Trump press secretary says White House intends to celebrate Black History Month and contributions of ‘all Americans’
During the first Trump White House press briefing, Karoline Leavitt indicated that the administration intends to honor the month-long observance of Black Americans' contribution to American history.
Amid concerns about whether President Donald Trump‘s anti-DEI orders should be interpreted as the federal government ending its tradition of observing Black History Month, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House “certainly still intends to celebrate.”
“We will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religious creed, have made to our great country,” Leavitt said during the Trump administration’s first official press briefing since President Trump took office on Jan. 20. Leavitt added, “America is back.”
Despite Leavitt’s assurance, a recent report from the Wall Street Journal indicated that at least one federal agency, the U.S. Department of State, received notice to highlight the “valuable contribution of individual Americans throughout U.S. history while ensuring our public communications maintain the spirit of the directive eliminating DEAI programs.” An official from the agency told the outlet that they interpreted the public affairs directive as “no public-facing messages or events about Black History Month.”
Trump’s DEI order, which eliminates all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and offices throughout the federal government, also led to the U.S. Air Force removing a training course on the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black pilot unit that fought in World War II during a segregated military. The Air Force quickly rescinded the decision after public blowback, including from the newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Alabama Senator Katie Britt.
During Tuesday’s press briefing, Leavitt also said President Trump’s recent “pause” on the disbursements of federal grants and loans was intended to weed out “funding for illegal DEI programs.” She also lambasted funding for the “green new scam that has cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars,” in reference to funding passed by law under the Biden administration to build new clean energy and rely less on fossil fuels, which are major contributors to the global warming and climate change.
Civil rights groups and Democrats have been incensed over Trump’s executive actions on DEI and have vowed to take them on in the courtroom and the public square. Though there’s not much that can be done to block an executive order that directs federal agencies, another order from Trump that rescinds decades-old executive orders intended to strengthen the government’s enforcement of racial discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is expected to be legally challenged.
For example, the 1964 Civil Rights Act is anchored by the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law regardless of race, sex, or religion, and the 15th Amendment, which prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, sex and religion.
“You cannot alter the Civil Rights Act of ’64 by an executive order when there’s been 60 years of court decisions and a federal statute that undergirds how these laws are implemented,” Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, told theGrio. “All of these are overreaches … in terms of the use of presidential power. And it’s very important that this conversation that we’ve been having about democracy is at the center of this.”
He continued, “This is not the president going to Congress. This is a president trying to do these things unilaterally.”
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