Rutgers cancels HBCU conference to align with Trump anti-DEI order
The conference that was scheduled for Thursday was aimed at helping students at HBCUs to get accepted into apprenticeships.
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An executive order scrubbing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives has forced Rutgers to cancel a conference.
Rutgers University’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions posted the cancellation to its X account.
[twitter] https://twitter.com/CenterForMSIs/status/1882503751707050387 [/twitter]
The post said it has been instructed to cease all work under the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility hub at Jobs for the Future, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.
The executive order titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," is one of President Trump’s Day 1 executive orders.
A Day 2 executive order, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity," rescinds some long-standing affirmative action programs.
News 12 spoke with political analyst Natasha S. Alford, who said DEI is not just about one group.
"I think that it’s important that we consider that women are also a part of this conversation. When we talk about who actually is benefitting from DEI. DEI has been so often equated with race and we’re leaving out a huge swath of the population," Alford said.
DEI initiatives saw a rebirth during President Trump’s first term.
In a statement, the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions said in part, “While this setback is disappointing, we have so much more happening at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, and we can't wait to engage with you in the future.”
"As this backlash happens, I hope an education simultaneously happens where people understand why we had the focus on DEI in the first place and they see it as something valuable and worth fighting for," Alford said.
Over the past seven days, DEI initiatives at major stores, like Target and Walmart have also been eliminated.
