Given his first term, President Donald Trump’s second go-round in the White House was expected to be chaotic. With Republican majorities in both houses of Congress — and the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority — the hard-right, war-on-woke agenda he promised to unleash was expected to strain the country’s political guardrails, if not smash through them.
But few experts anticipated Trump’s sweeping, rapid-fire attacks on institutions, policies, and laws that benefit or protect Black America to go this far, this fast. And the damage he’s done through 139 executive orders — and counting — in just 100 days, they say, could take decades to fix.
Complacency is not an option.
Consider: in just over 14 weeks since taking the oath of office for a second time, Trump has gutted the Department of Education, which guarantees equal access to education for Black children; slashed tens of thousands of federal jobs, which helped build the Black middle class; and fired a highly-decorated general and storied fighter pilot who was just the second Black chairman in the history of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The bedrock of our civil rights isn’t safe, either. Trump is challenging the 14th Amendment in court and signed an executive order rolling back protections enshrined in the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
The president threatened to whitewash the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. He hollowed out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emptying offices that tracked minority health. He canceled teacher training grants for programs that touched on race.
That’s just a few of Trump’s actions in 100 days. He still has three years, 265 days to go.
But Black America has always known complacency is not an option.
On Inauguration Day, we at Word In Black published insights from some of Black America’s best thinkers, outlining ways to resist what they anticipated was coming. They cautioned Black Americans against hopelessness and despair, and encouraged action whenever possible.
Now that we’re three-plus months into Trump 2.0, — and after seeing anti-Trump rallies, federal courts pushing back against his agenda, and green shoots of a budding political opposition — we thought it would be useful to take stock of the situation by talking to our initial group of thought leaders, as well as some new voices doing the work in the community. Taking action, they say, is still sound advice. But the need to do it, they add, is far more urgent. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Christopher Bouzy
Tech Entrepreneur
Founder and CEO of Spoutible and Bot Sentinel
The speed at which the chaos ensued surprised me. I did not think they would put tariffs on imports so quickly without doing the due diligence to understand how this would affect not only markets, but ultimately the economy. They are targeting migrants, going after individuals in terms of trying to deport them — and being successful. It just seems like, the hell with the rule of law, the hell with due process. In the past, we’ve seen Trump insult judges when he’s not happy about a ruling, but this is different. Now he’s targeting judges.
I know some people are tired of protesting, but you can’t sit back and allow this. Christopher Bouzy
We need to protect ourselves. What I mean by that is, have a passport. Have a Plan B if things really go south. I know everyone can’t, if need be, relocate to another country — and I’ve never thought about leaving America before, even in Trump’s first administration. But this feels a heck of a lot different than what we’ve seen in the past.
Second, be more vocal — be out there, do all the things that had to be done during the civil rights era. We’re going to have to pull out that playbook, dust it off, update it, and do those crucial things that need to be done. Part of that is protesting. I know some people are tired of protesting, but you can’t sit back and allow this. What we’re witnessing right now is a rollback of all the gains that we’ve made over the last 70 years. So we have to resist.
Dr. Bahia Cross (Overton)
Educator and Executive Director, Black Parent Initiative
My initial reaction has been frustration and sadness, but not surprise. The targeting of the Smithsonian’s lunch counter exhibit — trying to erase our fight for human dignity — shows exactly what’s at stake. If they can erase our history, they can erase our children’s future, too.
We have to educate our own children, and we can’t be lazy about it. Dr. Bahia Cross (overton)
They’ve cut initiatives that provided internship opportunities for Black students, especially, and called them divisive. But these programs weren’t divisive — they existed to correct the division and exclusion already built into the system. Now, they’re being dismantled under the false claim of fairness. It’s like blaming the treatment for the disease.
They are coming for our history, our institutions, and our children’s dreams. But we know how to survive this — by remembering our worth, reclaiming our power, and building the educational future our ancestors fought for.
We have to educate our own children, and we can’t be lazy about it. We have to uplift Black businesses, tell our own stories, and teach our kids that their worth isn’t determined by systems designed to exclude them. Our survival has never been passive — and neither is our education.
Tashawna Gill
Michigan State Lead, Supermajority
Let’s be real clear: Black folks don’t have the luxury of shock anymore. Nothing about the first 100 days of this second Trump administration is surprising, unless you’ve been choosing comfort over truth. From day one, we’ve seen a full-scale assault on our rights, our bodies, our histories, and our futures. They’re not hiding it, so now is not the time for us to be meek.
What we need now isn’t more panels or think pieces.
In Michigan, we’re watching working-class Black communities get hit hard. Auto workers and service workers, many of them Black, are being squeezed from every angle, while the rich get richer. Trump’s policies are a direct attack on Black labor and economic power. That’s not just policy failure, that’s intentional sabotage.
What has surprised me? How many of our so-called allies are still asking what they should “do.” If you’re still asking that, you’re part of the problem. What we need now isn’t more panels or think pieces; we need organized, unapologetic action.
