In the span of just a week, President Trump has issued a deluge of executive orders—over thirty by most counts—launching sweeping attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs and threatening the fundamental rights of all Americans. From renewing efforts to outlaw race-conscious trainings in government agencies to undermining birthright citizenship, these directives strike at the heart of the Reconstruction Amendments and challenge the basic pillars of our constitutional democracy. As a civil rights lawyer and President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), I have seen firsthand how law, history, and policy intersect to either secure or erode basic freedoms. These new executive actions, if allowed to stand, have the potential to unravel generations of painstaking legal work that has advanced fairness and equality for Black Americans—and, by extension, for the entire nation.
A Renewed Assault on DEI
Among the most concerning of these new orders is a measure intended to revive an earlier Trump-era ban on discussions of “divisive concepts”—an ill-defined term previously used to prohibit federal agencies and contractors from conducting trainings that address systemic racism or other realities of discrimination. In 2020, courts swiftly enjoined the Trump administration’s first attempt to censor honest discussions of race, finding it an egregious violation of the First Amendment.
Now, the administration has taken a subtler approach to circumvent these legal obstacles. Instead of explicitly banning so-called “divisive concepts,” the new order targets any federally funded programs, training materials, or partnerships that explicitly reference or even tangentially promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It demands audits of federal grantees and contractors to determine whether they advance these so-called “controversial” aims, and it chillingly threatens investigations into private sector corporations and non-profit organizations that champion DEIA.
This veiled threat of unspecified penalties is designed to achieve a chilling effect without overt enforcement. By announcing the plan to investigate the top foundations, corporations, and non-profits that historically promote equitable outcomes, the administration seeks to instill fear, prompting these organizations to scale back or abandon their DEIA commitments.
Many corporations have already responded to legal challenges and public pressure to reevaluate their inclusion efforts. Some—like Apple, Costco, and Estée Lauder—have publicly reaffirmed their commitments to diversity. Yet we have also seen a concerning number of companies quietly retreat from the racial justice pledges they made in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. While they might believe this course of action steers them clear of political storms, it ultimately risks violating antidiscrimination laws like Title VII, which prohibits workplace discrimination and imposes a duty on employers to maintain an inclusive work environment. This new executive order encourages a climate of confusion at best, and at worst, it opens the door to active discrimination. LDF Filed Amicus Brief Highlighting the Importance of History and Context in Employment Discrimination in a Case Before the Supreme Court
Implications for Federal Employees
The reverberations of these executive actions are especially acute for federal workers. Reports indicate that individuals connected with DEIA initiatives—or those hired to ensure compliance with civil rights laws—have been reassigned or placed on administrative leave. Some even face the possibility of termination. The administration’s latest directives suggest a broader purge of government employees who have been responsible for ensuring equity and justice in federal programs.
Such a crackdown disrupts the very mission of government agencies, each of which has a legal duty to operate without discrimination. A culture of fear impairs the government’s ability to recruit and retain diverse talent and damages morale among the ranks of career public servants. Ultimately, such measures degrade our federal institutions and corrode public trust.
Attacking the 14th Amendment and Birthright Citizenship
While the DEIA order garnered immediate attention, a second executive action that seeks to restrict birthright citizenship has equally dangerous implications for Black communities and for the constitutional underpinnings of our republic. Birthright citizenship was enshrined in the 14th Amendment precisely to confirm and protect the citizenship of formerly enslaved Black Americans and their descendants. By attempting to curtail this foundational promise, the Trump administration undermines the very cornerstone that established legal equality in this country after the Civil War.
