AFL Asks Department of Justice to Investigate the City of Seattle for Racial Discrimination

Governments can’t seem to stop discriminating against individuals based on race. We know it’s illegal. They know it’s illegal. But here we are.

America First Legal (AFL) has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the city of Seattle for its “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) mandate that discriminates against individuals based on immutable characteristics like race and sex.

Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (PDF) couldn’t be clearer. The discrimination policy is “a citywide effort to end institutionalized racism and race-based disparities in the City of Seattle government.”

Hiring and rejecting individuals based on race is not the way to end racial discrimination, institutional or otherwise.

“We are a small team of race and social justice organizers who believe that the institution of government should serve the people,” reads the “strategic” plan. “We lead with race because we believe that dismantling racism will create a more equitable world for everyone. We draw strength from our shared identities and honor the ways in which we are unique.
We learn from the history of organizing that preceded us and draw inspiration from the collective wisdom of the community today.”

We all know this is illegal. Implementing this plan violates the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and executive orders.

AFL said that in practice, this plan requires the city to discriminate against white people to reach a 50 percent quota of non-whites.

“Seattle preaches equity while practicing discrimination,” said Emily Percival, AFL attorney. “The City’s racial justice initiative violates the very civil rights laws it claims to champion. Equality before the law is not optional.”

Star Parker, the Center for Urban Renewal and Education’s social policy consultant, said DEI is consistent with the Constitution. We took a wrong turn back in the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed that his children would be judged not by the color of skin but by their character. Will the dream come true one day?

Photo credit: By Rootology – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, link