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A deep dive into the human rights issues affecting humanity. Pulling from my experience as a human rights lawyer—I bring the receipts to disentangle fact from fiction and advance the fight for universal human rights.
This week a contact at the DOJ sent me a dozen memos just been issued by new US Attorney General Pam Bondi. The memos, among a range of instructions, informed DOJ employees that the Department will criminally prosecute private entities that implement Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEI/DEIA) policies. This is Project 2025 in action. This is fascism, plain and simple. And it will only get worse. Let’s Address This.
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Donald Trump & then Florida AG Pam Bondi at the White House. [Credit: Getty]
Weaponizing the DOJ Against Private Business
AG Pam Bondi was confirmed 54-46 after PA Democrat John Fetterman voted with Republicans in the Senate hearing. Bondi’s barrage of memos to the entire DOJ read in part, “Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences.” She frames this fascist strategy as “fulfilling the Nation’s promise one quality for all Americans,” and then elaborates:
By March 1, 2025, consistent with Executive Order 41713, the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Legal Policy shall jointly submit a report to the Associate Attorney General containing recommendations for enforcing federal civil-rights laws and taking other appropriate measure to encourage the private sector to end illegal discrimination and preferences, including policies related to DEI and DEIA. [The memo promises to] investigate, eliminate, and penalize DEI and DEIA policies.
And then to ensure she is explicitly clear about her fascism, Bondi defines what she means by “encourage…to end DEIA” as the following:
Strip federal funding from the private sector and educational institutions, bring civil lawsuits, and bring criminal investigations.
Bondi provides no legal argument, no legal theory, and no practical example as to what crime has been committed that she’s targeting. She cites no example of alleged discrimination that has occurred that the Civil Rights Division is working to stop. And note the even deeper hypocrisy here. For decades, conservatives have championed “small government”, arguing that the government should not interfere in private business. We all remember the “gay wedding cake” case. Apparently, the new MAGA logic is that government cannot force a private entity to bake a cake for a gay wedding—because that's tyranny, but government can force a private entity to not bake a cake for a gay wedding—because that's freedom.
MAGA Republicans seek to protect private businesses from being required to cater to a diverse consumer base, while also punishing private businesses who choose to cater to diverse consumer base. That approach only makes sense when your goal isn’t justice, freedom, or humanity—but to advance white supremacy.
Because that’s exactly what this is.
Instead of focusing on real issues—like rising costs of living, corporate corruption, or strengthening the economy (are eggs affordable yet?)—Bondi’s DOJ is wasting resources on targeting businesses that dare to hire, promote, and support Black, brown, women, and disabled workers. This solution in search of a problem demonstrably harms American businesses and universities—which again, is likely the point.
DEIA Increases Profitability and Innovation—This Ban is Self-Destructive
I must again point out that Bondi’s move isn’t just a violation of fundamental First Amendment rights—it’s also economic suicide. DEI programs aren’t “wasteful”—they are proven to increase profitability, employee satisfaction, and innovation. Per Forbes, numerous studies show that:
Companies with strong DEI policies perform better in customer satisfaction, employee retention, and financial strength.
Diverse and inclusive companies have employee retention rates 5.4 times higher than non-inclusive ones.
McKinsey & Company’s research has shown that gender and ethnic diversity in leadership results in major financial outperformance.
Simply put, while DEIA saves money and boosts company growth, the Trump regime insists on punishing companies who seek to maximize profits ethically through meaningful worker representation. Again, the MAGA goal isn’t a strong economy, it’s white nationalist control. The receipts back this up.
Banning DEIA Is About One Thing—Advancing White Supremacy
This is especially visible when we consider who actually holds and has held power in the U.S. historically through today? Consider the facts:
98% of all U.S. presidents have been white men.
98% of the U.S. Senate is white men.
94% of the U.S. Supreme Court is white men.
90% of U.S. Fortune 500 CEOs are white men.
