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By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
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Federal Agencies Slash DEI-Driven Research Projects
The NIH abruptly canceled a cancer study focused on LGBTQ patients in June 2025 mid-data collection. Investigators reported receiving no warning about the termination despite $2 million already spent on the project (Science Friday). This move reflects a broader dismantling of diversity-focused federal research initiatives under Trump’s executive orders.
Meanwhile NASA scrubbed “inclusion plan” requirements from grant applications while the Department of Energy deleted DEI language from materials science programs. The NSF spent 13 weeks reviewing existing projects for DEI elements including proposals to recruit first-generation college students into engineering. One program lead compared the scrutiny to “purge protocols from 1950s McCarthyism” (AIP).
Neurodivergent Scientists Bear Brunt of NSF Cuts
The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation became a Ground Zero case after losing critical NSF funding. Their SPARK program which placed neurodivergent students in tech labs saw 70% of participants secure full-time STEM jobs pre-termination. Post-elimination eight autistic researchers lost positions including a data visualization specialist who discovered novel patterns in primate social behaviors (The Independent).
Dr. Keivan Stassun co-director noted that talent pipelines dried up overnight. “Companies relying on our trainee pool now face compounding workforce gaps” he observed. Meanwhile the Department of Labor reported a 22% increase in neurodivergent unemployment claims during the first quarter of 2026 directly contradicting administration claims about strengthening technical workforces.
Clinical Trial Diversity Requirements Vanish
FDA officials quietly pulled diversity guidance documents in April 2025 that required demographic representation in medical trials. This allowed sponsors to submit trials where 90% of participants identified as white males. Public health researchers warn this could resurrect dangerous precedents like the 1990s HIV drug trials that excluded women of color (Science Friday).
Pharmaceutical companies initially resisted the changes citing liability risks. However manufacturer liability shields in the 2025 Federal Appropriations Bill lowered legal exposure for skewed trial populations. Patient advocates now fear treatments may prove ineffective or dangerous for excluded groups as seen with early blood pressure medications tested primarily on white subjects.
Private Sector DEI Faces Existential Threat
The Labor Department now uses executive orders to target corporate DEI programs. In May 2026 regulators fined a biotech firm $2.3 million for “discriminatory hiring practices” after they prioritized neurodivergent applicants for lab technician roles. Legal teams interpret the move as establishing precedent to dismantle workplace accommodations nationwide (Jackson Lewis).
Corporate DEI training participation plummeted 61% year-over-year as companies fear becoming litigation targets. Ironically SAP reported losing $380 million in potential AI innovations after cutting neurodiversity hiring initiatives. Their abandoned projects included a machine learning model that improved diagnostic accuracy for rare diseases by analyzing non-verbal patient cues.
Disproportionate Harm to Marginalized Communities
HIV prevention programs saw immediate resource cuts with the CDC initially deleting PrEP access guides for transgender patients. While courts forced partial restorations clinic directors report persisting shortages of Spanish-language educational materials. San Diego’s LGBTQ Health Center now operates at 50% capacity for STI testing due to revoked DEI grants (Science Friday).
Rural health disparities worsened as telemedicine programs serving Navajo Nation lost USDA broadband funding tied to DEI metrics. Diabetes management initiatives collapsed when tribal liaisons got reassigned. “We’re back to 1990s-level health outcomes” stated a community health worker in Arizona where amputations from untreated diabetes spiked 18% in six months.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College where he has been teaching since 2007. He is the author of several books including Between The Color Lines: A History of African Americans on the California Frontier Through 1890. You can visit Darius online at africanelements.org.
