DONKEY: Trump & Dept. Of Education Eliminate All Race-Based Programs In Schools

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club – "DONKEY: Trump & Dept. Of Education Eliminate All Race-Based Programs In Schools"

Introduction

In the February 18, 2025 episode of The Breakfast Club titled "DONKEY: Trump & Dept. Of Education Eliminate All Race-Based Programs In Schools," host Charlamagne Tha God delves into the controversial decision by the Trump administration and the Department of Education to abolish all race-based programs within educational institutions. This move has sparked widespread debate regarding its implications on equality, diversity, and the foundational principles of American education.

Elimination of Race-Based Programs

At the heart of the discussion, Charlamagne introduces the "Donkey of the Day" award to highlight the Department of Education's latest policy shift. As detailed by the host around [02:59], the U.S. Department of Education, under Donald Trump's leadership, has mandated the elimination of all race-based programs in schools within a 14-day timeframe. This directive includes:

• Cutting Funding: The Department plans to withdraw financial support for initiatives aimed at addressing racial disparities in education.
• Penalizing Institutions: Schools that continue to consider race in scholarships, hiring, and other activities risk forfeiting federal funding.

Charlamagne emphasizes the abruptness and breadth of this policy change, noting, "[...] they got 14 days to get rid of it." ([02:59])

Impact on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs

The conversation transitions to the specific targeting of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The host outlines that the Department of Education is discontinuing DEI training grants, totaling approximately $373 million. These grants were pivotal in:

• Training Educators: Programs aimed at helping teachers confront and address their own biases and racism.
• Supporting Marginalized Students: Initiatives that provided scholarships and grants to historically underserved populations, including Black and Latino students.

Charlamagne critiques the administration's approach, stating, "[...] this indicates just the fanatical obsession that this administration has in terms of going against DEI." ([04:39])

Critique of the Administration's Policies

Delving deeper, Charlamagne articulates a strong stance against the policy, arguing that:

• Affirmative Action Necessity: Affirmative action and similar programs were established to mitigate the long-standing effects of systemic racism and ensure equal opportunities for minorities and women.
• Restoration of White Privilege: The removal of race-based programs will inadvertently reinforce white privilege, undoing decades of progress toward educational equality.
• Ineffectiveness in Addressing Racism: Rather than eliminating racism, the policies suppress acknowledgment and active efforts to combat it, likening the removal of supportive programs to "having a leaky roof and deciding to fix it by removing the roof entirely." ([05:00])

He further elaborates on the legal aspects, referencing Craig Trainor, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, who asserted that treating individuals differently based on race violates federal law. Charlamagne counters this by highlighting that affirmative action was necessary precisely because such biases were pervasive and systemic.

Consequences for Educational Institutions

Charlamagne raises concerns about the practical implications of the policy, including:

• Scholarships and Admissions: Institutions can no longer factor race into admissions decisions, scholarships, hiring, promotions, compensation, financial aid, and other aspects of student life.
• Policing and Enforcement: There is uncertainty about how compliance will be monitored and enforced, raising fears of increased prejudice and discrimination within educational settings.

He poignantly remarks, "[...] what the Department of Education is currently doing is indeed prejudice and discrimination." ([07:30])

Historical Perspective and Future Implications

Integrating a historical lens, Charlamagne invokes Winston Churchill's quote, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it," to underscore the dangers of disregarding past lessons on racial inequality. He warns that without race-based programs, the educational system is poised to regress, perpetuating the very disparities these programs were designed to eliminate.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Charlamagne's passionate critique of the Trump administration's educational policies, framing them as a significant setback in the fight for educational equity and justice. By dismantling race-based initiatives, the Department of Education not only hinders support for marginalized communities but also perpetuates systemic biases that have long plagued American education.

Notable Quotes

• Charlamagne Tha God ([02:59]):

  "Donkey of the day for Tuesday, February 18th, goes to the US Department of Education."

• Charlamagne Tha God ([04:39]):

  "To me, it indicates just the fanatical obsession that this administration has in terms of going against DEI."

• Charlamagne Tha God ([05:00]):

  "The solution is now to pretend that racism and other forms of discrimination just simply don't exist. Let's go back to doing things the way they were being done before these race-based programs existed."

• Craig Trainor ([05:30]):

  "If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person's race, the educational institution violates the law."

• Charlamagne Tha God ([07:30]):

  "What the Department of Education is currently doing is indeed prejudice and discrimination."

Final Thoughts

This episode of The Breakfast Club presents a critical examination of the Trump administration's policies targeting race-based programs in education. Through incisive commentary and incisive analysis, Charlamagne Tha God highlights the potential long-term repercussions of dismantling initiatives designed to foster equality and address systemic racism. The discussion serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggles within American education to balance meritocracy with the necessary support for historically marginalized communities.

