John,

The vial, hateful, dehumanization of immigrants, communities of color, and marginalized communities by leaders in Congress and elsewhere is a reminder of how much more we must do to defend our multiracial and multicultural democracy, and our commitment to equity for underserved communities.

This past week, U.S. Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) issued a disgusting Islamophobic, anti-Arab attack in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing against Maya Berry, the Executive Director of the Arab American Institute.

In a brand-new interview with NPR, Berry says:

“The direct attack was obviously racist and sexist, but frankly it’s not just the exchange with Senator Kennedy. The exchanges with some of the other members on that side of the aisle were profoundly confusing. They were introducing foreign policy conversations and furthering really the dehumanization of Arab Americans and specifically Palestinians in an extraordinary way. And the point is that we have seen an increase in hate. We’ve seen an increase in antisemitism, we’ve seen an increase in the Latino community being targeted, Asian Americans being targeted, the LGBT community. It’s a record-breaking year, year after year, targeting all communities.” ¹

These attacks in Congress are not isolated incidents. Several House appropriations bills include poison pill riders that would prohibit federal funding for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, further exacerbating longstanding inequities in our society, economy, and education. These attempts to change law are encouraged by Project 2025, whose handbook of right-wing proposals contains policies that target racial equity programs, including requiring the Treasury Department to fire anyone who has participated in DEI initiatives if they did not object on constitutional grounds.² It would have the Department of Justice prosecute entities with DEI programs. Project 2025 would codify discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, require the Department of Labor to eliminate any programs related to racial equity, and rescind executive orders that gave the DOL the authority to enforce nondiscrimination among federal contractors.

Take action today and send a message to your members of Congress to stand up to all forms of racist, discriminatory attacks on vulnerable communities.

Whether it’s hateful rhetoric or right-wing policies meant to attack immigrants, communities of color, and all marginalized communities―this othering of our fellow human beings is leading to dangerous attacks.

This month, following Donald Trump and JD Vance’s unapologetic repetition of a lie directed at Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH, numerous bomb threats forced the shutdown of city and school buildings, putting the entire city on edge.

The vile rhetoric must stop. Click here to write to your members of Congress urging them to stand up to all forms of hate, including policies that undermine our government’s ability to serve the needs of all of our residents.

Thank you for taking action today, standing up to hate and bigotry.

In solidarity,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ https://www.kuow.org/stories/racist-questions-are-asked-as-arab-american-rights-leader-testifies-at-hearing
² Accountable.US: Project 2025’s Policies Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities