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U.S.|What 11 Black Voters Think About Trump’s Actions in His First Month
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/us/black-voters-trump.html
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Many Black Americans were frustrated by the Trump administration’s targeting of D.E.I. programs. But others embraced the speed at which he moved.
Feb. 20, 2025Updated 9:17 p.m. ET
The first few weeks of President Trump’s frenetic second term, including sweeping actions to end federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs, have mostly unfurled during the month of February, when the nation recognizes and celebrates Black history each year.
For Black Americans around the country, the new administration’s actions to undo diversity programs — while vowing to celebrate Black history — have felt swift, if not entirely unexpected.
Some Black voters interviewed on Thursday said they had anticipated that President Trump’s actions would be destabilizing. Those who supported him embraced his quick changes. Those who voted against him — and some who stayed home last November — were aghast. Most were paying close attention, though some said they felt the need to look away.
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Veronica McCloud, 63
Retired English teacher in Charleston, S.C.
“As a person who was born in the 1960s in the heart of the civil rights movement, what we are seeing feels like an attempt to return to a different era,” Ms. McCloud said. “I am talking about a time when Black Americans were without civil rights in their own country and women had to ask their husbands for permission to join the work force.”
She was surprised by the speed with which Mr. Trump signed the sweeping executive order that upended diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
