True North News

📔 Topics ℹ️ About

Topic: DEI and Race

DEI and Race

12 Stories

23 Related Topics

📊 Analysis Summary

Alternative Data 52 Facts

This week’s mainstream coverage centered on controversies linking race, religion and DEI to politics and policy: Rep. Andy Ogles’s Islamophobic X post and House GOP rhetoric about “imposing Sharia” (with Speaker Johnson echoing worries), an ethics probe of interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin over a letter pressuring Georgetown Law about DEI practices, a 17‑state legal challenge to the Trump administration’s new race‑disaggregated college admissions data mandate, and a diplomatic dispute after the U.S. ambassador to South Africa criticized that country’s affirmative‑action laws. Reporters also flagged a related AP fact‑check showing President Trump mischaracterized Jimmy Carter’s stance on mail‑in voting as part of broader debates over voting rules—an electoral context that intersects with disputes about race and access.

Missing from much mainstream coverage were key factual and historical contexts that would help readers evaluate these disputes: demographic and immigration history showing how the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act reshaped U.S. Muslim populations and Pew data on the racial diversity of U.S. Muslims; research showing Muslim immigrants assimilate at comparable rates; the lack of any documented governmental imposition of Sharia despite state-level “anti‑Sharia” laws; concrete data on how the end of affirmative action has already shifted enrollments (declines for Black students at selective schools and rises for some Asian applicants), and testing and bar‑pass disparities (LSAT/SAT score gaps) that shape legal‑education DEI debates. Independent research and analyses also flagged privacy and access concerns the mainstream pieces under‑emphasized—how the administration’s data mandate could expose students and exacerbate unequal access to required documents (Brennan Center and other studies)—while opinion and social‑media commentary (not well captured in the mainstream sample) framed many actions as politically motivated; no prominent contrarian viewpoints were identified in the materials provided.

Summary generated: March 16, 2026 at 11:04 PM

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump College Race‑Data Order

3d Developing 1

A federal judge in Boston issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking President Donald Trump from immediately compelling colleges and universities nationwide to turn over detailed admissions data by race and gender. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV extended the administration’s deadline by 12 days, until March 25, to allow fuller consideration of a lawsuit filed by 17 Democratic state attorneys general. Trump’s August directive ordered Education Secretary Linda McMahon to have all federally funded schools submit several years of admissions, applicant‑pool, and enrollment data broken down by race and gender, framed as an effort to enforce the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race‑conscious admissions. The states argue they were given too little time to assemble seven years of records and accuse the administration of trying to repurpose the National Center for Education Statistics into a quasi‑law‑enforcement tool to advance partisan aims rather than neutral data collection. The ruling doesn’t decide the policy’s legality but slows a key piece of the White House’s campaign against perceived noncompliance with the affirmative‑action ruling, buying time for colleges and states that say the demand is onerous and politically driven.

Courts and Trump Administration Higher Education Policy DEI and Race

Democrats Seek Censure Over GOP Anti‑Muslim Posts as House Speaker Frames Rhetoric as Sharia Law Concern

3d Developing 6

Democrats have launched censure efforts against GOP Reps. Andy Ogles and Randy Fine — including a formal two‑page resolution from Rep. Shri Thanedar that would censure Ogles and remove him from the House Homeland Security Committee — after a wave of explicit anti‑Muslim posts from multiple Republican lawmakers (eg, Ogles’ “Muslims don’t belong in American society” and Fine’s “choice between dogs and Muslims”) and are coordinating a separate push against Fine despite long odds with a GOP majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson has largely declined to condemn the comments, framing them instead as concerns about a “demand to impose Sharia law in America,” even as advocacy groups warn the rising anti‑Muslim rhetoric, a new “Sharia‑Free America” caucus and millions spent on negative messaging are fueling alarm and limited GOP pushback.

