Opinion: MAGA Attacks on Racial Justice

Love, Justice and Climate Change

We are all well aware of the many, many disastrous harms the Trump Administration has wreaked on our society. Today, I’d like to look specifically at the impact their actions have had on our long struggle for racial justice in this country.

Chattel slavery was introduced to what is now the United States in 1619 when some 20 enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia. The fight for racial justice has been part of our nation ever since. However, this history has not been one of steady progress. There have always been steps forward, followed by steps back.

For instance, the Reconstruction period, just after the Civil War, saw Black people voting and being elected to public office, attaining greater occupational and educational opportunities, and much greater equality. However, it was followed by the Jim Crow era that erased the gains of Reconstruction and imposed a subordinate role on Black people. Similarly, we have in recent years seen the substantial gains of the 20th century Civil Rights Movement being systematically dismantled by the Supreme Court and others.

Nonetheless, I think we need to face the fact that in 2025, the Trump Administration has done more to rollback racial justice than any federal government in more than 100 years.

Dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
In his first week in office, the President signed executive orders forbidding DEI activities in the federal government, removing federal money from DEI initiatives anywhere, and threatening removal of funding from any schools that don’t cease DEI activities. In response to pressure from the Trump Administration, companies such as Target, Amazon, and McDonalds have backed out of previous commitments to racial equity policies and hiring. More than 400 universities that Trump threatened with loss of federal funds have also caved to the pressure to eliminate DEI centers, programs, and activities.

While Trump signs the executive orders and makes outrageous comments, I think it is a mistake to think this is all him. There is a whole network of right-wing think tanks, consultants, advocates, advisors, and government officials who are writing the executive orders that he signs and vigorously promoting the whole range of efforts to dismantle racial justice commitments and enforcement.

Sending Troops into Cities with Black Mayors and Populations
Trump has sent thousands of National Guard troops into major cities with Black mayors and/or sizable Black populations. Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans have all had unwanted troops in their streets. The Administration has claimed that this has been to reduce crime and enforce immigration laws. In most cases crime rates in these cities had already fallen and this militarization has been opposed by most of their mayors, governors, and community leaders. Most have seen this as perpetuating racial stereotypes, creating fear, and perhaps preparing for troops to be involved in disrupting future elections.

One of the most egregious situations in Chicago was described by Pro Publica this way: “Shortly after midnight on Sept. 30, some 300 agents from Border Patrol, the FBI and other agencies stormed the 130-unit apartment complex. SWAT teams rappelled from a helicopter, knocked down doors, and hurled flash-bang grenades.” They dragged residents, including babies, out into the night, often in their nightclothes. Many, including many U.S. citizens, were zip tied and detained for hours. In the end they arrested 37 immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, but none of these were ever charged with crimes. I’ve recently talked to Black and Latino/a citizens and non-citizens alike, from different parts of the country, who are still feeling a visceral fear that this could happen to them at any time.

Clearly the Administration is seeking to sow fear in people of color as masked ICE agents with no badges or identifying information, and often with guns drawn, are snatching black and brown people off the street (sometimes including U.S. citizens) and detaining or deporting them. The Administration claims that some 600,000 immigrants were deported in 2025. Their own records show that at least 70% of those had no criminal conviction.

Damaging the Black Economy
The Black unemployment rate has gone up to 8.3%, its highest rate since before the COVID pandemic, as a result of the Administration’s economic and domestic policies. Over 300,000 Black women lost their jobs mostly as a result of the DOGE cuts to the federal workforce. The general affordability crisis and the new tariffs are putting severe financial stress on many Black families and small Black businesses.

Other Harms
Trump and his MAGA minions have also: begun dismantling the U.S. Education Department and its programs that benefit Black Americans; whitewashed U.S. history; eliminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Haiti, South Sudan, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, and other nations; fired or illegally removed Black leaders in government from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Librarian of the Library of Congress; called Black members of Congress “garbage” and “low-IQ”; made drastic cuts to health care and food programs that many Black people rely on; and abandoned enforcement of legal civil rights protections.

Trump himself has made countless statements that are so blatantly racist that 15 years ago any one such comment would have ended the political career of any politician of either party who dared to utter it. This normalization of blatant racism is one of the most harmful effects of the actions of the last year.

A belief in white superiority and a desire for white domination underlies everything in the MAGA agenda. This is not true of everyone who voted for Trump, but many white people support the moves against racial justice, believe that white people are the real victims in the U.S. today, and advocate white supremacy.

As has always been the case, the white population is offered a sense of superiority over people of the global majority and only very modest, if any, material advantages, while immense material wealth is funneled to the top 10%, 1%, or 0.1% of whites.  (The wealth of the top 1% grew by $4 trillion in 2025, while much of the less wealthy population is experiencing an affordability crisis.)

Rebuilding a Powerful Movement for Racial Justice
Regardless of MAGA’s immense unchecked power right now, a majority of the population disapproves of the job Trump is doing, We don’t know much about the percentages of those who support his attacks on racial justice and those who oppose them, but we can be confident that millions of people in this country want more racial justice, not less. It is with these allies, that we can, over time, rebuild a powerful movement for racial justice in this country – a movement rooted not in domination, but in unity, mutual respect, and love.

Russ Vernon-Jones was principal of Fort River School 1990-2008 and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Climate Action Now-Western Massachusetts. He blogs regularly on climate justice at www.russvernonjones.org.