Walt Disney World's Governing District Eliminates All Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion Programs

In a win for Gov. Ron Desantis, his Appointees of the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) follow his lead championing the curtailment of DEI programs in higher education

It looks like Republicans are cutting back Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across the country. At public colleges, Texas state legislators got rid of diversity offices and training programs. In over six other states, including Tennessee and North Carolina, there are proposed bills that target DEI programs.

In May, Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that banned public universities and colleges from spending money on DEI initiatives. That’s when Disney decided to fight back.

A yearlong fight started after Disney chose to publicly oppose a state law that banned kindergarten to 3rd grade classroom lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, which some called, “Don’t Say Gay”. They reportedly expressed this opposition based on internal and external pressures, but DeSantis didn’t take it lightly. Plus Disney also said it would suspend political donations in the state and support organizations that worked to oppose the new law. DeSantis appeared to hit the roof.

In a bold move to punish Disney, DeSantis signed a bill that gave himself control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district. As he signed on February, 2023, he said,

“You’re a corporation based in Burbank, California, and you’re gonna marshal your economic might to attack the parents of my state. We view that as a provocation, and we’re going to fight back against that.”

“Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end. There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”

DeSantis also said,

“It took a look under the hood to see what Disney has become to truly understand their inappropriate influence.”

And the sponsor of the bill to get rid of the Disney District, Republican Rep. Randy Fine, commented that Disney is a guest in the state - and that Florida residents are “not interested in the company’s California values”. He said,

“You kick the hornet’s nest, things come up.”

The 55-year-old Disney government is known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Here is their press release:

The Press Release

The announcement comes after an internal investigation into the district’s policies. The district’s DEI committee will be dissolved and any DEI job duties will be eliminated. CFTOD staff will also no longer be permitted to use any staff time to pursue DEI initiatives.

“The so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board and they were illegal and simply unamerican,” said the Administrator Gilzean. “Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal. As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences.”

Under its Minority/ Women Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs, the Reedy Creek Improvement District routinely awarded contracts based on racially and gender driven goals to businesses on the basis of their owners’ race and gender. Through the program, the Reedy Creek Improvement District instituted gender and racial quotas to ensure that contractors met a certain threshold of diversity. In order to meet these quotas, it is estimated that the district had to pay millions of dollars more in order to find businesses who could comply.

After entering into a contract, Reedy Creek employees aggressively monitored contractor’s racial and gender practices, wasting taxpayer dollars. Previous contracts threatened contractors who did not keep up with racial or gender quotes with nonpayment and disqualification from future bidding.

DeSantis’ strong hand at Disney has allowed him to further his reputation as a warrior that battles political combatants, a strategy that segways into his Presidential run.

Thank you for reading my writings.

WHAT I REALLY THINK

I think Florida has guts. It serves as the other side of California’s coin. We can