Posted inHigher Education, Politics & Policy

Harvard Fights Trump in Court. Black Students and Academics Say The Real Battle Is on Campus

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.  The move comes after the nation’s oldest institution of higher learning requested a temporary restraining order against the federal government’s action. Harvard filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration earlier Friday. In the suit, the school […]

Posted inPolitics & Policy

Carla Hayden Made the Library of Congress More Inclusive. Then She Was Fired for It.

The nation’s first African American Librarian of Congress was the latest person to get fired by President Donald Trump, a move that librarians say could stymie progress in making the nation’s library more accessible and inclusive.  Carla Hayden’s firing on May 8 was met with fierce backlash from mainly Democrats, who tied the longtime librarian’s […]

Posted inClimate Change, Criminal Justice, Environmental Justice, Health Equity

The End of DEI: What Trump’s Executive Orders Mean for Black Americans

President Donald Trump has spent the early months of his return to the White House dismantling  the nation’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The moves, he’s said, are designed to forge a “color-blind” society that rejects the sorts of race-conscious programs that are intended to make amends for the historical wrongs experienced by Black Americans […]

Posted inEnvironmental Justice

Rural Alabamians Lived With Poop-Filled Water for Decades. Trump Just Killed Plans For Relief.

Last April, Sherry Bradley and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program helped rural Alabama resident Willie Perryman install a septic system in his home for the first time.  Since his grandfather purchased the land and homestead more than six decades ago, none of the family’s properties had a proper disposal system for their waste. Thousands […]

Posted inClimate Change, Rural Issues

With Southern Utilities Quietly Dismantling DEI Programs, Black Households Pay the Price

When Chris Womack became the first Black CEO of Southern Co. in 2023, he called the company’s commitment to racial equity one of his guiding principles. His leadership of the third-largest private utility company in the world offered hope of fairer wages and more representative employment for thousands of Black employees and cleaner air and […]

Posted inEducation, Higher Education

Inside One Student Movement to Save DEI on College Campuses

Bradley Price traveled to the Kentucky governor’s office to show her support for the veto of an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion bill. Alexandria Underwood took part in a letter-writing campaign calling for the preservation of inclusion programs on college campuses. And Savannah Dowell organized a demonstration in support of anti-discrimination efforts at Kentucky colleges and […]

Posted inPolitics & Policy

What Trump’s Cabinet Picks Mean for Black Americans as Hearings Continue

President Donald Trump’s picks for key positions in his second administration continue their Senate confirmation hearings, which began on Jan. 14. Marco Rubio, Trump’s choice for Secretary of the Department of State, was the first to win confirmation, gliding through the process. On the other hand, Pete Hegseth, selected to be the Secretary of the […]

Posted inFederal Overhaul, Politics & Policy

DEI Didn’t Start With ‘Wokeness’ — What Trump Gets Wrong

Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. President Donald Trump and his allies have turned diversity, equity, and inclusion into a catchall slur. The administration claims to be eliminating DEI, but what it’s doing is conflating issues, attacking long-established civil rights […]

Posted inEmployment, Federal Overhaul, Politics & Policy

How the Cutting of Federal Jobs Puts Black Workers at Risk

Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administration’s restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. When Theodore Johnson was a young boy in Raleigh, North Carolina, he and his family had to be strategic to make ends meet. They often went shopping at Kmart months in advance, putting clothes […]

Gift this article