Dr. Benjamin Chavis, a civil and human rights activist, is speaking out against the Trump administration’s moves to gut federal environmental justice programs, which he believes will cause greater harm and suffering to communities of color.
Category: Opinion
Posted inWord In Black
Mass Protests in Black and White – Are We Showing Up?
Black protesters were largely absent from the April 5 “Hands Off!” protest, with organizers focusing on working-class whites who supported Donald Trump, while Black organizers are urging a focus on fighting the Trump administration’s policies and defending against attacks on American citizens.
Posted inEducation
Black Students Ask: What Does ‘Inclusive Excellence’ Really Mean?
Northern Illinois University has changed its website language from “confronting racism” to “inclusive excellence” after an executive order stripped DEI efforts from campuses nationwide, leaving Black students questioning the meaning of the change.
Posted inHealth
80M at Risk as Trump HHS Axes Key Poverty Measure Office
The Department of Health and Human Services has fired the entire office that sets federal poverty guidelines, which determine whether tens of millions of Americans are eligible for health programs such as Medicaid, food assistance, child care, and other services.
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
DOJ Reneges on Sewage Deal Biden Reached With a Black AL County
The Trump administration has backed out of a 2023 settlement with the Alabama Department of Public Health that would have helped find a solution to straight piping in Lowndes County, which has been a source of disease-bearing mosquitoes and parasites for decades.
Posted inPolitics
House Republicans Approve Budget Slashing Medicaid, Nutrition Aid While Pushing $5.5 Trillion in Tax Breaks for the Rich
House Republicans have approved a budget that slashes programs like Medicaid and child nutrition assistance in order to help fund an extension of the 2017 Trump tax law, which would cost $5.5 trillion over the next decade.
Posted inEducation
Decades of Data Show Deadly Gap for Black Children
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that Black children in the US have consistently faced significantly higher mortality rates than their white peers, with no improvement in relative disparities since the 1950s, resulting in over half a million avoidable infant deaths and nearly 690,000 childhood deaths among Black Americans between 1950 and 2019.
Posted inMental Health
Is Travel Really a Balm for Racism?
A Black queer woman left the US to escape the terror and grief caused by wildfires, the Trump administration’s assault on Black America, and the stripping of LGBTQ+ rights, and found hope and inspiration in the UK and Europe.
Posted inOpinion
Thriving, Not Surviving: The New Black Agenda
Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 energized demands for police accountability, support for Black-owned businesses, and addressing the black-white wage gap, but a long-term movement is needed to make lasting change, focusing on factors such as home and business ownership, income, education, gun violence, family structure, and healthy and clean environments.
Posted inOpinion
Cory Booker’s 25-Hour Filibuster: A Beacon of Hope for the Democratic Party
Senator Cory Booker took the Senate floor for 25 hours to protest the Trump-Musk Administration’s damage and offer a new glimpse of hope to the Democratic party, reading letters from American citizens and advocating for the American people.
