President Donald Trump’s executive orders and other directives attacking civil rights have led to a military memo ordering the United States Military Academy at West Point to remove several clubs that exist to diversify military service.
“Effective immediately, all Directorate of Cadet Activities (DCA) sanctioned clubs listed below are hereby disbanded,” said the document, which has circulated online. The memo also indicates that trips, meetings, and other events and activities tied to the clubs have been canceled.
Among the groups affected by the order are the National Society of Black Engineers Club, Asian-Pacific Forum Club, Latin Cultural Club, Native American Heritage Forum, Vietnamese-American Cadet Association, and the Society of Women Engineers Club.
The memo also orders that references to the clubs must be purged from the military academy’s website, and that has apparently already been done.
Trump’s executive orders have targeted longstanding programs and initiatives meant to diversify the United States after hundreds of years of racism, bigotry, misogyny, and oppression led to systemic disadvantages for millions of people.
For instance, the National Society of Black Engineers has worked since 1975 to connect a diverse array of students with pathways to careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. For decades, Black people were excluded from advancement in these areas of American life not because they lacked the mental capacity to do the work—as racists often contend—but because they were denied the opportunity due to their race.
The same has held true for other groups of Americans, including, but not limited to, women, Latinos, Asians, the disabled, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Trump is a well-documented racist and sexistwith some of the most prominent expressions of his racism occurring when he praised neo-Nazis and promoted the “birther” conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama.
Trump has spent the first few weeks of his second administration issuing edicts meant to undermine civil rights gains, often creating chaos across the government.
In one instance, the Air Force temporarily pulled a training video that featured the pioneering Tuskegee Airmen, Black men who flew fighter planes against the Nazis in World War II. While the video was eventually restored, the episode was triggered by Trump’s orders to strip the services of decades of pro-diversity material.
With this new order, cadets being trained to protect the United States will be denied access to clubs and other organizations meant to strengthen the country against threats—foreign and domestic.
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