Legacy Civil Rights Organizations Sound the Alarm: The Perilous State of Our Union

LEGACY CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS SOUND THE ALARM: THE PERILOUS STATE OF OUR UNION  

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 4, 2025) --  We, the eight legacy civil rights organizations, unite against the harmful actions the Trump administration has taken since coming into office to hurt everyday people, particularly Black communities and other communities of color. To put it plainly, contrary to President Donald Trump’s assertion that his administration has “acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the Constitutional rule of law,” the Trump administration’s policies are dismantling the American system of government and compromising our historic, hard-won civil rights achievements since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

 

We are witnessing an unprecedented power grab. Leading up to the Joint Session of Congress Address, the White House has released a steady stream of illegal executive orders that threaten our Constitution, our laws, and our founding national values of equality and justice. So far, federal courts have placed holds on many of the worst abuses, denying an early attempt to rewrite birthright citizenship out of the plain text of the Fourteenth Amendment and blocking steps taken to eliminate federal agencies, fire civil servants without notice or cause, and terminate equity-related grants and contracts. Between the daily barrage of unlawful and unconstitutional actions, coupled with threats from Trump administration officials to disregard judicial rulings, it has become clear that the survival of our civil and human rights depends on all of us uniting to protect and repair our democracy.

 

Executive Actions that Threaten Civil Rights

·         Orders to eliminate equal opportunity initiatives across the federal government and to terminate federally-funded grants and contracts.

·         Threats to investigate private companies, organizations, and associations that have made the economically beneficial decision to diversify their workforces and make their programs and membership equitable for all. 

·         Directives from the Department of Education to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools, colleges, and universities that seek to level the playing field by engaging in lawful activity to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

·         Steps taken to dismantle agencies designed to serve everyday Americans like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs.

·         Removal of protections for federal workers by dismantling the merit-based civil service, compromising the integrity of the civil service system, firing thousands of federal employees and putting government services at risk by enticing tens of thousands of federal workers to accept deferred resignations from their important roles. 

·         Orders to freeze or rescind money previously approved for programs that keep our communities healthy and safe–like Head Start, Medicaid, public universities, and children’s hospitals–in order to create space in the federal budget for massive tax cuts for the wealthiest top 1%.

 

The policies of the Trump administration, including those advanced by unelected and unaccountable designees like Elon Musk that President Trump has elevated as key advisors and decision-makers, are designed to deepen divisions and weaken social cohesion, allowing those in power to consolidate wealth and influence at the expense of the American people. Instead of using his platform to heal and inspire, President Trump spent over an hour fear-mongering and sowing seeds of division—literally pointing fingers—rather than uniting us and calling us to a shared vision of progress, equality, and justice.

 

Despite these attempts to destroy our progress towards a multiracial democracy, we will not be divided. Diversity is and will always be one of America’s greatest strengths, and equal opportunity our most important promise. These values are the foundation for an innovative and prosperous America. Diversifying our institutions, providing equal opportunities, and working to ensure that all communities thrive are not partisan values. These values strengthen our nation and are rooted in our country’s aspirations of “liberty and justice for all.” We will continue to pursue every avenue—through the courts, through policy, and through public action—to ensure that the principles of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity remain central to America’s progress. 

 

Rest assured: we will not be silent and we will not back down.      

 

National Urban League                                                                                         National Council of Negro Women

National Action Network                                                           Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

National Coalition on Black Civic Participation                                                          NAACP Legal Defense Fund

NAACP                                                                                                   Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law