Free Republic

"What's important is that I'm not the last African American fire chief." The Austin Firefighters Association intends to hold a vote of no confidence on Fire Chief Joel G. Baker over his failure to deploy advance teams to flood ravaged Kerr County ahead of the destruction. Now, it has been revealed that Baker, the first black fire chief in Austin, prioritized diversity goals shortly after coming onto the job. He's been accused of not deploying Austin's specialized teams ahead of the destruction, despite having been asked by the state to do so, because Texas was delayed in reimbursing the department...

Memo offers a snapshot of how personal statements can be used to skirt affirmative action ban... At the end of finals period each May, the Duke Law Journal hosts a two-week-long competition to select its next crop of editors. Applicants write a 12-page memo, or casenote, analyzing an appellate court decision, as well as a 500-word essay about what they would "contribute" to the journal. Students are chosen based on their grades, casenotes, and personal statements. Less than 20 percent of the class makes it onto the law review, which is overseen by Duke Law School and has no legal...

Over 2.1 million Americans have dropped out of college without earning a degree, a troubling trend that raises concerns about whether universities are prioritizing politics over academic achievement. Universities hire more DEI staff than history professors while millions of students leave without degrees ... Over 2.1 million Americans have dropped out of college without earning a degree, a troubling trend that raises concerns about whether universities are prioritizing politics over academic achievement. A June 4 report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that college non-completers rose by 2.2 percent in the past year. Citing a lack of direction,...

Undercover video shows a Western Carolina University director of institutional assessment detailing a ‘strategy’ to ‘embed’ DEI. The WCU administrator caught on camera is ‘no longer employed by the university,’ a school spokesperson says. ... She went on to explain that if DEI is not explicitly mentioned in an office or title, it can remain undetected by legislators. “It is easier for them to be like, well, you need to get rid of that position because it has that niche title,” she says in the video. “Well, if we don’t create titles, and that it’s more just the work you...

Nearly a dozen aviation insiders, including a whistleblower who filed a federal complaint, asserted that diversity initiatives cause unneeded distractions.. For one veteran airline captain, a routine flight to Denver changed her view about aviation safety—but not because of an in-flight crisis. Rather, the captain heard a story that—for the first time in her decades-long career—made her uneasy about putting her loved ones on a plane. During a 2024 conversation, a flight instructor described unusual steps managers had taken to salvage the career of a young female trainee pilot. The instructor described an “egregious” example of the apparent relaxing of...

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, which accredits medical schools, will no longer consider Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs during evaluations. Another medical education accreditor announced earlier this month that it would suspend diversity requirements. ... The Liaison Committee on Medical Education—which accredits medical schools around the country—has announced that it will no longer consider Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs during its evaluations. On May 19, the committee, which is sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) decided to eliminate DEI considerations as part of its criteria for assessing medical schools’ performances, ... The Liaison Committee...

14 years after the Obama administration ordered NYC Fire Department to hire applicants who failed a “racist” written test on firefighting, a 53-year-old man named Ashiq Hussain fell to his death because a NYC firefighter did not properly follow the instructions for using a ladder.By Daniel Alman (aka Dan from Squirrel Hill)May 29, 2025In 2011, the Obama administration ordered the New York City Fire Department to hire applicants who had failed a written test on firefighting, under the false claim that it was “racist” to require firefighters to know how to read.Original source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/7/firehouse-flunkies/Archive of source: https://archive.ph/qTGUVIn 2025, a 53-year-old...

District materials highlight a decrease in A grades for ‘more privileged’ students.. Without seeking approval of the San Francisco Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools Maria Su plans to unveil a new Grading for Equity plan on Tuesday that will go into effect this fall at 14 high schools and cover over 10,000 students. The school district is already negotiating with an outside consultant to train teachers in August in a system that awards a passing C grade to as low as a score of 41 on a 100-point exam. Were it not for an intrepid school board member, the...

You had ONE JOB to do – and you couldn’t get it done. Sarah Russell was promoted to Commissioner of CEMA in May 2021. They joined CEMA in 2010 as a specialist responsible for public information, community outreach, training, exercise, etc. Sarah Russell was fired on Saturday after the tornado sirens were not used during the massive tornado that swept through St. Louis City on Friday afternoon. Thousands of homes were damaged. At least five individuals died, and tens of thousands were without power. Mayor Cara Spencer suspended Sarah Russell after the tornado sirens were left off during Friday’s tornado....

Sales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter as the retailer faced boycotts for ditching its DEI efforts and felt the impact of President Trump's tariffs. Target cut its forecast for the rest of the year warning that sales would slip further as its customers pulled back on spending amid an uncertain economic environment. Earlier this year the company conceded to the Trump administrations attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by scaling back its own efforts. However, the retreat created a fierce customer backlash leading to store boycotts that further damaged sales. Sales for the...

