Citing ‘disfavored’ white men, DeSantis signs law eliminating local DEI programs in Florida

The move is the latest from the Florida governor who signed the ‘Stop WOKE Act’ into law in 2022.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed new legislation on Wednesday (Apr. 22) aiming to eliminate local DEI programs within the state. The move, according to DeSantis, aims to strengthen Florida’s already restrictive DEI laws.

In a news conference, DeSantis defended the legislation, calling DEI an “ideological construct that is designed to promote a particular political agenda, particularly to the detriment of disfavored groups.”

“The disfavored groups, No. 1, obviously, would be white males, and I think they’ve been discriminated against,” DeSantis said. “And it’s it’s like a lot of people are, ‘Oh that’s fine. That’s fine.’ No, it’s not fine. It’s wrong.”

The move drew quick criticism from organizations such as the NAACP chapter in Gainesville.

“If you talked to 100 white men, they wouldn’t feel the same way” as DeSantis, Evelyn Foxx, president of the Gainesville NAACP chapter, said. “The governor is out of touch with people, and that is the bottom line.”

Although the law doesn’t take effect until January 2027, after DeSantis leaves office, it could have a lingering effect on how local municipalities handle public events, nonprofits, grants and hiring policies. Among those targeted by the new policy would be the Office of Equal Opportunity in Palm Beach County, as well as LGBTQ+ groups that work in partnership with local governments across the state.

DeSantis was among the champions of the “Stop WOKE Act,” a Florida law that restricted schools and businesses in the state from promoting concepts related to race, gender and racism. Signed during his first term in 2022, he said that under his leadership the state believed in “education” over “indoctination.”

“We believe an important component of freedom in the state of Florida is the freedom from having oppressive ideologies opposed upon you without your consent,” DeSantis said at the time.

Democratic leaders have long argued the legislation was potentially unconstitutional as residents could potentially sue entities if they violated the law and local officials could be removed from office if they were found to have funded DEI initatives.