At only 30% of the population, white men control every major economic and political institution at a rate of more than three times their population. Yet, conservative white men are so uncomfortable that a fraction of that outsized power is being shared with a slightly more representative cross section of society, that they claim they are being “replaced.”
Imagine controlling 100% of the U.S. government and economy for over 200 years—but still crying victimhood because now you “only” control 95%. Imagine being so terrified of equality that you criminalize it with the full power of the Department of Justice. Imagine having such unrestricted privilege for centuries, that the slightest hint of equality feels like oppression. We don’t have to imagine, because that is MAGA in 2025 America.
And to be clear, this is the stated intent in their own words and actions.
If you didn’t believe Elon Musk when he performed a Nazi salute not once, but twice, and endorsed that America should only accept white South African immigrants, maybe you’ll believe his former “DOGE” employee Marko Elez. Elez just resigned after the Wall Street Journal confirmed he’s a Nazi and eugenicist and believes in a return to racial segregation. Meanwhile, Elez was illegally given full access to all of our private information via the U.S. Treasury—and this morning Musk made a public push to bring him back to “DOGE” despite his Nazi rhetoric. And if you don’t believe Elez, maybe you’ll believe Darren Beattie, who Secretary of State Marco Rubio just picked for acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. Beattie said just last October:
Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.
And if you don’t believe Beattie, maybe you’ll believe Donald Trump himself when he blamed Black and brown and disabled people and women for the airline crash, his abolishing of DEIA initiatives in the Federal government, his move to get federal employees to snitch on each other for ‘secretly’ promoting DEIA, and now his move to order the Department of Justice to criminally prosecute even private entities who dare recognize the value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Indeed, this isn’t about fairness or justice—this is white nationalist fragility in action.
AG Bondi is moving full speed ahead to criminalize DEIA, and expects a full report from her staff by March 1 on how to execute on this fascist plan. We cannot sit idle. If we allow this to continue unchecked, it will escalate. Abolishing DEIA on paper means MAGAs will further decimate workers' rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, and civil rights—all under the guise of equality (translation: white supremacy). MAGAs will erase every single hard-fought gain for marginalized communities until we are back in the time of Jim Crow America.
I have written at length on the numerous actions each of us can take to more deliberately push back against this fascism and white supremacy. It is imperative we act with urgency, and that we remember what justice looks like—because none of this is just. I will continue to document and expose these autocratic attacks as they unfold, and I need and welcome your continued support to advance my human rights advocacy. Resist. Activate. Communicate. Invest. Educate. Organize. Subscribe. And share. Thank you for your trust in this battle for democracy itself.
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Note - Someone on here said "turn about is fair play" in response to my condemnation of MAGAs passing policy that could kill people with disabilities.
I told them to remove or I'd block them. They blocked me instead, expressing outrage that I didn't validate their Nazi fascism. Good riddance.
Let me be clear -- those who dehumanize or justify violence against people, especially against marginalized people, are not welcome on my platform. I don't care if you're a passer by, a free subscriber, or a paid subscriber -- I won't tolerate violence against especially already marginalized people.
Disagree, even vehemently, all you want. But dehumanization is an auto block. We cannot stop MAGA extremism, which is already dehumanizing us, by justifying dehumanization of our fellow human beings. Lead with justice, compassion, and facts, not dehumanization. Thank you.
Note - Someone on here said "turn about is fair play" in response to my condemnation of MAGAs passing policy that could kill people with disabilities.
I told them to remove or I'd block them. They blocked me instead, expressing outrage that I didn't validate their Nazi fascism. Good riddance.
Let me be clear -- those who dehumanize or justify violence against people, especially against marginalized people, are not welcome on my platform. I don't care if you're a passer by, a free subscriber, or a paid subscriber -- I won't tolerate violence against especially already marginalized people.
Disagree, even vehemently, all you want. But dehumanization is an auto block. We cannot stop MAGA extremism, which is already dehumanizing us, by justifying dehumanization of our fellow human beings. Lead with justice, compassion, and facts, not dehumanization. Thank you.
If anyone need investigating it’s Bondi