*Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin urges Black athletes to avoid colleges and universities in Alabama if an anti-DEI bill is passed.
The Senate Committee progressed the bill — SB 129 (sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road) — on Wednesday, sending it to the Alabama Senate for further consideration, the Birmingham Times reports. The proposed law “would prohibit certain public entities, including state agencies, local boards of education and public institutions of higher learning, from maintaining a diversity, equity, and inclusion office or department or sponsoring any diversity, equity, and inclusion program.”
Mayor Woodfin responded to the bill on social media, saying he “will have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized.”
The mayor also called out parents of Black athletes who send their children to schools that discourage diversity.
“To the parents of minority athletes who are helping their children decide if they want to play sports at those institutions: Would you be cool with your child playing at schools where diversity among staff is actively being discouraged?” he asked.
Although I’m the biggest Bama fan, I have no problem organizing Black parents and athletes to attend other institutions outside of the state where diversity and inclusion are prioritized.
— Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) February 21, 2024
In his post, the mayor criticized the state for making it “illegal for institutions of higher learning to promote diversity and inclusion among its faculty and staff. Why would you block fair representation and opportunities for all people?”
As the Birmingham Times reports, Senate Bill 129 would forbid public schools from teaching that “slavery and racism are aligned with the founding principles of the United States.” The bill also makes it illegal for educators to imply or suggest that “fault, blame, or bias should be assigned to members of a race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin.”
During a committee meeting, the bill’s sponsor said the bill would not restrict history teaching.
“When you see and hear what allegedly has happened, at the very least, in schools where divisive concepts as listed in the bill I [do not] believe [the bill] prohibits any specific type of history … to the contrary it allows academic freedom,” Barfoot said.
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