As an American who grew up in the “Civil Rights” era of the 1960s, I could not conceive or dream of an “Un-Civil Rights” era. But here we are, nostalgic for an
Emil Guillermo
Still, even with that, it wasn’t easy. Someone asked me the other day why I looked so young. How I look isn’t just due to the increased melanin in my skin or my ethnic Filipino Asian-ness. Part of it too was I have been underutilized—all throughout my life in my various careers. The door opened occasionally for me but mostly remained shut. When it did open, I had my chance to prove myself, and I was always proud of what I could show. But there never were enough spaces. I was often the only Filipino or person of color in the room. And too many times, one of us was enough.
But now my heartaches, when I see the federal government is not only keeping the door shut, it’s eviscerating the office, and its founding philosophy intended to help minorities and people of color get a fair shake. Donald Trump’s executive order on affirmative action aims his wrecking ball at the order issued by President Lyndon Johnson in the ‘60s. Johnson’s vision led to more than six decades of trying to erase the white bias in government jobs and contracts. It served as a model to both the public and private sector.
It created the crack in the door where I got my shot.
Johnson’s order also served as a model for higher ed. Those efforts were essentially killed when the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in the Harvard case in 2023. We all knew with that ruling the next step would be public employment and contracts in some fashion. Some states had already banned what was rebranded as DEI. But since the Trump election, it was clear the feds would follow suit. The private sector was already ahead of the pack.
