The 2024 election of President Donald Trump has caused a great deal of anxiety for people of color and their allies, who anticipate the administration’s sweeping changes and worry about their nationwide implications. The rapid development of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the billionaire’s enthusiastic wholesale layoffs of jobs has only amplified those anxieties.
Each week reveals new developments and new causes for concern as equity initiatives are shuttered, grant funding is revoked and progressive reforms made in the last century come under threat.
Only five months into the Trump presidency, special interest groups, nonprofit leaders and community members are looking ahead with skepticism as culturally-relevant programs and institutions are picked apart. To understand the magnitude of potential changes in the future, it is critical to assess the current state of our nation.
Juneteenth
Despite incendiary rhetoric, there have been few legislative changes or proposals to curtail Juneteenth celebrations.
After launching an attack on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on day-one of his second term with an executive order calling for the end of “identity-based programs,” any effort made by President Trump to curtail Juneteenth as a federal holiday would be a step backwards and an overwhelmingly contemptuous act.
To date, the holiday’s federal recognition has not been called into question; but, while federal employees will receive the day off, they are prohibited from observing Juneteenth and other culturally-significant holidays within government facilities.
In February, Republican Representative Claudia Tenny introduced “Trump’s Birthday and Flag Day Holiday Establishment Act,” combining Flag Day with a celebration of Trump’s birthday – both of which fall on June 14.
The close proximity to Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, suggests an intentional slight to the emancipation-based holiday, and magnifies a rift in our culture that could worsen in the future.
Voting
Since President Trump was elected in 2016, several states have passed laws that make voting more difficult for some American citizens. Mandates including strict photo identification criteria, absentee ballot ID requirements, restrictions on early voting, the elimination of ballot boxes in low-income areas and reduced voting days are just the tip of the dagger that Republican lawmakers are thrusting through the law books.
In Georgia, the 2021 passage of Senate Bill 202 made it illegal to give water and snacks to people waiting in line to vote, putting an end to the longstanding tradition of incentivized political participation.
Arkansas, South Carolina and Montana have passed laws that make it a penalty for election poll workers to assist voters in any way that falls outside their duties, affecting elderly individuals, people with disabilities and non-English speakers.
In Texas, where the voter rejection rate jumped from 1% to 2% – predominantly in urban areas – a voter can use a concealed weapon ID to vote, but not a student ID.
Voting purges have been conducted in several states, including Ohio, Georgia, Wisconsin and Texas, with civil rights groups asserting that the removal of inactive voters disproportionately impacts Hispanic and Black communities.
While none of these laws target race specifically, the relocation of voting centers and reduced hours of operation at polling places tend to affect marginalized groups the most.
New and proposed voting laws could significantly impact people of color, people without transportation, older adults, non-English speakers and people living in impoverished communities. With three more years before the next general election, it is important that activism and organization continues at the local level to safeguard rights that the Black community has fought and died for.
Late U.S. Representative and civil rights icon, John Lewis, said that “each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society.”
The story of America is still being written, and the present political climate has highlighted the importance of protecting voting rights with even more vigor.
Cultural Centers
Signed in March, the “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order has raised concerns related to the truthful representation of U.S. history. Historians have criticized the order, arguing that it imposes ideological restrictions that stifle storytelling – particularly regarding race and gender.
The executive order targeted the Smithsonian Institute and called for a review and potential reinstatement of Confederate monuments removed since 2020.
Frenzied responses to the order were immediately followed by claims that artifacts were removed from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. However, the Smithsonian refuted these claims in a statement outlining the artifact loan process: “The Smithsonian routinely returns loaned artifacts per applicable loan agreements and rotates objects on display in accordance with the Smithsonian’s high standards of care and preservation and as part of our regular museum turnover. Recent claims that objects have been removed for reasons other than adherence to standard loan agreements or museum practices are false.”
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is among a group of agency eliminations proposed by President Trump’s administration, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Founded in 1965, NEA has awarded $5.5 billion in grants to organizations and individuals in the arts.
In May, hundreds of arts groups across the country received emails notifying them of the withdrawal and termination of their grants. “The NEA is updating its grantmaking policy priorities to focus funding on projects that reflect the nation’s rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President,” the emails read. “Consequently, we are terminating awards that fall outside these new priorities.”
The new priorities are outlined in the email as well, and include “Projects that elevate the Nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful and support the economic development of Asian American communities.”
With great speculation about which initiatives, exhibits and funding programs will be eliminated, the task of preserving history and maintaining cultural spaces now falls largely on individuals and organizations that see their cultural and educational benefit.
Tribal Sovereignty
In December 2023, former President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14112, in an effort to reform federal funding and support for tribal nations. However, in March, President Trump rescinded the order through the issuance of an executive order of his own titled, “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” The order was made to “restore common sense to the Federal Government and unleash the potential of American Citizens.”
The Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program tracked actions taken under EO 14112, and found that $86 million was spent on Alaska small business funding, and $5.9 million was spent on cooperative agreements to provide healthcare for uninsured American Indian and Alaska Native children, with programs for mental health and substance misuse. The directive also led to the creation of an “Access to Capital Clearinghouse,” or a single location where indigenous tribes could search for federal funding.
While the rescission of the order does not cancel current funding or programs, it may prevent the future development of the initiatives.
After the rescission was announced, DOGE called for the closure of more than a quarter of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices, concerning the leaders of tribal nations who viewed the legislation as essential to strengthening tribal self-determination and sovereignty. With new developments being revealed over time, many questions remain regarding what’s next for tribal sovereignty in the U.S.
An Uncertain Future
As the nation prepares to celebrate the national recognition of Juneteenth, the freedoms recognized by the holiday are being called into question by the actions of President Trump’s administration. Recent events seem to be in stark contrast to the beliefs of many Americans, and constitutional guardrails aren’t as certain as they were before January.
With federal mandates and funding sources in limbo, the fight continues through community organization, grassroots advocacy and economic protest. Support for organizations that operate assistive outreach programs is vital at this time, as many groups await announcements that will drastically affect their budgets and capacity to serve clients.
Cultural acknowledgement, historic preservation and intentional programming centered around education and advocacy are the best tools available for fostering understanding, promoting equity and building resilient, informed communities that will stand the test of time.
