultures of belonging. President Trump should come. He could stand to learn a thing or two.