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** OCA Disgusted at Blatantly Xenophobic and Discriminatory Executive Order
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1 October 2020

Contact: Eiley Fong | Communications Associate
202.223.5500 | [email protected] ([link removed] [email protected])


Washington, DC - OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is deeply troubled by President Trump’s recent Executive Order ([link removed]) prohibiting federal institutions and contractors from providing diversity and inclusion training that contains “divisive concepts” and suggests that “the United States is fundamentally racist.” Diversity and inclusion training is a marginal step in addressing the deep and complex history of oppression in this country.

OCA opposed ([link removed]) a memo targeting federal implicit bias and equity programs earlier this month. The latest order goes further, effectively banning federal contractors from offering trainings unless they promote a false version of American history where systemic racism and xenophobia do not exist. The document is so broadly defined that, based on the White House interpretation, education around the impact of racial prejudice and blatantly discriminatory policies--from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese internment--or even acknowledgement of the disparities that exist today could be viewed as potentially “divisive.”

“It is imperative an equitable and democratic society that civil servants, elected officials, and those in government learn and understand how BIPOC folks have experienced trauma, xenophobia, and various forms of discrimination,” says Roland Hwang, OCA Vice President of Public Affairs. “While the Administration is claiming to hold true to the founding principles of this country that all individuals are created equal, we know that erasure of history for our communities is a dangerous slippery slope. We cannot deny that there is racism and systemic inequities. Knowing the truthful and contentious history of our country pushes us to be intentional in inclusivity, equity, diversity, progress, and policy.”

OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

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