By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and the American Civil Liberties Union California Action (ACLU) joined hands to host a forum focused on equity and justice on Jan. 21.
Discussions at the event explored what the State and everyday Californians can do to protect families, communities and individuals from impacts of Trump administration policies that have already begun to threaten priorities important to them.
Titled “Advancing Equity and Justice: A Policy Forum,” the meeting was held at the Legislative Office Building near the State Capitol in Sacramento.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Sen. Akilah Weber-Pierson (D-San Diego), and ACLU Action Executive Director David Trujillo were the speakers.
“This is the beginning of a journey. I want people to understand that this is not a quick-flash-in-the-pan kind of issue,” Weber said. “There will be lots of issues. We will probably hear about a new issue every day, but we should be prepared to understand what we’ve done, where we are, and how we need to move forward.”
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to end what he calls “Wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing,” that resulted from former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 13985. He stated that the Biden Administration “forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” under the banner of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and implemented them at various federal government departments and agencies.
“The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today,” Trump stated concerning Executive Order 13985. “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.”
Just days after the executive orders were issued to clamp down on DEI initiatives, federal
Amir Whittaker, policy counsel from ACLU Southern California, said the Trump Administration could disrupt the Department of Education, which houses the Office of Civil Rights. PHOTO: CBM Antonio Ray Harvey.
government entities began removing resources for underrepresented Americans from their web pages.
Trujillo said safeguarding communities’ freedoms is the “civil rights fight of our lifetimes” and he pledged that the ACLU and its California affiliates will continue to fight for civil rights and justice.
“On Monday (inauguration day), Trump had his say (and) on Tuesday we had our response right here, including the ACLU filing two lawsuits challenging some executive orders,” Trujillo said. “We sit on the laurels of our ancestors, on the hard work that they did, and we must continue the fight.”
Presenters addressing public policy priorities included Eva Bitran, Director of Immigrants’ Rights, ACLU of Southern California; Nicole Ozer, Technology and Civil Liberties Director, ACLU of Northern California, Duke Cooney, Legislative Advocate, ACLU California Action; and Amir Whitaker, Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU of Southern California.
Trujillo said the ACLU filed its first challenge against Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States.
Earlier in the day, ACLU leaders gathered at the State Capitol to urge state policymakers to lead the national fight against the Trump administration’s policies. In solidarity, Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) and CLBC member, Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson), attended the news conference.
ACLU’s Chief Political and Advocacy Officer Deirdre Schifeling, who attended the forum at the Legislative Building as well, said, anticipating the rollout of Trump’s agenda, ACLU affiliates have been preparing. She said the intention is to “defeat, delay and dilute” the President’s agenda at the state and local level.
“This moment of urgency calls for a people’s movement,” Shifeling said to reporters in front of the State Capitol. “And with 40 million people who call this state home and as the fifth largest economy in the world, California has the opportunity to lead on the frontlines of the movement. California’s leaders must act now and fight Trump’s extreme agenda.”
The ACLU and its affiliates called on state policymakers to promote priorities to protect vulnerable communities in California such as creating a permanent funding source that would bolster affordable housing access. They also asked the members of the Legislature to protect personal information from federal abuse and prevent the Trump administration from tracking immigrants or people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care.
Whitaker warned that the Department of Education (DOE) is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. He said eliminating the DOE would undermine educational programs for students of color, put restrictions on federal funding for teaching history, and limit the capacity of school districts to combat racial bias.
“He’s threatening to eliminate the Department of Education, which houses the office of Civil Rights that investigates such things as bullying, which is most likely to impact Black students,” Whittaker said. “Black students already face unique challenges here and throughout the country because of the specific history of discrimination that are revealed in many statistics.”
Weber-Pierson said, “We are entering very uncertain times.”
“It is extremely important that we don’t get so discouraged and disheartened that we give up,” she said. “We should use this as an opportunity to prepare: to learn as much as we can, to fight back as much as we can, to build up our communities and people as much as we can so that in the future it doesn’t matter who is in office. We will know that everyone in the State of California — and across this great nation — will be taken care of equitably.”
