Civil Rights to DEI

Written by Daniel John Dunevant on March 6, 2025, 11:11 am

The Common Line Between DEI and Civil Rights: The Unconstitutional Push to Remove Equity from Government

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives have come under attack in recent years, with government offices and public institutions facing efforts to strip away these programs. This movement is not occurring in isolation; rather, it echoes historical attempts to roll back civil rights protections and government programs designed to ensure equal opportunity for all. The push to dismantle DEI is not only a direct affront to civil rights but also raises significant constitutional concerns, drawing parallels with past unconstitutional removals of federal programs such as USAID, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and even discussions about dismantling the Department of Education.

The Legacy of Civil Rights and DEI

The fight for civil rights has long been intertwined with broader struggles for inclusion and equity in American society. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 sought to eliminate discrimination based on race, color, religion, and sex in public accommodations, employment, and housing. However, at the time of their passage, LGBTQ individuals were not included in these protections, leading to decades of additional struggle for legal recognition and rights.

The 1969 Stonewall Uprising marked a significant turning point in the LGBTQ rights movement, spurring advocacy efforts that led to incremental legal protections at state and local levels. The 2016 Human Rights Ordinance in Valparaiso, Indiana, provided LGBTQ protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations—a significant step forward at the local level, even as the state of Indiana failed to enact such protections statewide.

In 2020, the Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County affirmed that LGBTQ individuals are protected under the Civil Rights Act’s employment discrimination provisions. However, full protection remains elusive. The Equality Act, which would explicitly ban discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in public accommodations, employment, and housing, has yet to pass through Congress.

DEI and Government Protections Under Attack

The elimination of DEI programs from government offices follows a dangerous historical pattern of dismantling equity-focused initiatives. Executive orders targeting DEI mirror past unconstitutional actions such as the dismantling of USAID programs, the politically motivated firing of the head of the CFPB, and even proposals to dissolve the Department of Education. These efforts do not simply represent policy disagreements; they constitute direct attacks on the constitutional principles of equal protection and due process.

The Constitutional Argument

The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that discrimination—whether based on race, sex, or sexual orientation—violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The rollback of DEI programs effectively sanctions discrimination by removing institutional mechanisms meant to counteract it.

Similar legal arguments were raised when previous government programs were unlawfully cut. The removal of USAID initiatives aimed at reducing inequality abroad was challenged on constitutional and statutory grounds, as was the dismissal of the CFPB’s leadership, which was deemed a violation of structural protections in federal law. The Department of Education, a vital entity in enforcing civil rights protections in schools, has also faced repeated attempts at defunding, raising significant legal concerns about the federal government’s duty to provide equal educational opportunities.

Additionally, the executive push to eliminate DEI programs and other federal initiatives raises concerns about the constitutional separation of powers. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the "power of the purse," meaning that only Congress has the authority to allocate and cut funding for government programs. When the executive branch unilaterally defunds or dismantles programs like DEI, USAID, or the Department of Education without congressional approval, it bypasses this essential legislative function, making such actions potentially unconstitutional. Courts have previously ruled against executive overreach in cases where presidents attempted to impound or redirect congressionally allocated funds without legislative consent.

The Broader Implications

The removal of DEI initiatives is not merely a shift in policy; it is a direct attack on historically marginalized groups, particularly communities of color and LGBTQ individuals. Just as the Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act were necessary to counteract systemic discrimination, DEI programs serve as modern tools to ensure that government institutions reflect and support the diversity of the populations they serve.

If DEI programs can be dismantled at the federal level, the precedent could extend to a rollback of other civil rights protections. The same logic that justifies eliminating DEI could be applied to weaken employment protections, fair housing laws, and non-discrimination statutes. This could return the country to a pre-civil rights era where marginalized communities lacked legal recourse against systemic discrimination.

Conclusion

The removal of DEI from government institutions is not only a moral failure but a constitutional crisis. It undermines the Equal Protection Clause, weakens federal oversight of discrimination, and echoes past unconstitutional removals of essential government programs. Moreover, it challenges the fundamental separation of powers by allowing the executive branch to bypass congressional authority over government funding. As history has shown, the struggle for civil rights is ongoing, and the elimination of equity initiatives is a step backward in that fight. The parallels between the attacks on DEI and past unconstitutional removals of government protections highlight the urgency of preserving these programs to maintain a just and equitable society.