Press Releases
Ahead of Juneteenth, New Report Reveals Trump’s Crusade to Erase Black History and Culture, Consolidate His Own Power
Washington D.C. – This week, the United States will observe Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery. Despite the federal holiday being established four years ago on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, this year’s celebration has been marred by a stream of attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies to erase Black history and culture, in line with their Project 2025 agenda, and in turn consolidate his own power. A new Accountable.US research report details Trump’s clear and consistent record of weaponizing the federal government to deny an honest telling of our nation’s history and rewrite American identity.
“The Trump Administration is trying to erase Black history and is actively pursuing policies to roll back civil rights in this country,” said Accountable.US Senior Director of Programs Kayla Hancock. “In doing so, Donald Trump and his allies are laying waste to the fundamental American belief that all people deserve a shot at the American dream.”
- Immediately after taking office, Trump began a coordinated and divisive campaign to make good on his Project 2025 agenda by targeting efforts across government to promote opportunity for all Americans, including overturning policy that forbade federal contractors from discriminating based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Administration has also put a bullseye on efforts to celebrate and recognize Black history and culture. Trump has targeted the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the only national museum devoted exclusively to documenting African American life and contributions to our country. He’s accused the Smithsonian Institution of promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology” and narratives that “portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” This has resulted in multiple historical artifacts being removed from displays in museums.
- The administration has also purged military training materials featuring the Tuskegee Airmen, removed references to the oldest U.S. armory for Black militia from Virginia National Guard websites, and eliminated approximately 381 books on civil rights, racism, and African American experiences from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library. The systematic erasure has also extended to the U.S. Naval ships, including the reversal of plans to rename naval ships currently honoring prominent Black leaders, including the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Harriet Tubman, and USNS Medgar Evers.
- But that’s not all, Trump’s executive orders have also led to the widespread removal of celebrated African American figures from government websites, including the temporary deletion of Harriet Tubman from the National Park Service’s website. Jackie Robinson, the barrier-breaking baseball player and World War II veteran, was “mistakenly” removed from Department of Defense sites, while civil rights hero Medgar Evers, who was assassinated by a KKK member, disappeared from Arlington National Cemetery’s website honoring Black war veterans.
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