Kehoe joins GOP attacks on DEI

Gov. Mike Kehoe insulted African Americans and halted civil rights progress throughout Missouri when he signed an executive order the barring the use of state funds for DEI and prevents agencies from considering DEI in their hiring decisions on Tuesday.

He twisted the knife in the egregious wound by acting in February -Black History Month.

In announcing his Trump-inspired action that ignores past racial practices, Kehoe also used words often spoken by civil rights leaders of the past who sometimes gave their lives for the right to employment opportunities.

“Missourians deserve a government that treats all individuals equally, without preferential treatment or discrimination based on immutable characteristics,” Kehoe said in a release

“Our state agencies must operate under a framework that ensures fairness, equal opportunity, and merit-based decision-making.”

Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel said in statement, “We will not sit quietly while our dignity and humanity are under attack.”

“The executive order from Gov. Kehoe is extremely disturbing. It is part of an anti-Black agenda that seeks to revert our nation back to segregation and Jim Crow. We refuse to go back.”

“More importantly for state agencies, the DEI programs help service providers connect with their clients and better serve their needs. This is a step backward for everyone.”

Kehoe picked himself – and conservative Republicans here and in Washington D.C., to determine a “DEI” program is.

He defines it to include “efforts to manipulate or influence the composition of an organization based solely on race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

State agencies have 90 days to review and end any initiatives that violate the order.

This includes the University of Missouri system, which last year eliminated its office of DEI, and several related programs.

“At the University of Missouri, we follow all applicable state and federal laws and regulations. We will carefully review this order and ensure we are in compliance with it as applicable,” University of Missouri spokesperson Christopher Ave said in response to the order.

In addition to Kehoe’s executive order, Republican state Rep. Dirk Deaton, chair of the House Budget Committee, has announced the formal filing of the appropriations bills for the 2025 legislative session.

Included in the bill that appropriates money for public colleges and universities is language to ensure that state funds will not be used for contracts, programs, positions, or organizational entities within institutions of higher education that are solely focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or similar initiatives.

National alarm

Several civil rights organizations and not-for-profit partners have filed a federal lawsuit challenging three executive orders issued by resident Donald Trump.

According to a release, “the orders threaten civil rights and the ability of organizations to provide vital social and health services. The lawsuit—National Urban League v. Trump—was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It claims that the orders violate the First and Fifth Amendments by targeting diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility (DEIA) programs, and transgender rights.

 “This assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion is discriminatory at best and institutionalized economic oppression at its worst,” said Marc Morial, National Urban League president and CEO.

Morial noted that Urban League programs “have placed over a quarter-million people in jobs over the past decade, often with federal support.”

Joining as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), and AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC), and they contend with the Urban League, “the executive orders infringe on free speech by censoring DEIA-related communications, violating due process through vague prohibitions, and discriminating against marginalized groups.”

They seek declaratory and injunctive relief to halt enforcement of the orders.