What’s Happening?

President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has effectively eliminated a clause that explicitly prohibited racially segregated facilities.

Last month, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a public memo stating it was “making changes prompted by President Trump’s executive order on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which repealed an executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination.”

One of those changes includes eliminating Clause 52.222-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which barred contractors from operating segregated restaurants, waiting rooms, drinking fountains, and other facilities. The FAR is used by federal agencies to draft contracts for vendors providing goods or services to the government.

“The Contractor agrees that it does not and will not maintain or provide for its employees any segregated facilities at any of its establishments and that it does not and will not permit its employees to perform their services at any location under its control where segregated facilities are maintained,” the clause, titled Prohibition of Segregated Facilities, reads.

How Are We Impacted?

Now that the clause has been removed due to Trump’s executive order, facilities such as workspaces, dining areas, restrooms, transportation, housing, and more are no longer explicitly protected from segregation under federal contracting rules based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

Although federal and state anti-discrimination laws still prohibit segregation, legal experts warn that eliminating this clause is both symbolic and significant.

“It’s symbolic, but it’s incredibly meaningful in its symbolism,” said Melissa Murray, a constitutional law professor at NYU. “These provisions that required federal contractors to adhere to and comply with federal civil rights laws and to maintain integrated rather than segregated workplaces were all part of the federal government’s efforts to facilitate the settlement that led to integration in the 1950s and 1960s.”

She added, “The fact that they are now excluding those provisions from the requirements for federal contractors, I think, speaks volumes."

What Can Be Done?

The removal of this clause is a rollback, but it’s not the end of the fight. Civil rights advocates, lawmakers, and everyday citizens can take action by:

Demand accountability from federal contractors: Pressure companies receiving federal funds to publicly commit to nondiscriminatory practices, even without the clause in place.
Push for new federal or state legislation: Encourage lawmakers to introduce bills that restore or strengthen protections against segregation in federal contracts.
Suport legal advocacy groups: Organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU are equipped to challenge policies that open the door to discrimination.
Raise public awareness: Share information about this change and its implications. The more people know, the harder it becomes to quietly undo civil rights progress.

Symbolic or not, this rollback matters—and we can’t afford to ignore it.

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