GIVING VOICE TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PRINCIPLES

On 2026-09-02, Representative Christian D. Menefee (D-TX-18) delivered a floor speech titled "GIVING VOICE TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PRINCIPLES" in the House.

GIVING VOICE TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PRINCIPLES

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 139 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5466-H5471] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] GIVING VOICE TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PRINCIPLES (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Jackson of Illinois was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Illinois? There was no objection. Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the time, and I thank my colleagues for their presence today. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I rise at this moment and in this Chamber to give a voice to the tens of millions of Americans who do not believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion is an offense to the spirit of America. Nor are they under the impression that intentionally including the talent and abilities of qualified Americans who have been historically and systematically locked out of the promises of America is anything other than the right thing to do. In fact, there are millions of Americans who understand that it is impossible to remunerate 300 years of oppression with only 62 years of inclusion. However, that is why we are here, and that is why we find ourselves here today, making sure that this voice is given airtime. Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, it is also where we begin because we will let the word go forth from this time and in this place: If the Government of the United States had simply honored the 14th and 15th Amendments ratified in 1868 and in 1870 respectively, there would be no need for diversity, equity, and inclusion today because we would have fulfilled our promise and our obligation. There would be no need for affirmative action had we simply gone forward and honored the 14th and 15th Amendments. There would be no need for civil rights legislation had we honored the 14th and 15th Amendments. To state the matter with even greater clarity, if the government of this country had honored its own laws, then this country would have never needed a civil rights movement. That is because we would have fulfilled that obligation in our 14th and 15th Amendments. Unfortunately, it was not honored, and here we are. We will continue this fight to make sure that America fulfills its promise and its destiny. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be joined by my colleague and good friend, the Honorable Congressman Cleo Fields, who hails from the great State of Louisiana. Congressman Cleo Fields is the co-chair and founder of the DEI Caucus. Congressman Fields has led an incredible career in public service my entire adult life, over the last 35 years and counting. All the while, he was championing voting rights issues on behalf of his constituents in the face of relentless opposition. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Louisiana (Mr. Fields). {time} 1740 Mr. FIELDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and including me in this very Special Order. In fact, I remember the first day we were here. The late Sylvester Turner and I were sitting right on this floor, and the gentleman from Illinois invited us to be a part of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Caucus. Let me just tell the gentleman that I am so proud to be a part of this caucus. When the President signed an executive order to do away with diversity, equity, and inclusion, it was, in my view, totally wrong, and I think people need to stand up for what they really believe in. I was going through the dictionary today, Mr. Speaker, and I was looking at all three of these terms. First, diversity. Diversity simply means the quality or condition of having or being composed of different elements, such as forms, types, and ideas. There was a time that our military wasn't diverse, and then the American people said there is nothing wrong with African Americans serving in the military. There is really nothing wrong with women serving in the military. There were some folk all across the country who said, oh, you are going to weaken the military. Did it make the military weaker? No, you bet it didn't. It made the military stronger. When we became diverse, it became the most fierce fighting machine in the world. We need to talk about what is good about diversity, equity, and inclusion and not talk about all of these scare tactics that we have heard from people all across the country. Second is equity. What is equity? The quality of being fair, just, especially in a way that takes account and seeks to address existing inequities. Let's be honest about it. There are people in this country who have been facing all types of inequities from the day they were born. We used to debate affirmative action, for example. Folk used to say affirmative action is two parallel lines where you take somebody who is unqualified and elevate them to the level of somebody who is qualified. That wasn't affirmative action. Affirmative action should be viewed as a circle instead of two parallel lines. When you take a certain person out of the circle, they are all equally qualified. We have been fighting those battles all along. There has been some talk that there is no need for equity. Businesses across America have decided to end their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs as a result of the Executive Order No. 14151 signed by the President on January 20, 2025. Finally, Mr. Speaker, inclusion. Who can be against inclusion? Inclusion means inclusion. People of all walks of life. There was a time in this country that Blacks weren't able to even register to vote. This Nation said that was wrong, and they changed it and passed the 15th Amendment. [[Page H5467]] Did you know there was a time in this country that folk did not even allow women to vote? How crazy is that? This country said no, we need to include everybody. Every single person, every single U.S. citizen, should, when they reach a certain age, be eligible to vote. It didn't make our democracy weaker. Inclusion made our democracy stronger. Mr. Speaker, I urge the gentleman from Illinois to keep on fighting for diversity, equity, and inclusion because it is not a bad thing. It is a good thing. Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, Congressman Cleo Fields, representing the Sixth District of the great State of Louisiana, who has a remarkable story. He expanded democracy, not only asking for the opportunity but for equity and inclusion for the voice of all members of Louisiana to be included in what will go down as one of the most shameful acts in American history, the decision of Louisiana v. Callais, where they stripped the voting representation of African Americans in the great State of Louisiana. I thank Congressman Cleo Fields for his magnanimous service to this great country, for continuing to expand democracy, and for having made America better. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), a leader on clean energy, environmental justice, and environmental policy, who has represented the capital region since 2009. He is a person we hold in high esteem, a voice that is fearless and confronts injustice. Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois, Representative Jackson, for bringing us together for a discussion and dialogue on what is an essential wrongdoing of late by this administration: denying the opportunity, the concept, of DEI. Across our great country, we are witnessing an onslaught of dangerous policies, executive actions, hateful legislation, and vile rhetoric, all designed to strip away rights, sow fear, and erase hard-fought progress. The Trump administration has engaged in a calculated and relentless assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion across the Federal Government and beyond. These harmful policies would eradicate programs that address persistent inequalities in American life. They would worsen systemic disparities in access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. They would restrict the right for Americans to exist as they are. Our STEM education workforce has suffered because of sweeping cuts to DEI initiatives. Since January 2025, the Trump administration has made dramatic cuts to NSF programs, many aimed at broadening opportunity for underrepresented students in STEM education. Of the 1,500 grants that NSF has canceled, nearly 90 percent had references to DEI. One of those terminated grants was an NSF award at the University at Albany, which I represent in the 20th Congressional District of New York. Called Striving to Achieve Gender Equity in STEM, this program is essential. It aims to increase the number of women in STEM fields. Just last month, the Department of Justice declared three Federal educational programs aimed at diversifying STEM as unconstitutional. University at Albany has done great work with funding from the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation programming to develop inclusive teaching practices and increase participation by underrepresented students in STEM. Terminating programs like this sends a clear signal by this administration of who is allowed to participate in science. Upholding scientific integrity means protecting the independence of science and the civil rights of our scientific workforce. Beyond attacks on our scientific education system, we have seen attacks on our historical institutions and museums in the name of anti- wokeness: from policing content at national parks and monuments, to removing artwork and displays referencing slavery, to attacking the independence of the Smithsonian and how stories are told. This manipulation of history serves