In addition to flouting well-settled constitutional principles, targeting birthright citizenship endangers anyone whose citizenship claim might be scrutinized under narrow, discriminatory criteria—including immigrants and their children. But we must be clear: the historical impetus for birthright citizenship is inextricably linked to the struggle for Black freedom. If the federal government is able to erode the 14th Amendment in this manner, the door is left wide open for it to dismantle other protections anchored in that vital amendment, including the Equal Protection Clause—the very clause that has helped strike down Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory statutes for over a century.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has already taken legal action, joining forces with the ACLU and other civil rights organizations to challenge this unconstitutional assault on birthright citizenship. Within days of the executive order’s issuance, we successfully secured injunctions in multiple courts, demonstrating that the rule of law remains a formidable check. However, these victories are by no means permanent. Immigrants’ Rights Advocates Sue Trump Administration Over Birthright Citizenship Executive Order. They are only the first steps in what will likely be a protracted legal fight, one that requires ongoing vigilance and public engagement.
An Existential Threat to Civil Rights
Taken together, the administration’s actions constitute an orchestrated effort to dismantle the gains that civil rights activists and organizations, including LDF, have fought to secure for over eight decades. Founded by Thurgood Marshall in 1940, LDF has been at the forefront of landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Veasey v. Abbott, achieving monumental progress on voting rights and dismantling institutionalized racism across multiple fronts. Now, these executive orders aim to chip away at the constitutional and statutory protections that our communities have relied upon for generations.
Yet if history has taught us anything, it is that concerted legal and civic action can and will halt these retrogressive measures. During President Trump’s first term, the civil rights community successfully litigated and advocated against similar directives, preventing some of the worst abuses and forcing the administration to modify or rescind illegal policies. Each court victory may feel incremental—especially when new permutations of the same unlawful ideas continue to resurface—but these legal wins create binding precedents and preserve essential guardrails against injustice.
Here is What You Can Do
We stand at a crossroads that demands swift and coordinated action by the public, private, and nonprofit sectors alike. Corporations must recognize that cowering to political intimidation by rolling back DEIA programs not only surrenders moral leadership but also invites potential liability under existing civil rights law. Universities, philanthropic organizations, and advocacy groups should hold firm to their missions, knowing that federal directives cannot abolish the fundamental legal and ethical principles guiding their work.
Likewise, individual citizens can speak out, support civil rights organizations, and call on their elected representatives to resist these measures. Each of us has a role to play in upholding the constitutional promise of equality and liberty for all.
- Support Legal Challenges: Encourage and donate to organizations engaged in strategic litigation to defend birthright citizenship and DEIA programs. These legal battles will shape the future of civil rights law for decades to come.
- Hold Corporations Accountable: Demand transparency from private sector leaders on their DEIA commitments. Commend those that stand firm and question those that falter under political pressure.
- Stay Informed and Vote: Changes to federal law and policy can be reversed—or entrenched—by our legislative representatives. Make sure your voice is heard in every election, from local to national.
- Know Your Rights: For those who suspect discrimination in the workplace or elsewhere, understand the protections offered by Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other civil rights statutes. If you see or experience violations, do not hesitate to file complaints or seek legal counsel.
In this precarious moment, each threat to civil rights is a stark reminder of the vigilance required to maintain a pluralistic and inclusive democracy. Efforts to dismantle DEIA and to weaken the 14th Amendment’s promise strike at the very heart of our nation’s ideals. But Americans—from grassroots organizers to Fortune 500 executives—have a choice: either submit to an agenda that fosters divisiveness and exclusion or stand with those who believe that our democracy’s strength lies in its ability to protect every individual’s rights and dignity.
At the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, we are prepared to fight on all fronts to ensure that these executive orders fail. Our history, and the broader history of civil rights, demonstrates time and again that when we unite in pursuit of justice, progress prevails over regress. Indeed, the administration’s calculated attempts to circumvent prior court rulings show that our resistance matters—it forces them to recalibrate, it slows their overreach, and it preserves the possibility of a future where every American can realize the promise of equality.
In this battle, complacency is not an option. The stakes are too high and the consequences too far-reaching, especially for Black communities whose rights remain in the crosshairs. Yet, if we harness the same resolve that ended legalized segregation and dismantled voter suppression measures, we can once again demonstrate that discrimination and authoritarian rule have no place in a truly democratic society. The Constitution may be tested in these turbulent times, but, together, we must ensure that it emerges unscathed and as strong as ever.
Janai Nelson is the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization.
