December 1, 2025
The president’s attacks against DEI has resulted in moves affecting African Americans and Black history.
In less than a year since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, his attacks against DEI initiatives has resulted in moves affecting African Americans and Black history.
The administration called for a review of national museums, including the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture, after labeling the museums as being “out of control” with a focus on “how horrible our country is,” highlighting slavery.
Federal grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been cut in addition to cultural centers at PWIs being shuttered, leaving Black students and students of other races subject to facing adversities without any support.
According to Axios, government websites ranging from the Department of Defense to the National Park Service have erased content related to Black history, including pages educating on Medgar Evers and the Tuskegee Airmen. However, due to the massive backlash, some pages were restored.
Similar efforts took place after Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.
“When datasets or historical materials disappear, it becomes harder to see and fix racial disparities,” eadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President and CEO Maya Wiley said. “And every time, they were justified with new language and new fears … The terms change. The strategy doesn’t.”
But there is a silver lining to racism. Leaders like National Urban League president Marc H. Morial feel the backlash surrounding the attempts is only highlighting the importance of keeping Black history alive.
“The attempt to erase history has made all of us more cognizant of the need to tell it,” he added.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and founder and CEO of Onyx Impact, an organization created to amplify Black voices, Esosa Osa, label the protection of Black historical progress as a moral imperative, since “our nation’s future will not arrive on its own.”
Initiatives like The 10 Steps campaign, a nationwide mobilization project geared toward protecting democracy, and Onyx Impact, which give communities the courage and resources to resist false narratives, provide proof that a sense of community is the way to fight back.
“Together, we can preserve opportunity, honor truth and strengthen our democracy for generations to come,” they wrote.
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