Black folks: President-elect Donald Trump has made his agenda for America clear for his upcoming term with Project 2025. While things were bad for us his first presidency, things are only going to get much worse—and we should all be on edge.
From implementing discriminatory policing practices to executing an all out attack on immigrants, here are how things will continue to go downhill for Black people under Trump these next four years: Consider this a warning.
Education
If Trump keeps his campaign promise to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education, federal protections for Black students at public schools and college campuses will be weakened. His plan to erase Black history and the topics in the curriculum will perpetuate anti-Blackness.
Trump may also do away with Head Start and universal access to quality early childhood education, as well as defund public education and change student loan policies to help wealthier families. All of his will disproportionately affect Black students.
Immigration
Throughout his campaign, Trump has made a promise to go after immigrants. Considering his racist rhetoric regarding Haitian immigrants in Ohio, Black immigrants will undoubtedly feel his wrath. Trump has stated he would revoke Temporary Protected Status for the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and deport them if he won the election.
Trump wants to completely change the nation’s immigration laws starting Jan. 20, when he officially takes office. He has promised to push for mass deportations and an end to birthright citizenship.
Policing
Trump has plans to dismantle the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which enforces federal laws regarding anti-discrimination, civil equality and police conduct. Consent decrees have been issued in the wake of high-profile police killings that generate public pressure to investigate.
During his first term, the Trump administration limited the use of those decrees and will most likely continue so during his second term. This would lead to more aggressive and unchecked police practices, which disproportionately affects Black people. Trump also promised to bring back certain law enforcement methods include using stop-and-frisk, enforcing gun laws strictly and working with ICE to arrest and deport criminal immigrants.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
One of the biggest themes of Project 2025 is Trump’s employment of executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government and the private sector. We’ve already seen this in action with Trump’s Cabinet picks, who are mostly white and male. His Justice Department is expected to challenge diversity policies as discriminatory and target university admissions and racial equity programs. This has led to civil rights advocates fearing the reversal of diversity commitments due to scrutiny, especially if lawsuits over DEI policies occur.
Hate Crimes
Just one day after Trump was elected last month, Black students across the country received racist text messages saying that they will be taken to a plantation. This served as a stark reminder that during Trump’s first term, hate crimes against Black people surged with a total of 48.4% of those crimes motivated by anti-Black bias.
Considering Trump’s rhetoric during his last campaign, Black people can expect this dangerous trend to continue.