Transcript

[Jon Stewart]

Jon Stewart is back at the Daily show, and he's bringing his signature wit and insight straight to your ears with the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Dive into John's unique take on the biggest topics in politics, entertainment, sports, and more. Joined by the sharp voices of the show's correspondents and contributors, and with extended interviews and exclusive weekly headline roundups, this podcast gives you content you won't find anywhere else. Ready to laugh and stay informed? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, man, what are you into?

[Jon Stewart]

I have the hookup.

[Unknown]

The hookup? The hookup for what? I'm solving a mystery through sex and haven't made a private dick joke until now. Poppers. Why are there so many poppers? All roads lead to the hookup.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You think it's causing people to turn aggro?

[Unknown]

I'm gonna rip your arms off and use them to.

Yeah, that's a word for it. Listen to the hookup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Mary Kay McBrayer]

I'm Mary Kay McBrayer, host of the podcast the Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told. This season explores women from the 19th century to now. Women who were murderers and scammers, but also women who were photojournalists, lawyers, writers, and more. This podcast tells more than just the brutal, gory details of horrific acts. I delve into the good, the bad, the difficult, and all the nuance I can find because these are the stories that we need to know to understand the intersection of society, justice, and the fascinating workings of the human psyche. Join me every week as I tell some of the most enthralling true crime stories about women who are not just victims, but heroes or villains, or often somewhere in between. Listen to the greatest true crime stories ever told on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Martin Luther King III]

Welcome to My Legacy. I'm Martin Luther King iii, and together with my wife, Andrea Waters King, and our dear friends Mark and Craig Kilburger, we explore the personal journeys that shape extraordinary lives.

[Unknown]

Join us for heartfelt conversations with remarkable guests like David Oyelo, Mel Robbins, Martin Sheen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Billy Porter.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Listen to My legacy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is my legacy.

[Jon Stewart]

Yesterday was a really bad day for.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Him, and this is what he did.

[Unknown]

And so we are in a state of emergency.

Okay? White supremacist violence is and always has been the number one threat to our society.

[Jon Stewart]

But I'm also very proud that my wife.

[Unknown]

Breakfast Club, bitches.

All right, Charlene, please tell me, why was I your donkey of the day?

The way things are going, they gonna sign an executive order to make me change that intro soon. But donkey of the day for Tuesday, February 18th, goes to the US Department of Education. While, well, I should I say Donald Trump's U.S. department of Education. Now, if you haven't been paying attention to what's going on in the world, because it hasn't popped up on Shade Room just yet, let me be the first to tell you that Donald Trump and the Department of Education have decided to eliminate all race based programs in schools. Okay? And they got 14 days to get rid of it. That's right. The Department of Education plans to cut funding for initiatives that address racial disparities in education. They will penalize schools that consider race in scholarships, hiring, and a bunch of other activities. Okay. They warn schools that they risk losing federal funding if they continue to take race into account when making scholarship or hiring decisions are so much as knotted to race in all other aspects of student academic and campus life. Oh, I can't make this kind of stuff up. Let's go to the national desk for the report, please.

Doge's newest target, Diversity, equity and inclusion at the Department of Education, identifying 70 DEI training grants amounting to $373 million. According to Doge, one such grant trained teachers to engage in self reflection to confront their own biases and racism. This comes as the Department of Education continues its crackdown on DEI programs and policies in schools. On Friday, the acting Assistant Secretary sent out a letter reminding institutions any discrimination based on race, color or national origin is illegal. Adding institutions failing to comply with federal civil rights law face potential loss of federal funding. Critics quick to respond.

What does this mean? Are they going to take away funding from historically black colleges? Are they going to take away funding from. From public schools that have a Latino student union? To me, it indicates just the fanatical obsession that this administration has in terms of going against DEI.

