On her first day in office as the newly elected Republican governor of Arkansas, former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders filed seven executive orders, including one. ban the use of the word “Latinx” in official state documents.
The executive order calls for the elimination of “ethnically insensitive and pejorative language,” such as “Latinx.”
“It is the policy of the Governor’s administration to prohibit the use of culturally insensitive words for official state government business,” he said. executive orders said.
The term “Latinx” has been used as a gender-neutral and inclusive term to describe people of Hispanic or Latino descent, but it has become. the subject of controversy and debate in society. according to Pew Researchapproximately 1 in 4 Hispanics have heard the term “Latinx” but only 3% use it.
Under Sanders’ order, state offices, departments and agencies must replace “Latinx” with “Hispanic,” “Latino” or “Latina” in all documents within the next 60 days. The move mirrors similar initiatives adopted by other elected officials, such as Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who banned the use of the term “Latinx” in all his office communications in December 2021.
“When Latino politicians use the term [Latinx] it is generally to appease rich white progressives who think that the term we use. It’s a vicious circle of confirmation bias,” Gallego said in a tweet in December 2021.
Six other executive orders were signed Monday by Sanders, who serves as press secretary in Donald Trump’s administration. One order prohibits public schools from teaching critical race theory, a theoretical framework for examining how public perceptions of race shape structures and systems. Sanders, like Republicans in other states, has been a vocal opponent of the theory taught in schools.
Sanders was sworn in as governor on Monday, becoming the first woman to hold the office in Arkansas. His father was the previous governor of the state.
He has a loyal supporter of the former president Donald Trump and has supported controversial actions and beliefs. He served as the White House press secretary from 2017 to 2019.