Colleges Cut DEI Ties. Supreme Court Blocks Trump Tariffs. Roy Cooper Senate Bid
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Over 45 universities cut ties with organizations supporting minority students and faculty, including the PhD Project, under pressure from anti-DEI policies.
- ❖The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that former President Trump's tariffs were unconstitutional, a decision celebrated by farmers and businesses negatively impacted by his trade policies.
- ❖House Speaker Mike Johnson denied Democrats' request for Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol, a move widely criticized as politically motivated disrespect.
- ❖Black voter turnout in Texas is critical, with 4.5 million eligible Black voters, yet only 60% of actual voters are white, highlighting a significant mobilization gap.
- ❖The host advocates for Black organizations to adopt Jim Crow-era strategies of self-reliance, including direct funding to students, to bypass institutional barriers.
Insights
1Systematic Attack on DEI and Minority Education Access
Host Roland Martin and guest Alfonso Alexander (President of the PhD Project) detail how anti-DEI legislation, driven by figures like Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, has led to 45 universities cutting ties with organizations that recruit and retain minority students and faculty. The PhD Project, which connects talented minority individuals with PhD opportunities, saw its university partnerships drop from over 200 to less than 100, resulting in significant financial hits. This is framed as an effort to 'defund Black America' by cutting off access to higher education's upper echelons, research funding, and scholarships.
Alfonso Alexander states, 'we had over 200 universities that partnered with us last year... and now you know it's less than 100.' Roland Martin highlights Texas A&M's cancellation of travel to a minority PhD recruitment conference under gubernatorial threat. Win Cooney notes the targeting of organizations like the PhD Project, Links, and Boule, while conservative groups like TurningPoint USA operate freely.
2Supreme Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs as Unconstitutional
The Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 decision, ruling that former President Trump's use of tariffs was unconstitutional, asserting that Congress holds the authority for such actions. John Boyd, President of the National Black Farmers Association, expresses relief, stating that Trump's 'schizophrenic' tariffs had driven American farmers into bankruptcy and suicide. The decision is seen as a rare check on Trump's executive power and a potential economic relief for various industries and consumers, despite Trump's immediate threats to impose new tariffs under different laws.
John Boyd states, 'The president lost and I won, Roland. I won by six to three. And I've talked on your show before about how the terrorists are illegal. Illegal. And for the first time, I think in my life, the Supreme Court really said, you know, John Board is right on this one. The president terrorists have put America's farmers out of business, put us into bankruptcy, foreclosure.' Win Cooney notes the average household lost $1,700 in real income due to these tariffs, and companies like Costco and Crocs are seeking refunds.
3Political Disrespect for Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.'s Legacy
House Speaker Mike Johnson denied the Democratic request for Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol following his passing. This decision is framed as a partisan act and a deliberate disrespect for Jackson's monumental contributions to civil rights and American history. Speakers reflect on Jackson's courage, his pioneering presidential campaigns, and his economic empowerment initiatives like the Coca-Cola boycott, emphasizing his role in opening doors for future generations.
Roland Martin reports, 'House Speaker Mike Johnson declined the request by Democrats for Reverend Jesse Jackson Senior to lie in honor at the US Capital Rotunda.' Win Cooney calls it 'a slap in the face to Jesse Jackson... and to black America.' Michael Imhotep recalls Jackson's 1981 Coca-Cola economic boycott as one of the most successful for African Americans.
4Mobilizing Black Voters in Texas for Political Change
The host emphasizes the critical need for increased Black voter turnout in Texas, which has the largest number of eligible Black voters (around 4.5 million) in the country. Despite this, 60% of actual voters in Texas are white, leading to Republican control of statewide offices for decades. Efforts by organizations like Alpha Phi Alpha are highlighted, focusing on precinct-level voter data analysis and door-to-door outreach to motivate Black voters by connecting their 'pain points' to specific ballot issues and candidates.
Roland Martin states, 'Texas has more eligible black voters than any state in the country. Around 4.5 million.' Enaberi, Deputy Executive Director of Texas Council of Alpha Chapters, describes their strategy: 'We're actually taking that voter data and we're doing maybe once or twice a month. We are we're we're going and we're knocking on doors.'
Bottom Line
The current political climate necessitates a return to Jim Crow-era strategies of self-reliance and community insulation for Black Americans.
Traditional reliance on mainstream institutions and political processes may be insufficient or actively hostile. Direct community action and resource pooling become paramount for survival and progress.
Black organizations and individuals can create independent funding mechanisms, educational platforms, and economic networks that bypass discriminatory systemic barriers, fostering internal strength and resilience.
The targeting of DEI initiatives extends beyond direct funding cuts to subtle restrictions on research topics and scholarship distribution.
This creates a chilling effect in academia, stifling diverse perspectives and critical research on gender and ethnic leadership, ultimately crippling academic development and understanding.
Advocates need to identify and challenge these nuanced restrictions, potentially through legal action or by establishing alternative research funding and dissemination channels that protect academic freedom and diversity-focused inquiry.
Lessons
- Black organizations should pivot from traditional institutional partnerships to direct funding models for students, bypassing universities that are forced to cut ties with minority-focused programs.
- Focus Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts on precinct-level voter data to identify and mobilize unregistered or low-turnout Black voters, connecting ballot issues directly to their community's 'pain points.'
- Support Black-owned media and businesses to build economic leverage and self-sufficiency, insulating the community from external political attacks and fostering internal growth.
Quotes
"What we are seeing is a massive attack by Donald Trump and MAGA against efforts to recruit and retain African-Americans. So, what have I said they're trying to do by defunding black America? They're trying to cut off access to colleges, universities. They're trying to cut off access to contracts. They're cutting off access to grants and things along those lines. And so there is a wholesale assault on black America taking place as we speak and folk need to wake up and understand what's going on."
"What we have to be doing right now is saying, 'Okay, since y'all are putting up these barriers, we are going to find another way to ensure that our black students are going to be funded and taken care of and they're not going to be fall by the wayside because of this white nationalist agenda that's coming out of the White House.'"
"The president lost and I won, Roland. I won by six to three. And I've talked on your show before about how the terrorists are illegal. Illegal. And for the first time, I think in my life, the Supreme Court really said, you know, John Board is right on this one. The president terrorists have put America's farmers out of business, put us into bankruptcy, foreclosure."
"It's a slap in the face to Jesse Jackson. It's a slap in the face to all of the things that he's accomplished over the years. It's a slap in the face to black America. But quite frankly, I think that's exactly what it's intended as."
"He was the bridge between the assassination of Dr. King and then going into the 1980s... He was able to get the Democratic party to change for and go to the proportional vote."
Q&A
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