President Donald Trump’s attacks on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) protections, programs and policies actively undermine the hard-won dignity, rights, and protections of people with disabilities, threatening decades of progress toward a more equitable society.
“President Trump’s executive orders eliminating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) programs are a direct assault on the values of fairness and dignity that should define our democracy. His dismissive stance overlooks the critical “A” in DEIA: Accessibility. For millions of Americans with disabilities, accessibility is not a luxury or a political talking point; it is a cornerstone of our civil rights,” says ADA Watch/CDRJ executive director, Jim Ward.
Use the information provided here and from our coalition partner organizations, to craft your message to policymakers, reporters, editors and producers. Tell them to “Remember the “A” for Accessibility in DEIA!
“While many people and organizations have rallied to defend diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, the threat to accessibility has received surprisingly little pushback,” writes Kara Ayers in her Substack column. “This silence may stem from a perfect storm of factors: the media’s narrow focus on DEI has overshadowed the accessibility component; many Americans still view accessibility as a niche issue affecting only a small portion of the population rather than a universal concern; and the technical, compliance-focused nature of accessibility work often makes it less visible in public discourse than broader social justice initiatives.”
“The Trump administration’s executive orders targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives take a “shock and awe” approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed,” report our allies at the ACLU. “In his first few days, President Donald Trump is undertaking a deliberate effort to obfuscate and weaponize civil rights laws that address discrimination and ensure everyone has a fair chance to compete, whether it’s for a job, a promotion, or an education.”
ADA Watch/CDRJ coalition partners at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) are receiving reports that in some federal agencies, “staff members who facilitate access are being laid off. Many federal employees who work in roles targeted by these anti-inclusion executive orders also hold secondary roles as Disability Program Managers and Special Placement Program Coordinators, both of whom help recruit, manage, accommodate, and retain people with disabilities in federal jobs.”
“With these actions,” the ACLU continues, “the administration is not only undoing decades of federal anti-discrimination policy, spanning Democratic and Republican presidential administrations alike, but also marshalling federal enforcement agencies to bully both private and government entities into abandoning legal efforts to promote equity and remedy systemic discrimination. Trump’s executive orders undermine obligations dating back to the Johnson administration that firms doing business with the U.S. government and receiving billions in public dollars are held to the highest standards in remedying and preventing bias.”
Resources:
AAPD: Explaining Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA), The Trump Administration’s Recent Actions on DEIA, and the Impact on Disabled Americans
ACLU: Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained