Virginia NAACP threatens to sue Youngkin over DEI transparency
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The Virginia NAACP is threatening to sue Gov. Glenn Youngkin over an alleged failure to provide public records on how his office is handling DEI issues.
The big picture: The lawsuit the civil rights group intends to file says the administration violated state FOIA law by not turning over requested information within the legally defined timeframe.
- If the NAACP sues and wins, the judge could order the Youngkin administration to share everything it asked for.
Zoom in: The NAACP's 31 requests were aimed at uncovering whether Youngkin has been following a 2020 law that created a governor-appointed DEI director position.
- The role is tasked with developing and executing a plan "to address systemic inequities in state government practices" and turn feedback into "concrete equity policy."
It also sought background on:
- Youngkin's decision to swap out the "equity" in DEI with "opportunity" via executive order upon taking office in January 2022.
- His chief diversity officer Martin D. Brown's declaration last year that "DEI is dead."
State of play: Youngkin defended Brown when he faced calls to resign, saying DEI has "gone off the rails."
- Last week, the governor struck a budget amendment that would restore the office title back to "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion."
The other side: The NAACP's requests amounted to 50,000-plus emails and around 10,000 documents, per an email from the state's FOIA officer.
- Christian Martinez, Youngkin's press secretary, said in a statement that the office seeks a resolution and believes in government transparency.
- But due to the number of documents, "a legitimate issue involving the best method for document search and production has arisen."