Arkansas governor signs executive order banning the use of 'Latinx' in government documents

The new Republican Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has signed an executive order banning the use of "Latinx" in official government documents.

The order cites the usage of the term as being "culturally insensitive" to the Latino community, KATV reported.

"Ethnically insensitive and pejorative language has no place in official government documents or government employee titles," the order stated. "The government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use ethnically appropriate language, particularly when referring to ethnic minorities."

The order cites data from the Pew Research Center, which suggests that only 2-3% of Latinos use the term "Latinx" to describe themselves, and notes that the Real Academia Española, a Madrid-based institution that serves as a guide for the Spanish language, has officially rejected the use of "x" as an alternative to "o" and "a" in Spanish.

It is the official policy of the Sanders administration to "prohibit the use of culturally insensitive words for official state government business," the order stated. State entities are to review all official documents for the use of the term and report back to the Governor's office within 60 days.

Following this, the order directs all state offices, departments, and agencies to revise all existing written materials by replacing the terms "Latinx," "latinx," "Latinxs," or "latinxs" with "Hispanic," "Hispanics," "Latino," "Latinos," "Latina," or "Latinas."

The governor also signed an executive order targeting what is colloquially referred to as "woke indoctrination" in schools, specifically Critical Race Theory, which the order describes as "antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness."

The order further stated, “It emphasizes skin color as a person’s primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject. It is the policy of this administration that CRT, discrimination, and indoctrination have no place in Arkansas classrooms."