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The National Endowment for the Arts is telling arts groups not to use federal funds to promote \u201cdiversity, equity and inclusion\u201d or \u201cgender ideology\u201d in ways that run afoul of President Trump\u2019s executive orders \u2014 causing confusion and concern.<\/p>\n
Black Girls Dance, a Chicago-based nonprofit that trains and mentors young dancers, was recently approved for a $10,000 grant to help finance an annual holiday show called \u201cMary.\u201d Now the small company is wondering if it still qualifies for the money.<\/p>\n
It was the company\u2019s first grant from the N.E.A., and Erin Barnett, the nonprofit\u2019s founder and executive director, said that receiving it had been \u201ca step of validation \u2014 like \u2018We see you and we support the work that you\u2019re doing.\u2019\u201d But she said that if the grant were canceled for running afoul of the new requirements, she would persist. \u201cI serve a God that sits on the highest throne of all, and he\u2019s not going to stop this show,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It is unclear what the new rules will mean for groups seeking grants, or for those that already have them in the pipeline. Many arts organizations have pledged to support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and several groups that have received funding in the past have presented works about transgender and nonbinary people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The new N.E.A. rules<\/a> require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs \u201cthat violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws\u201d and call on grant applicants to pledge not to use federal funds to \u201cpromote gender ideology.\u201d They refer to an executive order<\/a> Mr. Trump signed that declares that the United States recognizes only \u201ctwo sexes, male and female.\u201d<\/p>\n The N.E.A. did not answer questions about whether organizations that have already been told they would receive grant money would be affected.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a longstanding legal requirement that all recipients of federal funds comply with applicable federal anti-discrimination laws, regulations and executive orders,\u201d the endowment\u2019s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Auclair, said in an email. \u201cThe N.E.A. is continuing to review the recent executive orders and related documents to ensure compliance and provide the required reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n During Mr. Trump\u2019s first term, he called for the elimination of the arts endowment. (It survived, thanks to bipartisan support in Congress<\/a>, and has a current budget of roughly $200 million a year.) It is not clear what its outlook is now.<\/p>\n The endowment is currently without a full-time leader because its chair since 2021, Maria Rosario Jackson, left the day of Mr. Trump\u2019s inauguration<\/a>. It is currently being overseen by Mary Anne Carter, who led the agency during the first Trump administration, and who is now serving with the title of \u201csenior advisor.\u201d Agency observers and grant recipients were generally positive about Ms. Carter, saying that things had run smoothly when she previously led the agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n