Progressives vow to keep on fighting
Brian Fullman, an organizer with Isaiah and its sister organization, Faith in Minnesota, convened a youth programming summit on Nov. 17 to discuss the groups’ coming initiatives. Tikki Brown, commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, was invited as an honored guest.
“People were visibly frustrated. There was a hopelessness we heard. We ended up throwing an audible, where we stopped our agenda and said: ‘It looks like all of you aren’t that excited. What’s going on?’ That’s when people really started to give me the goods.”
At that moment, the gathering turned from information session to election catharsis.
“People expressed fear, weariness, hopelessness,” Fullman said. “There was an older woman there who said, ‘These are the same issues we were fighting for in the ’50s. I’m tired and frustrated.’”
Those in the room at Harvest Best Academy in North Minneapolis aren’t alone. The changeover of power in Washington come January has many in the Black community fearing what comes next.
Gov. Tim Walz, who ran alongside Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, voiced those concerns in his first address after losing on Nov. 5: “I know a lot of folks are worried about the next four years. I’m with them,” he said.
“We know what’s going to happen. We know because they told us, and we have to be ready. The moment they try to bring that hateful agenda to this state, I’m ready to stand up and fight,” said Walz.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison echoed that sentiment, saying at a news conference that he’s already preparing to take legal action if a second Trump administration infringes upon Minnesotans’ rights.
“I didn’t run for attorney general’s office twice so that I could sue Trump. That’s not what I’m here for,” Ellison said. “But if he violates the rights of people, we’re gonna sue. It’s simple as that.”
From the elimination of the Affordable Care Act to reduced civil rights enforcement, a second Trump administration could radically reshape the lives of Black Americans in coming years.
Some of the most profound changes could come in education, given candidate Trump talked at length about phasing out the U.S. Department of Education and its civil rights division, which enforces federal civil rights laws in schools, and eliminating Head Start for preschool children from low-income families. He also favors shifting tax dollars away from public schools to private and religious institutions through a national voucher program and diverting funds currently allocated to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Among his other campaign policy proposals were canceling racial justice training for educators, withholding funding from schools that teach the true racial history of the United States, and banning books featuring LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters from school libraries. He also indicated a desire to provide “reparations” for white students, citing perceived discrimination due to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
“President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t announced his agenda for American schools, so we don’t know anything for sure, although the priorities he presented during the campaign and in the notorious Project 2025 blueprint for his administration are scary,” said Denise Specht, the president of Education Minnesota. “It’s a sweeping and destructive agenda.”
Among other potential changes:
Trump has consistently signaled a reduction in the Department of Justice’s civil rights oversight. His approach would limit the DOJ’s ability to investigate police misconduct and civil rights cases. Such changes would result in fewer investigations into racial discrimination in police departments, as happened after the murder of George Floyd, and allow jurisdictions to ignore potential discrimination cases.
Trump promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act and scale back Medicaid. Cuts to these programs stand to have a significant impact on Black Americans, who suffer disproportionately from chronic health conditions and higher rates of uninsurance. A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Black adults are twice as likely as white adults to rely on Medicaid for their health care.
Under Trump’s previous administration, environmental protections were slashed, impacting air and water quality in areas where Black Americans are more likely to live. According to a report by the NAACP, Black Americans are 75% more likely to live in neighborhoods adjacent to polluting facilities, putting them at greater risk of asthma, respiratory illnesses, and other health issues.
Trump has proposed eliminating DEI policies across federal agencies, which he argues is needed to combat “reverse discrimination.” Civil rights groups raised concerns that ending DEI would weaken protections and opportunities for Black Americans. Additionally, with plans to limit the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, discrimination protections in housing, employment and education could be at risk.
Trump has advocated for limiting welfare and SNAP benefits. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to live below the poverty line, making federal assistance essential for many Black families. Minnesotans visited food shelves a record 7.5 million times in 2023. Once final numbers are in for 2024, food shelves expect this year to be the hungriest on record for the third year in a row.
Trump’s approach to technology policy could reduce funding for broadband expansion, which is essential for improving internet access in underserved Black communities. The digital divide remains a persistent issue, and policies that overlook digital equity will limit educational, employment, and health care access, impacting Black communities that rely on affordable internet services for opportunities.
Although Fullman understands the pessimism, as a community organizer he remains steadfast in his work.
“Power is neutral. It’s available to anyone willing to organize for it. I have to believe that,” he said. “If I believe there’s no power capable of building, if all the power’s gone, what am I actually organizing for?
“That’s the antidote to this fear and weariness — recognizing that democracy is fluid, that all it takes is one person to say I’ve had enough, and it will shift the entire political climate.”
Cynthia Moothart welcomes reader responses to cmoothart@spokesman-recorder.com. Additional reporting was provided by NNPA.
You do realize that Democrats have held the White House for 12 of the past 16 years and you’re still singing the same old song. Maybe it’s time for a new direction because you feel this one is not working.