Alabama Governor Signs Bill Banning Diversity Programs In Public Schools And State Universities

Kay Ivey of Alabama became the latest governor in the South to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion from her state’s public universities when she signed SB129 into law on March 20. 

As CNN reports, in Alabama’s version of the law, there is an additional requirement for those universities to “designate restrooms on the basis of biological sex,” which, according to Alabama state law is defined as “the physical condition of being male or female, as stated on the individual’s original birth certificate” notably, this leaves no room for how a person identifies. 

Governor Ivey seems to believe that she believes in diversity, as she told CNN that her administration “will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity,” and also said that there is also a “liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe.”

The law also bans students, employees, and contractors from any DEI “training, orientation, or course work that advocates or requires assent to a divisive concept.”

According to CNN, Alabama’s law says that divisive concepts include discussions about conscious or unconscious racism and sexism and prohibits discussions about “meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist.”

The law stresses that it doesn’t outright ban DEI, it just prohibits state funds from being used for any DEI program. Meanwhile, universities are allowed to teach about events in a “historically accurate context” as well as being allowed to “engage in recruiting and outreach programs.”

Alabama’s ACLU has boisterously opposed the law on its website, writing, “We oppose Senate Bill 129. This bill is intended to have a chilling effect on discourse regarding race, class, sexuality, and national origin, and seeks to characterize these discussions and accurate teachings, assignments, and trainings that also supplement them as “divisive.” 

The ACLU continued, “SB129 disrupts the work of student, staff, and faculty organizations at higher education institutions that rely on public funding from their university to develop DEI or culturally based programming. This is not only a form of classroom censorship, it’s an anti-truth bill which curtails an education on systemic inequities, racial violence, and the historic efforts to gain civil rights and civil liberties for marginalized communities throughout our nation’s history.”

On the heels of the University of Florida voluntarily eliminating its entire DEI department, one of its most famous alumni, former Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, called for the university’s minority athletes to take a stand and be vocal about the university’s decision in a post he shared to Twitter/X.

One of those who was listening to Smith’s call was Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, who took Smith’s call one step further. 

As Essence reports, Woodfin said in a Facebook post ahead of his state bill’s passage that if it passed and became a law, “Although I’m the biggest Bama fan, I have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized. If supporting inclusion becomes illegal in this state, hell, you might as well stand in front of the school door like Governor [George] Wallace.”

Woodfin’s call echoes calls from the NAACP and its National President and CEO Derrick Johnson, who argued in an op-ed for CNN that the current firestorm around the removal of DEI is this generation’s bus boycott for college athletes. 

“DEI is the future.” Johnson writes. “It has the power to carry us forward, propelling our nation toward continued prosperity and progress. We must reject the attempts to take us back, so that we can all move forward, together. There is no other option. Embracing the ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion is the best way to combat systemic racism and ensure that America is a country of opportunity for all of us. We must not allow dark forces to revert our progress on embracing diversity, equity and inclusion.”

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