[Congressional Tri-Caucus]
“In the middle of a national reckoning on racial injustice, the Trump administration is trying to sweep our nation’s history of racism under the rug…and wants to terminate the federal government’s efforts to root-out institutional racism through anti-bias training.”
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Leaders of the Congressional Tri-Caucus — composed of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37) — issued the following joint statement on the Trump administration’s memo to federal agencies canceling anti-racism training for government employees:
“In the middle of a national reckoning on racial injustice, the Trump administration is trying to sweep our nation’s history of racism under the rug. It is profoundly disappointing but not surprising that the Trump administration is out of touch with what’s important to the American people and wants to terminate the federal government’s efforts to root-out institutional racism through anti-bias training.
“From our nation’s original sin of slavery to state-sponsored segregation and discrimination through Jim Crow laws, to the murder of people of color at the hands of police today, structural racism casts a long shadow and still continues to cause inequality and injustice to date. For example, the Trump administration’s failed coronavirus response has exacerbated harm against communities of color and enabled the disproportionate deaths of Black, Latino, Pacific Islander, and Native Americans.
“The President of the United States has even used racist anti-Asian slurs to describe COVID-19 amidst a nationwide rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. His words and actions have had deadly consequences. Our institutions, particularly the federal government, play a critical role in dismantling systems of oppression and creating a more just and equitable society.
“The Tri-Caucus Chairs call on the Trump administration to reverse its effort to end anti-racism training.”
