Progressive lawmaker and member of "The Squad," Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., ripped House Republicans last week for promoting a new bill that would weaken diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the government.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, Pressley ripped the proposed legislation in a speech, accusing its GOP proponents of denying the history of racism in the United States, as well as its current prevalence.
"And I’d also just like to take a personal note of privilege to say, please keep Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s name out of your mouths," Pressley told the bill’s supporters, adding that they’ve made a "perversion of his words" in advancing their agenda.
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As pointed out by the bill’s creator, Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, during the hearing, the Dismantle DEI Act seeks to eliminate DEI offices in the federal government, end DEI requirements for federal contractors and grant applicants, and provide oversight to ensure tax dollars aren’t being used to pay for race-based policies and other similarly divisive initiatives.
In his remarks, Cloud argued DEI "undermines the progress we’ve made – progress that took generations, hard-fought battles, and even a Civil War to achieve. From the abolition of slavery to the victories of the civil rights movement, Americans have worked tirelessly to right the wrongs of discrimination."
Despite the bill being passed by the House Oversight Committee in a 23-17 vote, Pressley mounted an impassioned takedown of the bill, during which she insisted Republican lawmakers do not acknowledge America’s racist roots and are using bills like this one to block attempts to rectify racial inequalities.
She began, "This bill, titled The Dismantling DEI Act, is an utter disgrace… Now, I’ll work with anyone serious about progress who wants to center the people who call this country home. This isn’t it."
The lawmaker continued, pointing out what she perceived was an inconsistency in the bill.
"But we are debating legislation that denies the sky is blue, water is wet, and racism is real. The major provision of the bill says to ban anything that acknowledges racism. And a few pages later, in the exact same bill, there are multiple provisions discussing the presence of racism," she said.
"This Republican approach is as predictable as it is nonsensical."
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Pressley went on to accuse the GOP of not knowing America’s history of racism and discrimination.
"Do you all know your history? Do you know American history?" she asked. "The original Constitution counted enslaved individuals as three-fifths of a person. During World War II, the federal government forcibly relocated and incarcerated 110,000 Japanese Americans. The FHA practiced redlining in the 1930’s and 60’s to deny mortgages to Black Americans, which is why we have a racial wealth gap today."
She went on, stating, I could go on, the GI Bill, which is supposed to be race neutral denied access to Black Americans, denying them equal access to education and housing benefits, which is why we do not have generational wealth."
Pressley then warned her opposition to never reference King Jr., adding, "Your perversion of his words and his mission when his children have asked you to stop invoking his name and perverting his work when he was a proud and unapologetic Black man fighting for equality for Black Americans and all marginalized people."
During the same hearing, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, also slammed Republicans characterizing DEI as "oppression" of Americans’ rights.
She stated, "There has been no oppression for the White man in this country. You tell me which White men were dragged out of their homes. You tell me which one of them got dragged all the way across an ocean and told that ‘You are going to go to work. We are going to steal your wives. We are going to rape your wives.’ That didn't happen. That is oppression."
Pressley's office did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