Zohran Mamdani Congressional Rhetoric and Islamophobia DEI and Race

Hegseth Orders 90‑Day Task Force Review of U.S. Senior War Colleges for ‘Woke’ Ideology

4d Developing 1

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has ordered the undersecretary of war for personnel and readiness to immediately establish a task force to evaluate the nation’s senior service colleges — including the Army War College, National Defense University, Naval War College, Marine Corps University and Air War College — for both educational effectiveness and what he calls "woke" ideological influence. In a video and post on X, Hegseth said "Professional Military Education should produce warfighters and leaders—not wokesters" and vowed to "rip" out courses and ideologies he likens to those in civilian universities. The task force has 90 days to assess whether these institutions are actually preparing officers for warfighting, a move that comes as the U.S. is fighting a major war against Iran alongside Israel. Hegseth framed the review as a follow‑through on pulling officers out of civilian universities he deems "too woke," insisting that internal military colleges must be "prepared to do the task properly." The order signals an escalation of the administration’s ideological purge campaign into core command‑level education, raising questions about academic freedom, the independence of professional military education, and whether curriculum changes will be driven by operational needs or political litmus tests.

U.S. Military and Defense Policy DEI and Race Trump Administration and Iran War

Utah Legislature Passes College Religious‑Belief Accommodation Bill, Sends Measure to Gov. Cox

4d Developing 1

Utah lawmakers have passed House Bill 204, the 'Higher Education Student Belief Accommodation' measure, which would require public colleges and universities to provide 'reasonable' alternatives when exams or assignments conflict with a student’s religious or conscience-based beliefs, and now awaits action by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox before a planned May 6 effective date. Sponsored by Rep. Michael J. Petersen and inspired by his daughter’s experience being assigned to write a letter advocating for LGBTQ policy, the bill directs institutions to accommodate students by excusing participation, offering alternate deadlines, or substituting assignments, unless doing so would fundamentally alter core course objectives or essential competencies. It also bars professors from compelling students to publicly advocate specified positions on matters of public concern as their own — including writing legislators or posting opinions online — and requires instructors who deny a request to give written reasons, with a neutral arbiter available to review disputes. Students would have to submit written, confidential advance requests for accommodations, and faculty critics quoted in the piece warn that vague references to 'activities' and broad conscience protections could chill classroom discussion or undermine academic freedom. The fight fits into a wider national clash over religious liberty, compelled speech and LGBTQ-related coursework on U.S. campuses, with supporters framing the bill as First Amendment protection and opponents seeing it as legislative interference in pedagogy.

Higher Education Policy Religious Liberty and Academic Freedom DEI and Race

Connecticut IG Says Officer Took Ambulance Meant for Man Fatally Shot by Police

A newly released report from Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott finds that after Bridgeport police shot 39‑year‑old Dyshan Best in the back on March 31, 2025, the first ambulance dispatched to the scene was diverted to transport a white officer having a "mild anxiety attack," forcing Best, who is Black and bleeding from severe internal injuries, to wait roughly 10 extra minutes for a second ambulance. Prescott concluded the shooting itself was legally justified because Best was armed and the pursuing officer reasonably feared for her safety, but highlighted troubling details about the post‑shooting response, including paramedics’ notes that police rushed them to "take their partner" and provided no information about the officer’s condition. Officer Erin Perrotta, described as "visibly hysterical" and covered in blood, reportedly declined treatment in the ambulance, saying "I am fine, I just needed to get out of here," while Best arrived at the hospital around 6:22 p.m. and died at 7:41 p.m. from a wound that damaged his liver and kidney. The report does not state whether the delay contributed to Best’s death, but his family says they believe he might have survived with faster transport and are calling the case a murder, as Bridgeport police launch an internal affairs review and Perrotta remains on administrative leave in an unrelated matter. The incident is fueling renewed scrutiny of how police prioritize medical care after shootings, racial disparities in treatment, and the degree to which state oversight bodies are willing to question life‑or‑death decisions made at chaotic scenes.

