State leaders say DEI commitments won’t be swayed by Trump executive orders
Photo | Courtesy of State House News Service
Rep. Bud Williams [left] and Sen. Liz Mirand [center] preside over an informational hearing on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on Monday at the State House, where Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler is testifying virtually.
Amid "attacks" from the Trump administration on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Massachusetts officials on Monday said their plan is to "double down."
"The number one thing that I hope you take away from today is that these efforts are very much still alive and legal and valid, and we need to continue that. They cannot be changed through executive orders or any other memos coming out of the federal government," said Elizabeth Matos, chief of the civil rights division and senior advisor in Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office.
The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held an informational hearing on DEI programs Monday "to provide accurate information about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and programs to legislators and the public, and to assess the impact of anti‑DEI federal actions."
One of the key points that Chairs Rep. Bud Williams and Sen. Liz Miranda emphasized was the importance of defining "diversity, equity and inclusion."
Among those invited to speak was Evelyn Carter, a doctor of social psychology and DEI expert, who said there's a lot of disinformation about what DEI means.
"I think we got too comfortable relying on the acronym of DEI, and therefore miss precious opportunities to clearly define what we do and why we do it," Carter said.
Diversity, she explained, refers to a variety of identities — racial or ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender, education, disability status, where someone grew up, or what kind of family they come from.
"Diversity is a group characteristic. No person is diverse. I will repeat this again, because it is literally my biggest pet peeve. No person is diverse. For instance, a team of Black women is not racially or gender diverse, so we might be diverse in other dimensions, like education, age or political beliefs,” she said.
On equity, Carter said it means recognizing "that people face headwinds and tailwinds because of their identities and adjusting accordingly," pointing to historical examples such as her grandparents, who were denied a home loan in 1961 in Connecticut due to redlining — hindering their ability to build wealth for themselves and future generations.
For inclusion: "Do people feel that their voices matter? Are they expected to adjust to the environment, or will the environment adjust for them?"
Williams asked Carter to go through these definitions slowly, saying "demystifying" DEI is part of the point of the four hearings his committee is holding on the topic over the course of the fall.
"What we're trying to do is really educate folks on Beacon Hill and the general public at the same time. Because, as you said, there's a lot of confusion on DEI," Williams said. "We want to be armed with the best possible plan we can have, because we know the onslaught is going to continue for the Trump administration."
Lawmakers expressed fears that federal funding tied to DEI could be cut, or that states could face financial penalties for failing to comply with the new executive orders.
Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler warned that losing federal education funding would have serious consequences: Massachusetts receives about $2 billion each year in federal education funds.
Still, he said the Trump administration's "attack on DEI only underscores the importance of this work, and Massachusetts will not step back."
"We will double down on preparing, recruiting and retaining excellent and diverse educators," he said.
President Donald Trump has pushed to dismantle or sharply limit DEI initiatives at the federal level, arguing that many are discriminatory or undermine merit.
In January, one of his first executive orders directed federal departments to terminate activities relating to "diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility." It also ordered the end of multiple Biden‑era policies that had encouraged DEI in federal agencies.
In another order, Trump revoked a 1965 law, which for decades had required federal contractors to refrain from discrimination and take affirmative action in hiring and other employment practices.
Trump has said that the injection of DEI into government and other institutions has "corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy."
He pledged in his inaugural address to "forge a society that is colorblind and merit‑based," and to end what his administration views as "the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life."
Proponents of DEI at Monday's hearing argued that these initiatives are legally protected and are essential to address long‑standing inequities in education, employment and public life. They said that DEI efforts are not only moral imperatives but also practical ones — that diverse teams and inclusive environments lead to better outcomes in schools, workplaces and communities.
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