The House has advanced a bill, nearly along party lines, that would prohibit schools from requiring students to take courses on diversity, equity and inclusion. House Bill 685 is part of Governor Landry’s legislative agenda. The vote was 57-32, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting no. The vote came after two hours of impassioned debate. More than a dozen Black Democrats took to the house floor to denounce Baton Rouge Republican Emily Chenevert’s bill, including Candace Newell of New Orleans, who called it the most racially offensive piece of legislation she’s ever had to debate.
“This legislation prohibits the teaching of subjects that will trigger white fragility or white guilt,” Newell explained.
Edmond Jordan of Baton Rouge says Chenevert’s bill is an anti-Black bill.
“You can talk about Japanese internment, but you’re not going to talk about race-based reparations. I mean, do we understand that the Japanese actually receive reparations for the Japanese internment?” Jordan asked.
A pair of Republicans offered a rebuttal to the Black Democrats’ arguments. Gray Republican Beryl Amedee took exception with the concept of equity.
“Equity is a Marxist term. It’s an attempt to have the government force equal outcomes. Instead, what we should unify around is equality,” Amedee said.
When Chenevert returned to the podium, she struggled to maintain her composure as she delivered a heartfelt plea in support of her bill. She says her bill does not codify discrimination.
“Does that bring us together? When we tell them how different we are, and we tell them how opposite we need to be, does that make us better? And my passion is, it doesn’t,” Chenevert said.
Chenevert said she filed the bill to keep the state compliant with President Trump’s executive order to retain its federal funding for state universities. The bill now moves to the Senate.
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