Police Use of Force and Accountability Emergency Medical Response and Public Safety DEI and Race

Ninth Circuit Says Elementary Students Have First Amendment Speech Rights in Black Lives Matter Drawing Case

A three‑judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that elementary school students’ speech is protected by the First Amendment, reviving a lawsuit by a Southern California first‑grader who says she was punished for giving a classmate a drawing that said “Black Lives Mater [sic] any life.” The case stems from a March 2021 incident at Viejo Elementary School in the Capistrano Unified School District, where the girl, identified as B.B., allegedly was told by principal Jesus Becerra that her picture was “not appropriate” and “racist,” forced to apologize, and kept from recess after the Black recipient’s mother complained. The panel vacated U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s grant of summary judgment for the district and sent the case back, holding that Tinker v. Des Moines applies to elementary students and that schools may restrict student speech only when it is reasonably necessary to protect student safety and well‑being, with age a relevant factor. The ruling does not decide whether B.B.’s discipline was lawful, but it squarely rejects the idea that very young students have no free‑speech rights at school, setting up further litigation over whether labeling the MLK‑inspired drawing as “racist” and disciplining the student met the Tinker standard. The dispute is already feeding broader online fights over how schools handle race‑related and Black Lives Matter expressions in class, and the decision gives parents and districts a clearer — and more legally constrained — framework for when administrators can punish such expression.

Courts and First Amendment in Schools DEI and Race

UN Racism Panel Accuses Trump of 'Racist Hate Speech' Tied to U.S. Immigration Crackdowns

5d Developing 1

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued a report Wednesday accusing President Donald Trump and other U.S. political leaders of using "racist hate speech" and condemning what it calls "intensified immigration crackdowns" by ICE and CBP near schools, hospitals and faith-based institutions, which it says have "sparked grave human rights violations." In an unusually direct rebuke of a sitting U.S. president, the 18‑expert panel said derogatory, dehumanizing language portraying migrants, refugees and asylum seekers as criminals or a burden "may incite racial discrimination and hate crimes" and denounced what it describes as systematic racial profiling and arbitrary identity checks of people of Latino, African and Asian origin. The report cites at least eight deaths since January during ICE operations or in ICE custody, including protesters and detained migrants, and notes that at least 675,000 people have been deported since Trump returned to office through January, based on DHS estimates. The White House, through spokesperson Olivia Wales, blasted the committee as exhibiting "extreme bias" and insisted "no one cares what the biased United Nations' so‑called 'experts' think," arguing instead that Trump has produced a 125‑year low in the U.S. murder rate, broad crime declines and "the most secure border in history." The clash comes as recent polling after federal immigration agents shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota shows majorities now disapprove of ICE raids and the agency’s performance, underscoring a widening gap between international human-rights criticism, domestic public concern about enforcement tactics, and the administration’s law-and-order narrative.

Immigration & Demographic Change Donald Trump DEI and Race

South Africa Summons Trump‑Appointed U.S. Ambassador Over Criticism of Affirmative Action and Iran Ties

5d Developing 1

South Africa’s government summoned new U.S. Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III on March 11, 2026, after he publicly compared the country’s post‑apartheid affirmative action laws to apartheid‑era race laws and attacked its diplomatic ties with Iran in a speech to business leaders. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola called the comments “undiplomatic” and said Bozell was told his remarks violated diplomatic protocol; foreign ministry director‑general Zane Dangor said Bozell apologized and expressed regret in the meeting. Bozell also criticized South Africa’s land‑expropriation‑without‑compensation law and denounced a South African court ruling that an apartheid‑era chant including “kill the Boer” was not hate speech, later walking back his defiance of the court on X by saying he was expressing a personal view and that the U.S. respects the judiciary’s independence. The episode comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations since Donald Trump returned to office, with Washington previously expelling South Africa’s ambassador and barring the country from G20 meetings hosted in the U.S., while Trump advances baseless claims that white farmers are being systematically targeted in a campaign of killings—claims even some white Afrikaner groups dispute. The clash underscores how the Trump administration is entwining its global rhetoric on “anti‑white” policies with U.S. diplomacy in Africa, raising questions among analysts and on social media about risks to trade, security cooperation and broader U.S. influence on the continent.

