Equity

The Port of Portland’s board of commissioners voted Monday to eliminate a social equity policy over concern the Trump administration could remove a sizable chunk of the agency’s funding.

Top officials in Oregon are refusing to sign off on a demand from the U.S. Department of Education that requires states to abandon policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion if they want to keep receiving federal funding for schools.

The letter, sent to school leaders across the nation late last week, threatens to withhold federal funding from schools for “any violation” of civil rights law — including DEI programs that “advantage one race over another.”

Universities in some parts of the country are responding to the federal DEI crackdown by shutting down diversity offices and eliminating equity-related groups. Oregon’s institutions are largely standing their ground.

As national politics hit home, over 200 people, including county staff, pushed back.

Portland group helps BIPOC communities strengthen their connection to nature.

The website deleted all mentions of "transgender" and "queer" in its history of the Stonewall riots, and only referred to the riots' impact on lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Costco’s board of directors voted unanimously to ask shareholders to reject a motion from a conservative think tank calling for an evaluation of the company's diversity, equity and inclusion policy.

Employees in the programs will be placed on paid administrative leave. Agencies have the next few days to submit reports on how they are complying with the orders, including plans to fire them.

Portland State University’s newly revamped Vernier Science Center, a transformational project four years in the making, is designed to create a more welcoming and inclusive learning environment grounded in Indigenous values that benefits all, especially BIPOC students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) disciplines.