Embrace multiculturalism.
Happy Friday! And welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. After four years of fighting against Trump, the start of a new administration feels exhilarating. In his first days as president, Biden signed 17 executive orders and introduced other initiatives to rebalance the system. A few directly centered racial equity, including ending the 1776 Commission, reinstating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and revoking Trump's ban on diversity training for federal agencies (for context, I've linked our previous reporting on each topic). Review all executive orders >
The Trump administration is behind us. But its impact is not. So we need to shift our focus from fighting against the political leaders of our past to reimagining the future we deserve. Juan's article today morphs a final bitter statement from leaders past into how we can become the leaders our future deserves. Consider this: how are you modeling tomorrow, today? Regardless of how you may feel about the new administration, it was clear that multiculturalism was on full display during this inauguration. How do we carry this into the communities we serve.
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Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Take a look at the company you work for, the school where you/your child attends, and/or the community you value most. Consider: how does this organization focus on multiculturalism? How does it celebrate diversity in ideas and values? List three tangible ways that the organization can improve and share with key leadership.
Make a concerted effort to only spend your money at places that support and pursue diversity. If you stop patronizing a business because of its lack of diversity, be sure to send and email explaining why, as well as the changes you would like to see if you are to return.
GET EDUCATED
By Juan Michael Porter II (he/him)
As a professional dancer in NYC, I participated in an interactive teaching program called “Multicultural Fusion.” “Multi-Culti,” as we called it, used dance forms from all over the world to show immigrant students how diversity made America great. My boss, Michael Mao—who himself was born in Shanghai—reasoned that by encouraging students to immerse themselves within the numerous cultures that comprised America’s mosaic, they would discover how vital they were to their new home’s vitality.
Though it meant leaving our glamorous rehearsal studios in midtown Manhattan to take a bus to NYC’s outer boroughs, I loved this program. It brought to mind my travels around the world, interacting with people who went out of their way to make me feel like I belonged. Most pressingly, I loved seeing teenagers guilelessly burst out of their shells to rejoice in physical expression.
For the past four years, their futures in this country have been imperiled. On January 19, outgoing-secretary of state Mike Pompeo published a tweet that excoriated multiculturalism as “not who America is” and a ploy to “make us weaker” (NYTimes). The irony that his last name is Italian is lost on no one, though his use of the government’s imprimatur to make this racist statement is no joke. Pompeo’s denouncement is in-line with the Trump administration’s goal to sow division and erode the rights of anyone who does not align with whiteness (Forbes). It plays right into the hands of white supremacists such as Hans von Spakovsky, a lawyer at the Heritage Foundation, who has stated that “diversity is a way of justifying discrimination” (Time).
Trump’s attacks on multiculturalism have included rolling back long-standing civil rights protections, instituting a travel ban on mostly Muslim, declaring the “Black Lives Matter” sign on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue “a symbol of hate,” expelling migrant children to Mexico regardless of their country of origin, and banning diversity and racial sensitivity training at the federal level. (ProPublica, NPR, Vox, Axios). *Editor's note: the Biden administration has ended the travel ban as part of the first executive orders issued in its presidency.
These assaults on diversity were dangerous even when they faced legal challenges because they allowed lawyers to refine their statutes until they were legally plausible, though still regressive. Erica Newland, who worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department, revealed as much while lamenting having stayed on with the Trump administration in a misguided attempt to curtail his draconian measures. Regarding the travel ban, she says that if she and her colleagues had not been on board to “nip and tuck” the agenda, “the attacks would have failed” (NYTimes).
That’s what makes statements like Pompeo’s dangerous. Though he is departing in disgrace, his words influence future legislators and policies. In fact, the Trump administration added six mostly African countries—Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar—to the travel ban on January 5th, 2020, for no other reason than they can (NYTimes).
When I think of the harm resulting from lost contact with these incredible countries, I am reduced to tears. Following a devastating dance injury when I first arrived in New York 21 years ago, my training in Nigerian and Ivorian folkloric African dance rejuvenated my body and brought me back to the art form. My exposure to Sudanese storytelling and its focus on inter-communal sharing inspired me to become one of the largest independent dance presenters in New York and one of the world’s very few Black dance critics. Beyond my own selfish gains, diversity has been proven to make countries and companies stronger because it quite literally challenges us to prepare better, work towards consensus, and anticipate alternative viewpoints (Scientific American, Harvard Business Review). Let us also consider that embracing diversity is simply the right thing to do.
When Trump promised to build a wall along the U.S. southern border, many failed to realize that walls can be metaphorical and physical. Under his reign, our country has lost stature, entered into bruising trade wars, and become isolated from its allies (Pew Research, Bloomberg, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic).
Without multiculturalism, our bonds to other countries are weakened. It is essential that we reject Pompeo’s assertions, promote multiculturalism, push the incoming Biden administration to re-open the borders as swiftly as possible, and reclaim our position as a country that welcomes anyone seeking to build their own “American Dream.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Trump administration has instituted racist policies that erode civil rights and isolate the U.S. from the rest of the world.
Mike Pompeo’s outgoing message as secretary of state seeks to destroy future policies that promote multiculturalism.
RELATED ISSUES
12/4/2020 | Repeal the Trump Equity Gag Order.
9/21/2020 | Support the 1619 Project.
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