If you’re Black in America right now, resistance means organizing and building grassroots power that outlives any one presidency. And it means being unbothered by whether our resistance makes anyone comfortable. Because our liberation has never come from asking nicely.
Monica Delores Hooks
Chief Experience Officer, Russell Innovation Center for Black Business
The first 100 days of this second Trump administration have brought with them a heavy clarity. For Black entrepreneurs, especially those building in and for our own communities, the message is clear: We’re going to have to do even more with even less.
At the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs in Atlanta, we work with hundreds of Black founders who are innovators, job creators, and culture shapers. What we’re seeing right now isn’t new, but it is sharper. Access to capital is drying up even further. Federal programs that were already hard to tap into are becoming even more inaccessible.
But here’s the thing: Black entrepreneurs have never been strangers to challenge. What’s happening now is a forced refocus. Our business leaders are re-strategizing, doubling down on community-driven support systems, and finding creative ways to stay afloat — because we’ve always had to.
Resisting in this moment doesn’t always look like marching.Monica Delores Hooks
What’s different this time is the urgency. There’s no waiting for a lifeline. We’re seeing a renewed focus on ownership, on cooperative models, on tech innovation grounded in cultural relevance. And we’re also seeing more Black founders saying, “We have to work as a collective, because no one is coming to save us. We are our own heroes.”
Resisting in this moment doesn’t always look like marching. Sometimes, it looks like signing a lease, launching a new product, coming together for important solutions-driven conversations, or mentoring the next entrepreneur in line.
Black entrepreneurs understand the political climate is shifting against them, but they’re shifting too. And they’re not going anywhere.
Fedrick Ingram
Secretary-Treasurer, American Federation of Teachers
President Trump and his billionaire allies have given us so much to worry about in the first 100 days — the lawlessness, the cruel deportations, attacking education, and whitewashing our history — so I understand when people feel hopeless and burned out.
The proof of concept is you.Fedrick Ingram
The reason I do not despair is because I remember that at every moment in American history, Black folks have created strategies for survival. And every strategy centers around one idea: community.
The only way out of this is together, whether that is through a labor union, community groups, your school, or your church — we must prioritize and then organize. The proof of concept is you. You are here right now, still surviving and thriving when every plot and plan was formed against your existence, let alone success. Today is no different, and neither is tomorrow. If you want to push back with purpose, join hands.
Dr. Faith Ohuoba
OB-GYN, Author, Coach, and Speaker
I have been surprised by the numerous cuts made, in such a short amount of time, to science- and health-based federal programs. The cancellation of critical [medical] training and education programs for college and professional students will discourage top talent and detour training of future researchers and scientists. Such programs include the Summer Opportunities to Advance Research and the National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program.
Continue to stress the importance of women prioritizing their healthDr. Faith Ohuoba
Sadly, I was not surprised by the executive orders that were focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The nation’s history of racism will always need to be addressed and cannot be ignored. Institutions and organizations who truly understand and are committed to solutions will continue to do the work in some capacity. For now, the [negative] branding of DEI has been solidified in the first 100 days.
I would continue to stress the importance of women prioritizing their health, including stress management during these highly stressful times. The only thing that I would add is to consider practicing a stress management technique called “Box Breathing” that is used to create calm and focus. Of course, it is always best to consult your physician prior to employing the use of any stress management technique.
Dr. Artika Tyner
Founder, Planting People Growing Justice Institute
Root our resistance in literacy. Invest our time, talent, and treasure in increasing literacy in the Black community through a combination of engagement and advocacy strategies. The political climate under Trump has been marked by efforts to erase the teaching of Black history, restrict discussions on systemic racism, and ban books that center Black voices. Falling behind in literacy at this critical stage creates barriers to academic achievement and perpetuates cycles of oppression. By focusing on improving our literacy outcomes, we can create new pipelines to success.
In a time when anti-Black policies and rhetoric are on the rise, grassroots efforts are just as important. Organizations like our literacy nonprofit, the Planting People Growing Justice Institute, provide a lifeline in combating Black educational censorship. Organizing and mobilizing will be critical to cultivating Black educational resistance — and literacy is central to the fight for justice.
Our collective power is not optional — it’s necessary for survival. Dr. Artika Tyner
I would look at not what [Trump] has done, but what he hasn’t. We know that 80% of brain development happens in the first few years of life, but there’s been no commitment to early literacy. Meanwhile, four out of 10 fourth graders in the U.S. still cannot read. We need national investment, but we also need Saturday schools, music academies, and community spaces where Black children can learn and thrive.
I’ve sat down with friends — doctors, business owners — and asked, “What do you have in your hands to give?” It’s time to gather our resources and ask how we serve our people, together. This is not an either-or; it’s both. Community engagement and national policy must move hand in hand.
That’s what the past 100 days have shown us. Our collective power is not optional — it’s necessary for survival. You can be outraged, or you can be complacent — but neither of those alone will move us forward. Now is the time to act.