U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomacy DEI and Race Trump Administration and Africa

AP: Trump Misrepresents Jimmy Carter’s Record on Mail‑In Voting

An Associated Press fact‑check finds President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt are falsely claiming that former President Jimmy Carter opposed mail‑in and absentee ballots as they promote Trump’s SAVE America Act voting proposal. Citing a 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform report that Carter co‑chaired with James Baker, Trump said Carter believed mail‑in ballots "should not be allowed," and Leavitt framed the report as condemning absentee ballots, but the commission actually warned of potential fraud risks while recommending safeguards and further study. Jason Carter and The Carter Center, along with Carter’s own 2020 public statements, affirm that Carter supported and personally used mail‑in voting and urged expansion of vote‑by‑mail during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The piece notes that about 30% of Americans voted by mail in the 2024 election that Trump won, that use of mailed ballots is high in Republican‑run states like Indiana, South Dakota and Utah, and that experts still see no evidence of widespread fraud tied to mail or absentee voting. The fact‑check underscores how selective readings of older election‑reform documents are being used to sow doubt about mail voting as Congress debates stringent new ID and proof‑of‑citizenship rules.

Donald Trump Election Administration and Voting Rules DEI and Race

17 States Sue Trump Administration Over New College Race‑Data Reporting Mandate

6d Developing 1

A coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit in Boston on March 11, 2026, challenging a Trump administration policy that forces colleges and universities to submit detailed admissions data disaggregated by race and sex to prove they are not considering race in admissions. Ordered by President Donald Trump in an August memo and implemented by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the policy requires institutions to provide seven years of retroactive data on applicants, admitted students and enrollees by March 18, with potential Title IV penalties for incomplete or inaccurate reporting. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell calls the move unlawful, rushed and arbitrary, arguing it threatens student privacy, could lead to flawed data and “baseless investigations,” and puts federal funding at risk for schools that cannot comply in time. The Education Department, through spokesperson Ellen Keast, defends the effort as transparency for taxpayers and an expansion of existing tools like IPEDS and prior Brown and Columbia settlements to show whether universities are using race in admissions despite the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative‑action ruling. The case tees up a major legal fight over how far Washington can go in using data demands and funding leverage to police post‑affirmative‑action admissions practices and could shape both civil‑rights enforcement and student‑privacy norms across U.S. higher education.

DEI and Race Higher Education Policy Donald Trump Administration

D.C. Bar Ethics Complaint Targets Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Over Georgetown DEI Letter; DOJ Calls Probe Partisan

6d Developing 3

An ethics complaint filed by the D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility alleges interim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin used his office to pressure Georgetown Law—sending a letter demanding information about its DEI practices, threatening hiring sanctions, and engaging in unauthorized ex parte communications and alleged interference with the bar’s probe. The Justice Department called the complaint partisan, pointed to the disciplinary counsel’s past political donations and public criticism from DOJ officials, and Martin — who is also reportedly under a federal grand jury investigation into alleged improper disclosure of grand jury materials and has been demoted inside the Trump administration — has not publicly commented.

Department of Justice Oversight Legal Ethics and DEI and Race Justice Department Oversight

Speaker Mike Johnson Links Ogles’ Anti‑Muslim Post to Concerns Over Imposition of Sharia Law in U.S.

7d Developing 4

Rep. Andy Ogles posted on X, "Muslims don't belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie," provoking fierce internal and Democratic backlash; he defended the comment by citing recent attacks and said he plans legislation to bar entry from certain Muslim‑majority countries. House Speaker Mike Johnson, while saying Ogles used "different language than I would use," echoed GOP concerns about efforts to "impose Sharia law" in the U.S. — a theme driving initiatives like a "Sharia‑free America Caucus" even as constitutional protections make implementation by U.S. governments legally untenable.

Congressional Politics DEI and Race Religion and U.S. Politics