The Trump administration’s executive orders (EOs) 14281 (1), 14173 (2), and 14151 (3) suggest that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives give jobs and other opportunities to unqualified women and people of color. These EOs use “color-blind” language and ideology (4)—unfounded claims that structural racism no longer exists (4, 5)—to attempt to create a false narrative that ongoing “preferential treatment” for people in protected categories leads to favoritism that must be eliminated in the name of fairness. To provide a clearer understanding of who benefits and suffers from racism in the US, and how inequities can be addressed, politicians, scientists, and the public must recognize that color-blind language perpetuates structural racism and avoid its use (4).
