Newly minted transgender sanctuary city in MA announces firefighter DEI training

Massachusetts’ second-largest city is requiring new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training for its firefighters, including training on the “gender unicorn.”

The city of Worcester announced the policy two months after declaring itself a transgender sanctuary city to protest President Donald Trump, who has signed several executive orders opposing discriminatory transgender policies.

Prospective Worcester firefighters must now undergo six DEI training sessions during their 14-week academy training. These sessions will teach them the belief that certain people are either privileged or disadvantaged based on immutable traits such as gender and race. 

Currently 21 students are in the academy – a cohort that started in March and will graduate in June. 

“Integrating DEI into firefighter training isn’t just about policy – it’s about building a culture of respect, inclusivity, awareness, and readiness to serve all members of our diverse community,” Worcester Chief Equity Officer Kevin Lovaincy said in a release.  

The training will focus on making a “respectful and inclusive fire station culture,” building team dynamics and applying DEI principles in the field, the release said. 

But the city never says how the training will improve the department’s ability to put out fires. 

Critics of DEI, including the Trump administration, argue it often leads to more discrimination and worse outcomes. 

Although the training’s content is not publicly available, the photo in the release shows a group of prospective firefighters watching Lovaincy teach them about the gender unicorn, a graphic used in schools nationwide to teach students as young as kindergarten the belief that more than two genders exist. 

As The Lion previously reported, the Worcester City Council declared the city of 200,000 a transgender sanctuary in February, vowing it won’t comply with any federal actions from the Trump administration combatting gender ideology. 

During the Feb. 11 city council meeting, LGBT activists screamed, cursed and threatened violence and harassment against the board if they did not get their way. 

“If you say that you’re afraid of Trump, and that’s why you don’t want the city to be a safe space for trans people, you better prepare for trans people to make this a very unsafe space,” blue-haired activist Dewey Cosgrove Atienza told the council during a public comment period. 

Critics of the council’s eventual decision say the city has more pressing concerns to worry about. 

“Residents of Worcester are facing real issues such as economic insecurity, a failing educational system, increasing homelessness, and a need for affordable housing,” Massachusetts Family Institute’s Jessica Richards told The Lion. “The city council would be wise to focus on actual problems and not be bullied into virtue signaling on behalf of activists.”