Defense Agent bans black story month and other ‘special observations’

Defense Intelligence Agency has ordered a break of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. DAY, BLACK HISTORY MONTH, JUNETEENTH, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other “special observations” to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order, according to a note obtained by NBC News.

The note listed 11 observations now prohibited. It also said that all affinity groups and “employee network groups” are immediately on the break.

The directive comes as the Trump administration has made it a highest priority to go after all programs that are perceived as related to promoting diversity, justice and inclusion in the federal government.

DIA did not immediately return a request for comment.

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US intelligence agencies are also working to eliminate or suspend activities that can be interpreted as supporting previous DEI policies, several current and former officials said. The agencies are still trying to determine what activities or events are forbidden, but officials fail on the side of caution rather than risk that does not comply with administration’s orders, the sources say.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who oversees the country’s intelligence services, recently issued written guidance to employees who said that dei -related boards and working groups have been “limited” and that no official working hours or jobs should be used for DEI – Related activities, according to an excerpt from a memo obtained by NBC News. Future travel related to these activities has also been canceled, the note stated.

As for the Central Intelligence Agency, a spokesman said the agency is implementing the executive order of scrapping the DEI programs.

“The CIA complies with the executive order. We are laser-focused on our foreign intelligence mission, ”a spokesman said in an email.

Former intelligence officials said there was a risk that administration’s movements to eliminate events marking Martin Luther King Day, Holocaust or Americans’ ethnic heritage could prove counterproductive and deter potential recruits from joining the intelligence services.

The CIA and other espion agencies have been trying to hire from a more diverse pool of talent for decades to ensure that the country has intelligence officers with language skills and cultural backgrounds to help improve intelligence gathering abroad.

“From an intelligence community perspective, I really think it could hurt our ability to do our job,” said the former senior official.

“We’re going to stifle talent tube lines that were already narrow to begin with. And it will deprive our intelligence of our intelligence and our national security establishing critical knowledge, talent, skills, language … It can be valuable in trying to get someone into a foreign country, ”added the former official.

Last week, the Ministry of Justice sent a memo to the staff who announced the closure of all his DEI programs and said, “These programs shared Americans after race, wasted taxpayers dollars and resulted in shameful discrimination.”

On his first day at the office, Trump Signed an executive order Outline “the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘Diversity, Justice, Inclusion and Accessibility’ (Deia) mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the federal government.”

A similar E -mail went out of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week and informed employees that all affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups, were “dissolved and special observations are canceled.”

Employee resource groups (ERGS) found in both the public and private sectors are voluntary, employee -managed groups with people with similar backgrounds or life experiences. Ordinary groups include Indians, LGBTQ people, black employees, women and veterans.

Other agencies have also completed their ERGs, including DOJ Pride, the Ministry of Justice’s LGBTQ employee resource group that have been around for 30 years.

During a press release on Friday, the White House responded to press secretary Karoline Leavitt on a question from NBC News about whether Trump plans to keep with tradition and sign a proclamation about Black History Month ahead of her start on Saturday.

“The president is looking forward to signing a proclamation celebrating Black History Month. I was actually talking to our great staff secretary. It is in the works to be approved and it will be ready for the president’s signature to signify the beginning of it tomorrow,” said Leavitt.

JunTeenth was created as a federal holiday just four years ago during the Biden administration. Also known as Emancipation Day, Black Independence Day and Jubilee Day, Holiday Markers End of Slavery in USA

It was the first federal holiday that was established since 1983 when Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created.

Andrea M. O’Neal, a former White House official who helped drive federal policies and observations behind Black History Month under President Joe Biden, observations said the opportunity for full recognition of American history.

O’Neal also said they help raise awareness of what communities are experiencing that can have a direct impact on how the federal government can help earn them better.

“This kind of rollback demoralizes to communities that finally had a place at the table (and) was eventually recognized for their contributions,” said O’Neal.

“When presidents and governments decide who is important (and) who is not, it has the effects of downstream that we may not fully understand,” said O’Neal, adding that the changes implemented from it Performing order makes people feel less comfortable at work and make them have lower morals, she added.

Troy Blackwell, who worked for the Department of Commerce in the Biden administration, said a big piece of DEI involves making policies and resources available to underrated societies.

In his last year, working for the Department of Commerce, Blackwell and his Team Patent and Trademark resource libraries opened at Spanish-speaking institutions and historically black colleges and universities.

“I’m the heart bridge to be honest,” Blackwell said. “It is contemptible what is happening, and I think it is definitely a sign of government.”

“We are celebrating Black History Month knowing that there has been a story of slavery and Jim Crow and Civil Rights, and what it has done with the United States Substance and Contributions from African Americans overlooked in non -decades, but centuries,” added Blackwell , there is Afro-Latino. “The literal White House in which the president sits and his team works was built by slaves.”

Trump’s inauguration happened to fall on the MLK day this year.

In a speech after his heavy ringing ceremony in Capitol Rotunda, Trump recognized the historical significance of the holiday and spoke directly to the black and Latin American voters who cast a vote for him last year.

“To the black and Latin American communities, I will thank you for the enormous outflow of love and trust that you have shown me with your voice,” he said, adding, “Today is Martin Luther King Day. And his honor – this will be a great honor.