Under Attorney General Pam Bondi's watch, DOJ "not waste" funds on DEI ... DOJ is moving funds formerly granted to groups supporting transgender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to law enforcement.. DOJ, under Attorney General Pam Bondi's watch, will "not waste" funds on DEI. ... "The Department of Justice under Pam Bondi will not waste discretionary funds on DEI passion projects that do not make Americans safer ..We will use our money to get criminals off the streets, seize drugs, and in some cases, fund programs that deliver a tangible impact for victims of crime." ... Bondi,...

Harvard University has renamed its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office following the Trump administration’s decision to freeze billions in federal funding to the school. The university made the announcement on Monday; the name adjustment was announced by Sherri A. Charleston, the school’s former chief diversity officer. ... Harvard University has renamed its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) office following the Trump administration’s decision to freeze billions in federal funding to the school. The DEI center, which was previously called the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, has been renamed to the “Office of Community and Campus Life,” as...

President Trump unveiled his 2026 budget outline Friday, proposing cuts totaling $163 billion to education, housing, medical research, foreign aid funding, energy and environmental protection — while seeking to boost defense spending to more than $1 trillion. The $163 billion cut in non-defense discretionary spending is a 22.6% reduction from current levels, ... The proposed cuts to government funding are in line with Trump’s greater mission to cut bureaucracy via the Department of Government Efficiency — and DOGE ... The defense budget calls for the elimination of “woke” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs; a down-payment on a “Golden...

'They need to agree to serious long term changes'.. Robby Starbuck is standing firm in his lawsuit against Meta after its chatbot defamed him for almost a year, saying the time for apologies is over. "It’s too late to solve this with an apology. It’s been nearly a year. People doxxed my kids," Starbuck told ... The anti-DEI crusader alleged that Meta’s AI chatbot gave users false and defamatory statements about him, wrongly claiming he is a White supremacist who was arrested as part of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court Tuesday. Starbuck...

DEI programs dilute medical education, expert says Over 70 medical schools maintain offices dedicated to “diversity, equity and inclusion” despite federal orders to end such programs, a medical advocacy group found. Do No Harm’s DEI tracker includes schools such as Albany Medical College, Duke University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ohio State University College of Medicine, and Stanford University School of Medicine, among several others. The advocacy group began tracking these offices in medical schools after the U.S. Department of Education instructed all institutions of higher education to end racially discriminatory policies in...

These vacationers really raised the roof — but, no, they weren’t partying. Freaked-out air travelers were forced to hold up the roof of a plane after its interior suddenly caved in during a recent trip from Atlanta to Chicago on April 14. “My homie was on a Delta flight and the ceiling collapsed ... Representatives for Delta Air Lines told The Post, “Delta thanks our customers for their patience and cooperation. We apologize for the delay in their travels.” The spokesperson said that the Boeing 717’s “panel was later affixed into place so customers did not have to manually hold...

Move highlights how legal threats from the Trump administration are discouraging DEI.. Illinois has suspended a minority-only scholarship after the Department of Justice threatened to sue the state, the department said Friday. The department’s move, which came in the wake of a Washington Free Beacon report on the program, is the latest example of how the Trump administration’s legal saber-rattling has deterred the use of racial preferences. The program, which gave minorities financial aid to complete a master's or doctoral degree, was run by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and included some of the top universities in the state,...

Neela Rajendra said deadlines are an obstacle to ‘inclusion.’. NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory has parted ways with its top diversity officer, Neela Rajendra, after the Washington Free Beacon reported that the lab had changed her title in an effort to keep her. "Neela Rajendra is no longer working at [the Jet Propulsion Laboratory]," lab director Laurie Leshin said in an all-staff email on Thursday. "We are incredibly grateful for the lasting impact she made to our organization. We wish her the very best." ... Leshin added that the newly formed Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success—intended to replace the...

On Thursday, the federal Department of Education sent a letter to local school systems nationwide telling them that they must certify their compliance with Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights statute, which bars discrimination based on race, sex, and gender. “The use of certain DEI practices can violate federal law … The continued use of illegal DEI practices may subject the individual or entity using such practices to serious consequences,” including the loss of federal funds and litigation, the notice to schools said. The state of New York, for one, plans to defy the certification order. ... There's more...

For years, America’s left-wing elite universities have been hiding behind prestige and Ivy League branding while running full-blown discrimination campaigns against (mainly) white students, all in the name of politics. If you’re white (or Asian), you’re told to sit down, shut up, and take the back seat—because the progressive admissions and hiring playbook is all about race quotas, DEI scorecards, and left-wing identity politics. It’s not just unfair—it’s un-American. ... We’ve highlighted this from all angles at Revolver, exposing how universities use taxpayer dollars and their tax-exempt status to push a radical, anti-white, charity-driven agenda under the fake guise of...