ATTACK ON BLACK LEADERSHIP

Donald Trump has launched a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police under the Home Rule Act, deploying nearly 2,000 National Guard troops, including those sent by Republican governors from other states. He claims this aggressive move is a response to a crime “emergency.” Yet violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. 

By leaning on racist narratives of “Black crime,” Trump is stripping D.C. of its limited autonomy and undermining the authority of its Black mayor and city council. We view this intervention as a test run for broader authoritarian control, part of a strategy to intimidate cities led by Black leaders and silence local decision-making.

Other Republican-led states have sent their National Guard troops to D.C., even though many of those states face far worse crime problems at home. Instead of addressing safety in their own communities, these governors are lending political cover to Trump’s power grab. If they care so much about public safety, their troops should be protecting their own residents, not propping up an unnecessary military presence in the nation’s capital.

Trump has singled out other majority-Black, Democratic-led cities—including Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Oakland—suggesting they could be next. While he doesn’t have the same authority to seize control in those places as he does in D.C., the threat is real. It signals a willingness to override democracy, target Black mayors, and delegitimize communities of color under the guise of “law and order.”

This isn’t just about Washington, D.C. If local leaders can be overridden by federal order, no city is safe from political takeover. It threatens the principle of self-governance, uses race as a weapon to justify militarization, and diverts resources away from where they are truly needed. Today it’s D.C., tomorrow it could be any city that refuses to bend to Trump’s will.’

On August 25, 2025, Donald Trump announced that he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to ever serve on the Fed’s Board of Governors. He claimed she had engaged in mortgage fraud, but Cook and legal experts quickly pushed back, pointing out that the president does not have unilateral authority to remove a Fed governor except “for cause” under very narrow circumstances. Cook has vowed to challenge the firing in court, and the Federal Reserve itself has emphasized the importance of protecting its independence from political interference. Economists and financial analysts warn that Trump’s move threatens the credibility of the central bank and risks politicizing an institution designed to function outside of partisan control.

Beyond the immediate legal and financial implications, this decision is being widely seen as part of a disturbing pattern of racially motivated attacks on Black leadership. Lisa Cook’s historic appointment broke barriers in economics and central banking, fields where Black representation has been virtually nonexistent. Now, she is being targeted with allegations and an attempted removal that many leaders, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus, have called racist, misogynistic, and unlawful. This moment reflects a larger trend of undermining and discrediting Black leaders in positions of authority, particularly women, as a way to diminish their contributions and weaken their influence.

The attack on Cook is not just about one person—it signals an effort to roll back progress in representation and to send a message about who is allowed to lead in America’s most powerful institutions. By attempting to oust her under questionable pretenses, the Trump administration is both threatening the independence of the Federal Reserve and reinforcing systemic racism that continues to target Black leaders. This moment is a reminder that the fight for inclusion, equity, and protection of Black leadership is ongoing and deeply tied to the preservation of democracy itself.