As an American who grew up in the “Civil Rights” era of the 1960s, I could not conceive or dream of an “Un-Civil Rights” era. But here we are, nostalgic for anEmil GuillermoEmil Guillermo America where the prevailing belief in fairness was on our side.
Still, even with that, it wasn’t easy. Someone asked me the other day why I looked so young. How I look isn’t just due to the increased melanin in my skin or my ethnic Filipino Asian-ness. Part of it too was I have been underutilized—all throughout my life in my various careers. The door opened occasionally for me but mostly remained shut. When it did open, I had my chance to prove myself, and I was always proud of what I could show. But there never were enough spaces. I was often the only Filipino or person of color in the room. And too many times, one of us was enough.
But now my heartaches, when I see the federal government is not only keeping the door shut, it’s eviscerating the office, and its founding philosophy intended to help minorities and people of color get a fair shake. Donald Trump’s executive order on affirmative action aims his wrecking ball at the order issued by President Lyndon Johnson in the ‘60s. Johnson’s vision led to more than six decades of trying to erase the white bias in government jobs and contracts. It served as a model to both the public and private sector.
It created the crack in the door where I got my shot.
Johnson’s order also served as a model for higher ed. Those efforts were essentially killed when the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in the Harvard case in 2023. We all knew with that ruling the next step would be public employment and contracts in some fashion. Some states had already banned what was rebranded as DEI. But since the Trump election, it was clear the feds would follow suit. The private sector was already ahead of the pack.
Trump at his inaugural speech, didn’t dare mention the J6 pardons to come, saving that for his COB surprise. He didn’t even mention the unconstitutional act of dismantling birth-right citizenship from the 14th Amendment. But his official inaugural address was clear when he said he’d get “race and gender out of public life, including standard policy of America is color-blind and merit based.”
It’s the false DEI killer that only hinders the progress intended to make right America’s racial wrongs.
So, DEI is dead, strange coming from the president who said he was saved by God to make America great again. Does he even know DEI is God in Latin?
But we’re no longer in Johnson’s “Great Society,” we’re in 47’s diminished “Trumpville.” It’s where the remedies of discrimination are seen as the sources of discrimination. It’s an America in reverse in a speedy cybertruck, heading back to our racist past. And masking it all as color-blind meritocracy. That’s why Trump’s leading by example, nominating some of the most unqualified people to his cabinet. Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense as an example of meritocracy? Are Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbert Trump-era de facto “DEI” hires?
Or maybe all that matters isn’t race or gender, but money. The defense of Hegseth is fueled by mega donations. Money talks in this oligarchy, where Trump, joins his front-row billionaires after launching his $Trump meme coin last weekend, now valued at over $40 billion. Trump is only too happy to monetize the presidency. And it’s only the first week of America’s undoing.
It remains incumbent on those of us who got a break in the Civil Rights era to do all we can to keep open even the smallest crack in the door.
