UNM kicks off Black History Month celebrations amid new DEI orders

UNM kicks off Black History Month celebrations amid new DEI orders

The University of New Mexico kicked off its Black History Month celebration Monday. It's a celebration that suddenly finds itself surrounded by uncertainty.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico kicked off its Black History Month celebration Monday. It’s a celebration that suddenly finds itself surrounded by uncertainty. 

The White House celebrated the start of Black History Month just as the defense department outlawed it.

Nationwide, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs are at a crossroads. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively dismantled the federal government’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. 

Federal DEI staff member have been put on leave. The order could take months or even years to fully implement. But in New Mexico, big employers are trying to figure out what this means for them.

On Monday, UNM groups gathered to kick off Black History Month. 

“Especially in our world today, I think it’s very important that we talk about and we celebrate the history,” said Gabriella Surodjawan, a UNM NAACP president. 

Surodjawan says it’s exciting to raise the pan-African flag, but she’s worried about DEI government programs.

“It’s hard. There’s not a lot of hope at this point. I think it’s hard being so young, because at the end of the day, there’s only so much that we can do moving forward,” said Surodjawan. 

A spokesperson said UNM is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment on campus, and evaluating how new orders might impact the university.

New Mexico’s national labs are federal institutions, but they’re run by contractors. Los Alamos National Lab says its still looking over policies and waiting to see what orders will impact the lab. 

New Mexico State University’s president sent a letter last week saying executive orders have wrought havoc on people in New Mexico, adding that a legal team hopes to clarify how the school will be impacted. 

UNM Law Professor Sonia Gipson Rankin is watching the courts closely.

“It’s really important, especially thinking about it from a legal perspective, is that we have laws, we have checks and balances, we have a system, and a lot of these things that you might catch on the Daily News will have to go through our court of law,” said Rankin.

At the Black History Month kickoff, Dr. Sam Johnson says his community didn’t come this far to turn back now and urges the younger generation not to give up hope.

“Do not let fear deal with your mind to the point you do not know who you are,” said Dr. Sam Johnson, co-founder of Africana Studies at UNM. 

We reached out to Sandia National Labs and Albuquerque Public Schools for comment as well. Sandia referred us to the National Nuclear Security Administration, and we’re still waiting to hear back. 

An APS spokesperson said it doesn’t have a specific DEI office, but we found an Office of Equity and Engagement. We’re still waiting to hear back from APS about its plan.

UNM sent the following statement to KOB 4:

“The University of New Mexico is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of our campus community. We understand the importance of carefully evaluating new laws, orders, and regulations that may impact our institution. Our approach to these changes is thorough and deliberate, and we are actively collaborating with our internal experts and higher education partners nationwide to conduct a comprehensive analysis of any potential impacts on our campus community. This process ensures that we make informed decisions that align with both legal requirements and our university’s core mission and values.

We recognize that our community may have questions and concerns during this period of review. We will provide regular, transparent updates as new information becomes available. Our leadership team is dedicated to developing a path forward that upholds our legal obligations while preserving the supportive environment that is fundamental to UNM.”

The Los Alamos National Labs also sent the following statement:

“Los Alamos National Laboratory’s leadership is reviewing each of the new administration’s directives to the federal government in close coordination with the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration to better understand their impacts on our work. Because we are not federal employees, we anticipate that only some of these new requirements will affect the Laboratory, while others simply will not apply. 

We will keep the workforce updated as we learn more about how each of the new Executive Orders will be implemented. In the interim, employees are continuing to focus on their important work for the nation.”