This is America 2025. You know, America's core values allegedly have always been liberty, equality and justice. These values are supposed to be the foundation of American democracy, but they aren't, okay? Never have been. It's liberty, equality and justice for white men. And then there's the rest of us, all right? In fact, the only reason things like affirmative action exist is because government needed a remedy for the effects of long standing discrimination in this country. Now somebody needs to explain to me what's changed. Okay? In a country where systemic racism is literally rooted in every institution, the solution is now to pretend that racism and other forms of discrimination just simply don't exist. Let's go back to doing things the way they were being done before these race based programs existed. So let's go back to doing what caused us to have to come up with the race based programs to begin with. This is all part of a broader agenda to remove what they call wokeness from American education. Look, I don't care for wokeness either, okay? I believe most woke people just simply need some sleep. But the reality is wokeness in programs designed to level the playing field for marginalized students are not the same, okay? You can't just strip away those programs. That's like having a leaky roof and you decide to fix that leaky roof by removing the roof entirely. That would make no sense. Now, this is also the latest step in the Trump administration's move to reshape programs intended to make things equal for historically underserved populations as a form of racial discrimination. Craig Trainor, who's the Education Department's acting Assistant secretary for civil rights, said related programs and scholarships, many of which have historically helped black and Latino students attain college degrees. Our fine community had come at the expense of white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Now let me read to you a quote from Craig Trainor because this is interesting. He said, and I quote, at its core, the test is simple. If an educational institution treats a person of one race differently than it treats another person because of that person's race, the educational institution violates the law. Well, God damn, how many institutions have treated white people differently and given them preferential treatment over every other other? Okay, Trainer says, put simply, educational institutions may need to separate or segregate students based on race, nor distribute benefits or burdens based on race. I could be wrong because I am not the highest grade of weed in the dispensary. But we got to these race based programs. We implemented things like affirmative action to make sure that policies and programs gave limited preferences to minorities and women, not just in institutions of higher education, but job hiring, awarding a government contract, other social benefits. They had to implement these things because if they didn't, white privilege would rule everything around me. Education is supposed to be the great equalizer, but how can it be when the very programs aimed at uplifting the underserved are being dismantled? Donald Trump and the Department of Education are sending a very clear message. And that message is F you niggas. They aren't interested in addressing the real issues of inequality in our schools. Instead, they would rather gaslight us, tell us we trippin, sweep the inequality under the rug, and then tell us to act like we don't see the lump. So all these colleges that offer scholarships and grants specifically for students of certain ethnic backgrounds, all that's just gone? Schools are just barred from using race and decisions pertaining to admissions and hiring and promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all the other aspects of student academic and campus life. Who is going to be policing this? Okay, what about America in 2025 should make any of us believe we can trust people to do the right thing in regards to prejudice and discrimination? Because if you ask me, what the Department of Education is currently doing is indeed prejudice and discrimination. And you know the main reason we should teach the true history of America? So we don't repeat our mistakes. Winston Churchill once said, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We have learned nothing. And so here we are. Please let Kathy Griffin give the Department of Education the biggest Hee Haw. Please give this giant jar of mayo the biggest Hee Haw. It's cold world. Yes, it is. Cold World Crazy. All right, well, thank you for that. Donkey of the Day. Donkey of the Day is sponsored by renowned personal injury attorney Michael the Bull Lamensoft. Don't be a donkey when you need a fighter on your side. If you're ever injured, go to michaelthebull.com that's michaelthebull. And when you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Wake that ass up early in the morning.

[Jon Stewart]

The Breakfast Club. Jon Stewart is back at the Daily show, and he's bringing his signature wit and insight straight to your ears with the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. Dive into John's unique take on the biggest topics in politics, entertainment, sports, and more. Joined by the sharp voices of the show's correspondents and contributors, and with extended interviews and exclusive weekly headline roundups, this podcast gives you content you won't find anywhere else. Ready to laugh and stay informed? Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, man, what are you into?

[Jon Stewart]

I have the hookup.

[Unknown]

The hookup? The hookup for what? I'm solving a mystery through sex and haven't made a private dick joke until now. Poppers. Why are there so many poppers? All roads lead to the hookup.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You think it's causing people to turn aggro?

[Unknown]

I'm gonna rip your arms off and use them to.

Yeah, that's a word for it. Listen to the hookup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Mary Kay McBrayer]

I'm Mary Kay McBrayer, host of the podcast the Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told. This season explores women from the 19th century to now, women who were murderers and scammers, but also women who were photojournalists, lawyers, writers and more. This podcast tells more than just the brutal, gory details of horrific acts. I delve into the good, the bad, the difficulty, and all the nuance I can find because these are the stories that we need to know to understand the intersection of society, justice, and the fascinating workings of the human psyche. Join me every week as I tell some of the most enthralling true crime stories about women who are not just victims, but heroes or villains, or often somewhere in between. Listen to the greatest true crime stories ever told on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Martin Luther King III]

Welcome to My Legacy. I'm Martin Luther King III and together with my wife, Andrea Waters King, and our dear friends Mark and Craig Kilburger, we explore the personal journeys that shape extraordinary lives.

[Unknown]

Join us for heartfelt conversations with remarkable guests like David Oyelowo, Mel Robbins, Martin Sheen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Billy Porter.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Listen to My legacy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is My Legacy.