President Donald Trump has decided to instruct federal agencies to stop racial sensitivity and diversity training that tackled topics like white privilege and critical race theory. The president states that such training is “divisive, anti-American propaganda” according to a memo sent to federal agencies by Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Trump, who, along with Attorney General William Barr, doesn’t think the United States “law enforcement system is systemically racist,” is issuing this stoppage of diversity training less than 2 months before the presidential election.
The memo, in part, states that “employees across the Executive Branch have been required to attend trainings where they are told that “virtually all White people contribute to racism” or where they are required to
say that they “benefit from racism.” In some cases these training have further claimed that there is racism embedded in the belief that America is the land of opportunity or the belief that the most qualified person should receive a job.“The President has directed me to ensure that Federal agencies cease and desist from using taxpayer dollars to fund these divisive, un-American propaganda training sessions. Accordingly, to that end, the Office of Management and Budget will shortly issue more detailed guidance on implementing the President’s directive. In the meantime, all agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on “critical race theory/9 “white privilege,” or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil. In addition, all agencies should begin to identify all available avenues within the law to cancel any such contracts and/or to divert Federal dollars away from these un-American propaganda training sessions.”