Trump ramps up war on civil rights
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump fired two commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, potentially hobbling a federal agency tasked with enforcing civil rights laws.
Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, who were appointed by Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, were let go before their terms were set to expire. Without their presence on the EEOC board a quorum cannot be reached and the agency will be unable to carry out many of its duties.
“Removing me, along with Commissioner Samuels, well before the expiration of our terms is unprecedented and will undermine the efforts of this independent agency to do the important work of protecting employees from discrimination, supporting employers’ compliance efforts, and expanding public awareness and understanding of federal employment laws,” Burrows said in a statement.
She also said she would “explore all legal options available to me.”
The EEOC was formed in 1965 in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. It is tasked with investigating allegations of discrimination across a wide swath of issues including race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability.
The agency’s web page detailing what type of discrimination is against the law has been removed. The page was intact on Jan. 7, when the Biden administration was in power.
In an example of the sort of action that EEOC will be unable to do without a quorum, the agency announced on Jan. 6 that it got United Airlines to agree to a settlement in a case of creating a hostile work environment based on race. The company paid $99,000 after being sued for allowing an Asian American employee to be racially harassed and assaulted.
Since taking office, Trump has used the power of the presidency to attack civil rights under the guise of opposing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Conservatives have falsely claimed that such programs discriminate, rather than address the long-term effects of systemic racism and discrimination.
Trump’s actions have led to the removal of anti-racism curriculum throughout the government, including in the military. He has also signed executive orders nullifying previous orders put in place to combat racial segregation, including one that had been in place since 1965. The Trump administration has even told federal employees to snitch on one another, encouraging them to inform on employees working against discrimination.
For decades the conservative movement has sought to roll back the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. Using complaints about DEI, Trump is now acting to undo decades of progress.