Ally Action Project Week 32: Executive Orders

This week was a sea change for the US, with 45 executive orders issued by President Biden. 7 of the executive orders dealt with equality by establishing new laws, process changes, and proclamations rebuking racism. A brief overview of the orders:

Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. - removes the 1776 Commission and requires government agencies to safeguard racial equity by reviewing their own processes.

Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation. - disallows discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. - a proclamation of the recent racism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It engages the HHS to address language used in the government's covid-19 literature and the DOJ to prevent hate crimes.

Executive Order on Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities. - forces the Attorney General to not renew federal contracts with private prisons.

Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation's and the Federal Government's History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies. - reestablishes the importance of the Fair Housing Act and engages the HUD to review their regulations and policies.

Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships. - a proclamation of the inequality for Native Americans and requires federal agencies to begin to have a regular dialogue with the Tribal governments.

Executive Order on Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform. - removed the ban on transgender soldiers in the military.

We welcome these changes, and we can inspect how our individual activism can take advantage of these new norms.