By Fiona Espinoza-Castro
Staff Writer
Google Calendar has removed several cultural celebrations such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Pride Month. According to the New York Post, this resulted from the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Other celebrations like Hispanic Heritage Month, Jewish Heritage Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and more were also erased.
Although this gained traction online during the first week of February, Google asserted that they made the changes midway through last year, according to CBS. Google spokesperson Madison Cushman Veld told The Guardian that the listed holidays were not “sustainable” for the calendar’s model.
Google Calendar had reportedly included a broader set of cultural moments in various countries for years, all while using the website timeanddate.com, the world’s top-ranking site for date and time zones.
According to CBS, in June of 2024, Google returned to showing only public and national holidays from timeanddate.com, as they believed a wider range was difficult to upkeep and wasn’t “scalable or sustainable,” USA Today reported.
Meanwhile, Google announced that it would roll back on its goals for DEI initiatives, the New York Post reported. On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued numerous executive orders, beginning with “ending racial and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.” This executive order demands the termination of various DEI offices, services, programs, budgets and more.
The White House declared that the executive order protects the civil rights of Americans and one’s opportunity to combat private-sector discrimination. Federal statutes are being enforced in this case, and the “Constitution’s promise of colorblind equality before the law” is being recognized.
According to USA Today, Google stated on X that it had a “longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” This post led Google to reveal to its U.S. users that the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed to the “Gulf of America,” The Guardian reported. According to USA Today, Google also announced that it would follow the U.S. Geological Survey’s geographic updates. This includes changing the current name of the mountain in Alaska from Denali back to its original name, Mount McKinley.
Users have expressed disappointment online, as reported by the New York Post. For example, on Google Calendar’s Help page, one user wrote, “Google is aligning itself with an administration that is actively rolling back civil rights, consolidating power, and undermining the Constitution.”
Google responded by informing users who wish to include additional holidays that they can subscribe to other calendars, create their own events, or import Google Calendar events.
The Guardian reported that Google itself has stated that the calendar changes will not impact future Google Doodles digital artwork, as “Google continues to actively celebrate and promote cultural moments as a company in our products.”
While Google maintains that the changes were made for the advancement of the company, the public response has been one of shock and outrage. Many argue that removing these cultural celebrations diminishes marginalized communities rather than uplifting them.
