Trump's ignorance will never bend this arc of progress

Our nation’s founders embraced equality as a guiding principle in the Declaration of Independence with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

Abraham Lincoln gave meaning to the founders’ words while on the campaign trail in 1857; he countered the infamous Dred Scott decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared that persons imported from Africa, whether free or enslaved, were not American citizens.

Lincoln responded that the nation’s founders saw equality as an aspiration of American democracy:

“They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society … constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere.”

Critical steps in removing barriers to equality would be taken through constitutional change only after a bitterly fought Civil War. Three post-war amendments sought to make people of color in the US more equal, specifically:

• The 13th Amendment (1865) abolishing slavery;
• the 14th Amendment (1868) providing that all persons born or naturalized in the US, including formerly enslaved persons, are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection under the law; and
• the 15th Amendment (1870) specifying that US citizens shall not be denied the right to vote on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

Major steps toward advancing equality were taken in the 20th century through Social Security (1935), Medicare (1965) and Medicaid (1965).

The Social Security Act equalizes access to income support for seniors, the unemployed, families with dependent children and people with disabilities. Seventy-million Americans rely on Social Security benefits each month, and nearly 590,000 Kansans receive monthly benefits through Social Security.

Medicare equalizes access to health care primarily for seniors and disabled persons, and Medicaid equalizes access to health care for poor and disabled persons. Seventy-million Americans are now enrolled in Medicare, and 70 million Americans are covered by Medicaid. More than 570,000 Kansans are enrolled in Medicare, and more than 350,000 Kansans are covered by Medicaid.

The nation has made historic commitments to equalize access to civil rights, specifically through:

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which guarantees access to public accommodations, education and employment for those discriminated against as a result of race, color, religion, sex or national origin;
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which assures access to the ballot box for those denied access as a result of race or color; and
• The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which provides access to employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications for persons with disabilities.

President Donald Trump has declared war on equality as an aspiration for American democracy. He has twisted civil rights protections inside out: from safeguards intended to uphold the rights of people of color, women, and disabled persons to a protection for white men.

Trump has ordered that:

• Initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion are illegal and immoral and should be terminated both within and outside of government;
• Evidence of inequalities in the form of “disparate impact” be banned from use in determining discrimination against minority groups and people of color;
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stop assisting state and local civil rights offices from investigating discrimination based on disparate impact; and
• The Department of Justice “modify, rescind, or move to conclude” consent decrees or agreements designed to eliminate racial discrimination in local police departments and as a result such measures were subsequently abandoned.

Trump appointees have turned civil rights offices in departments of Justice, Education, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission away from addressing claims of discrimination by people of color and women toward complaints against measures that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion for such groups. They have also used federal grants and contracts as leverage to force schools, colleges and universities to abandon initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, whether federally funded or not, and terminate grants or contracts concerned with equity.

In Trump’s world, even the celebration of achievement of those from marginalized groups is viewed as diminishing white people.

Our nation’s drive for equality over two and a half centuries now permeates our government and institutions throughout society. Trump acts out of ignorance against our determination and may temporarily disrupt progress. I remain confident, however, that he can never bend the arc of history away from our aspiration for equality.

H. Edward Flentje is a professor emeritus at Wichita State University and formerly was director and professor in the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs at the university. He has written and edited numerous publications, including most recently co-writing and co-editing “Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics.” Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.