Alabama Republicans advanced a sweeping measure Tuesday that would not only bar state funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities, local boards of education and government agencies, but also limit the teaching of “divisive concepts” around race, gender and identity.
The bill passed with broad support in the state legislature, but faced fierce opposition from student groups, civil rights advocates and Democrats who said it was a chilling attempt to undermine free speech and diversity efforts, especially given the history of educational segregation. and racism in Alabama.
The bill also prohibits public universities and colleges from allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
With the legislation, Alabama lawmakers join a broad, right-wing campaign that has targeted DEI programs and initiatives and sought to roll back or curtail efforts to expand racial diversity on college campuses across the country.
But the debate was particularly heated in Alabama. Democratic lawmakers there underscored their opposition by citing the state’s past, including when Gov. George Wallace “stood at the school door” to block black students from enrolling at the University of Alabama.
And at least one Democratic elected official suggested, despite his faith in Alabama football, that student-athletes should consider looking elsewhere.
“Would you be okay with your child playing in schools where diversity among staff is actively discouraged?” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin asked in a Facebook post last month. “While I am Bama’s biggest fan, I have no problem organizing black parents and athletes to attend other out-of-state institutions where diversity and inclusion are a priority.”
The legislation, which takes effect Oct. 1, now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, for her signature.
Alabama Republicans in recent years have repeatedly tried to limit DEI programs at public institutions. State Representative Ed Oliver, a Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor, recently condemned the initiatives as aiming to “deepen divisions, create programs of racial exclusion and indoctrinate students into a far-left political ideology.”
Another key Republican sponsor, state Sen. Will Barfoot, said “higher education must return to its basic foundations of academic integrity and the pursuit of knowledge rather than being corrupted by destructive ideologies.”
Democrats, who widely opposed the bill, warned it would infringe on the constitutional rights of faculty, staff and students. In impassioned speeches, black lawmakers recalled the state’s history of racism and disparagement and their own experiences of discrimination, as well as the opportunities they had received through DEI programs.
“The advances we’ve made — race relations, human rights, social rights, social justice — in this country are slowly turning it around,” said State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, a Democrat. He added: “We allow our racial ethnicity and the importance of our skin color to be slowly stripped away in any shape, form or fashion.”
The bans focus largely on the teaching of “divisive concepts,” which the bill defines in part as attributing “fault, responsibility or prejudice” to any race, religion, gender or nationality. Other examples of divisive concepts include teaching that a person is “inherently responsible for acts committed in the past” or that a person must “accept, acknowledge, affirm, or consent to a feeling of guilt, complicity, or the need to apologize” with on the basis of race, religion, sex or background.
The legislation also says its language should not prohibit PPC programs or discussions from taking place on campus as long as no state funds are used. And he says the bill should not prevent “the teaching of historical subjects or events in a historically accurate context.”
The debate focused largely on the law’s effect on the state’s public universities, land-grant universities, and historically black colleges and universities, where several PPC organizations and programs are located.
Some staff, students and critics say that amid backlash over how racism and black history are taught, a lack of funding and fears of breaking the law may be enough to stop such discussions. PEN America, the free speech group, warned last month that the bill was a “pernicious educational mandate” that would lead to “a campus environment devoid of intellectual freedom.”
Opponents have raised concerns about the bill’s vagueness, given that the legislation allows employees at public colleges and universities to be disciplined or fired for violating the measure. They pointed to Florida, where a similar law is in place and where many schools have either eliminated or reduced DEI-related positions
Critics also warned that the bill would most likely affect historically black colleges and programs that have already struggled to receive equitable funding and resources.
Outside the state Capitol in Montgomery this month, members of black fraternities and sororities, LGBTQ groups and students at many of the state’s public schools and historically black colleges rallied against the measure. Chanting “DEI saves lives,” they told stories of how the programs helped them navigate predominantly white institutions or find college opportunities and support.
The state’s flagship public universities — Auburn University and the constellation of schools in the University of Alabama system — have not specifically addressed how the legislation would affect their offices or programs, beyond pledging to maintain a welcoming and respectful campus environment.
The two schools and their DEI programs were highlighted in a report titled “Going Woke in Dixie?” released by the Claremont Institute, a think tank that has championed anti-DEI legislation across the country.
“We are committed to providing resources and opportunities that are accessible to all, and we will continue to work with the Legislature as we equip members of the campus community for success at our universities and beyond,” said University of Alabama spokeswoman Lynn Cole . System.
Jennifer Adams, a spokeswoman for Auburn University, said the institution placed a “special emphasis on providing access and opportunity to the citizens of Alabama” and “will act consistently with applicable state and federal law.”
