02/13/2025
I know I am a small-potatoes arts group, and I am not eligible for federal funding (I think?) but this new gutting of the NEA is one of the most recent chilling things that has happened since Herr Trump/Musk have started dismantling our government and our democracy. They have taken over the Kennedy Center. Muzzling the artists is right out of the Natzi playbook. For our part, we will continue to be unabashedly q***r, support diversity/equity/inclusion, and blur the f**k out of what they call "gender ideology". Existing and creating art as Resistance.
From the new NEA guidelines:
"But the news got much worse. On the Assurance of Compliance page—a standard list of criteria for eligibility and admonishments to follow existing laws that has long been part of the fine print included with grant applications—there is some startling new language. After listing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination Act, and Title IX, the page includes the following new requirements:
The applicant will comply with all applicable Executive Orders while the award is being administered. Executive orders are posted at whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions.
The applicant’s compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the U.S. Government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code, pursuant to Executive Order No. 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, dated January 21, 2025.
The applicant will NOT operate any programs promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws, in accordance with Executive Order No. 14173.
The applicant understands that federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology, pursuant to Executive Order No. 14168, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."