We’ve handed the 100-day mark of Donald Trump’s return to the White Home—and in case you’re Black in America, you’ve doubtless been watching this administration’s each transfer with a mixture of frustration, exhaustion and let’s be actual, outright dread.
The query isn’t simply what has occurred in these 100 days, however who has been left to hold the brunt of it. As soon as once more, the reply is us.
Let’s unpack the receipts.
Civil Rights? Extra like civil wrongs.
Trump’s first days have introduced a laser deal with dismantling any progress we’ve clawed to safe. Living proof: the DOJ’s aggressive rollbacks on range, fairness and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Throughout training, authorities contracting and employment, his administration has waged conflict on something branded as “woke”—translation: something that dares to degree the enjoying discipline for Black people.
And in case you assume voting rights is likely to be secure, assume once more. The quiet gutting of protections beneath the Voting Rights Act has continued, with assist for brand new restrictive measures that disproportionately goal Black voters. Voter ID legal guidelines? Purging voter rolls? All greenlit beneath the banner of “election integrity.”
Economics: Trickle down or drown?
The financial guarantees Trump made to Black America—keep in mind the notorious “what do you need to lose?” line—really feel like a nasty rerun. In 100 days, we’ve seen tax insurance policies skewing (once more) towards the ultra-wealthy, company bailouts and little to no significant funding within the small Black-owned companies which are the spine of our communities. Inflation? Skyrocketing housing prices? Stagnant wages? Black households are disproportionately feeling the squeeze, whereas billionaires take pleasure in contemporary breaks.
And Trumpsters are fast to quote his dedication to Alternative Zones, which Trump touted as a option to carry funding into predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. Nonetheless, critics say this system primarily advantages rich builders with out sturdy safeguards to assist residents or forestall displacement.
Policing & injustice: The identical previous playbook
Policing and felony justice? Trump’s administration has doubled down on “legislation and order,” with insurance policies emboldening police departments whereas sidelining essential reforms. Efforts to deal with certified immunity? Useless on arrival. Federal oversight of problematic police departments? Rolled again.
For Black households who’ve marched, mourned and fought for justice, these 100-plus days have been a slap within the face—a reminder that Black lives nonetheless sit far too low on the nationwide precedence listing. Beneath Trump, the DOJ scaled again investigations into police departments accused of systemic discrimination (like Ferguson and Baltimore), pulling again from Obama-era consent decrees aimed toward reform.
Healthcare and the Black physique
Let’s not neglect healthcare. Black communities are already battling racial disparities in every thing from maternal mortality to persistent illness. Beneath Trump, we’ve seen renewed assaults on the Reasonably priced Care Act—our already skinny lifeline for protection, leaving many questioning how a lot worse this could get. Spoiler: it may well. And it doubtless will if this trajectory continues.
The cultural conflict entrance
After which there’s the tradition conflict. From banning books that inform our tales to rewriting historical past curricula that concentrate on whiteness, Trump’s administration has fueled a broader assault on Black mental and artistic life. We’ve seen academics threatened, libraries stripped naked and college students robbed of an sincere training. The intent is obvious: erase us or reframe us.
The place will we go from right here?
So sure, as we look forward to the subsequent 100 days, we all know that is just the start—and a reasonably clear blueprint of what’s to return. For the Black neighborhood, this isn’t new. We’ve seen how administrations—Democrat or Republican—can neglect or outright hurt us. However what’s new is the rising resistance, the grassroots organizing and the refusal to be silenced. Whether or not by way of mobilizing voters, supporting Black-owned companies or amplifying our media (shout out to the Defender Community), we proceed to construct energy even when the deck is stacked.
Trump’s first 100 days have been telling. They’ve informed us that the combat is much from over, and throughout the subsequent 100 days, we can’t sit idly by.
