The warnings had been clear. The blueprints had been public. Venture 2025 was by no means a conspiracy principle—it was a promise…a meticulously crafted roadmap designed to shift America into one thing unrecognizable until you’ve been taking note of the undercurrents of historical past.
We had been instructed to not overreact; that this wasn’t Donald Trump’s plan if he turned president. That these concepts had been too excessive ever to make it previous the partitions of a assume tank. However right here we’re—not even 100 days into his administration—watching those self same so-called excessive insurance policies materialize in actual time. Individuals dropping entry. Communities being focused. The very basis of civil rights laws is beneath siege.
And now? Now, they need us to behave shocked.
100 Days of Venture 2025 in Motion
It didn’t take lengthy. The primary wave of govt orders hit just like the opening bars of a tactical musical rating—deliberate, exact and inconceivable to disregard. Immigration, civil rights, healthcare, training, power coverage—every one intentionally focused and chipped away on the protections folks assumed had been untouchable.
On the border, the administration wasted no time in reinstating the “Stay in Mexico” coverage and shifting to terminate birthright citizenship. This wasn’t nearly border safety however redefining who belongs right here. Black immigrants, notably these from Africa and the Caribbean, now face heightened scrutiny, fewer protections and an immigration system constructed to lock them out.
Then got here the assault on civil rights and variety initiatives, a transfer so brazen that some organizations are nonetheless making an attempt to course of what it means for his or her workforce, their grants, and their missions. DEI is being dismantled on the federal degree, with companies and universities now questioning how a lot they’re prepared to danger by persevering with equity-based hiring and programming. This wasn’t about finances cuts however about making it clear that variety itself is a risk. Trump is just following directions.
Healthcare has taken a direct hit, with Medicaid growth being rolled again, leaving tens of millions—together with a disproportionate variety of Black People—susceptible to dropping entry to fundamental care. This comes as no shock. The identical blueprint that known as for eliminating DEI additionally advocates for a healthcare system the place affordability is a privilege, not a proper. Reproductive healthcare restrictions are tightening, hitting Black ladies the toughest, regardless of the already sky-high maternal mortality charges that ought to have made them a precedence. As an alternative, they’re an afterthought.
The classroom is not protected both. Public training is being gutted in favor of privatization and faculty selection insurance policies that overwhelmingly profit those that can afford it. The Division of Schooling, as soon as tasked with imposing federal civil rights protections, is being hollowed out, guaranteeing that underfunded colleges in Black and brown communities are left to battle on their very own. This isn’t only a coverage change—it’s a elementary shift in how training is valued. Or, extra precisely, who’s valued sufficient to obtain it.
Even the air we breathe and the water we drink at the moment are at higher danger. The administration has rolled again environmental protections at a velocity that ought to terrify us all. Deregulation shouldn’t be some summary political maneuver—it means extra toxins in predominantly Black communities, extra displacement, and extra unchecked company destruction. The folks most affected—the identical ones who already lived by way of Flint, by way of hurricanes that devastated underserved communities, by way of environmental racism masked as financial development—are as soon as once more those anticipated to endure.
“We Tried to Inform Y’all”
The alignment between Trump’s insurance policies and Venture 2025 shouldn’t be coincidental—it’s strategic. In line with TIME, almost two-thirds of Trump’s govt orders are pulled instantly from its pages. That’s not a suggestion. That’s a takeover.
Some folks swore up and down that Trump wasn’t severe about this plan. That Venture 2025 was too excessive, too impractical. The identical individuals who, when confronted with coverage, dismiss it as simply one other “political transfer.” The identical people who stated, “Let’s simply wait and see.”
Properly, we waited. Now, take a look at us.
Now, we now have communities dropping their healthcare. Now, we now have federal businesses making it clear that variety is a legal responsibility. Now, we now have younger Black college students in school rooms with fewer assets and extra obstacles.
And the irony? A few of y’all voted for this.
James Baldwin Informed Us So
“Individuals who shut their eyes to actuality merely invite their very own destruction, and anybody who insists on remaining in a state of innocence lengthy after that innocence is lifeless turns himself right into a monster.” — James Baldwin
Venture 2025 was by no means a secret. The ebook was revealed, the insurance policies had been drafted, and the targets had been clearly outlined. However folks—a lot of them in our neighborhood—selected to close their eyes, dismissing it as political paranoia.
Now, we now have a choice to make. Ought to we hold pretending this isn’t occurring, or ought to we battle?
As a result of historical past tells us what occurs when Black persons are deserted, we arrange. We push again. We reclaim our house. From The Black Panther Social gathering to Black Lives Matter, from hip-hop’s political lyricism to movement-building by way of neighborhood organizing—we now have by no means let oppression breathe simple.
So, allow them to attempt as a result of this isn’t the tip. That is the decision.
The one query stays: what are we going to do?