Did Trump remove a ban on segregated facilities?

Donald Trump has signed off on a number of shocking executive orders since stepping into the oval office for the second time. Many of his policies and changes look set to take the country back to the 1950s: DEI being rolled back, policies protecting LGBTQ+ individuals being ended, and policies for women’s rights possibly being next for the chopping block – it’s not looking good.

His latest shocking move has seen the president repeal an executive order signed in the 60s which explicitly prohibited contractors from having segregated facilities. So what does this mean for civil rights in the U.S. today?

Donald Trump’s changes to bans on segregated facilities explained

A public memo from the General Services Administration (GSA) dated February 15th refers to Trump’s executive order 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This order brought an end to DEI, a policy designed to promote equitable and diverse hiring processes. Numerous companies have already dropped the policy for fear of repercussions from the president.

The GSA helps manage and support federal agencies, providing everything from supplies, to transportation, to office spaces. The changes the agency are making reflect the changes made by Trump through his anti-DEI order. Through this order Trump also repealed a previous executive order signed by Lyndon B. Johnson back in 1965 prohibiting discrimination for federal contractors. 

The communication from GSA instructs agencies to not include certain provisions and clauses “when issuing new solicitations or contracts.” A list specifies what needs to be dropped in order to comply with Trump’s order, the second item on the list is the “prohibition of segregated facilities.”

The clause specifically relating to the prohibition of segregated facilities comes from the Federal Acquisition Regulation, (FAR) – a document that contains rules and regulations agencies must follow when writing contracts for anyone supplying goods or services to the government. Clause 52.222-21 relates to the “prohibition of segregated facilities,” and it states that a contractor will not provide or maintain segregated facilities for its employees. The removal of this clause falls in line with executive order 14173.

Discrimination is still very much illegal

Of course, there are still plenty of laws that contractors will have to adhere to that make discrimination illegal, but legal experts are concerned about the significance this change to contracts could have across the country. Law professor Melissa Murray called the change, “symbolic, but it’s incredibly meaningful in its symbolism.” She goes on to say that the provisions were all a part of the “government’s efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.” The exclusion of these provisions, “speaks volumes.”

So, to reiterate, contractors still have to follow laws which prevent discrimination such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but that doesn’t mean this new law regarding segregated facilities is any less disturbing. Many are rightfully concerned over the message this change could convey and the precedent it could set.