“We Will Not Be Erased”: CDC’s Banned Words Projected on Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C.

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The Trump administration recently banned certain words from appearing in official Centers for Control and Prevention (CDC) documents, which drew a lot of attention because the words were “vulnerable”, “entitlement”, “diversity”, “transgender”, “fetus”, “evidence-based”, and “science-based”. Erasing a problem and pretending it doesn’t exist, it seems, is easier than acknowledging it.

The ban, it’s clear to see, had blatantly political motivation aiming to erase LGBTQIA people, attack the pro-choice movement, discount the need for diversity, and continue an ongoing attack on facts. Last night, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) worked with artist Robin Bell to project the CDC’s banned words on the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. along with the phrase “we will not be erased.”

The HRC, along with the display, also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “for any and all records, including communications with the CDC, relating to the banned words from November 2016 onward.”

David Stacy, HRC’s Director of Government Affairs, says:

“Our message for the Trump-Pence Administration is this: you cannot erase us. We will meet attacks on our community with a resolve to be louder and more visible than ever before. Furthermore, the American public deserves to know the degree to which the Trump-Pence Administration has interfered with the life-saving work of the CDC.

It was not long ago that the government tried to ignore the reality of the HIV and AIDS crisis to the detriment of millions. This kind of erasure has potentially catastrophic consequences beyond the words used by the CDC — it could impact the very programs most vital to the health of transgender people, women, youth and others.”

(via PinkNews, image: screencap)

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