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Hard Truths About America

Why Aren’t Black People Protesting?

Trump wants a riot, but why protest failed policies

Toni Crowe
The Bad Influence
Published in
9 min readFeb 20, 2025
a Black woman saying shush
Image by nathelly_cris from Pixabay

Warning: Don’t read this article if you are a sensitive soul. I do not mince words — and I cuss.

I had several of my white friends ask me why I am not busy organizing marches and protests as the Republicans dismantle DEI and diversity initiatives under Trump. For years, I have worked with these people as an activist.

I’m proudly one of the 92% of Black women who voted for former VP Kamala Harris. I could go on for hours, but there are four main reasons I am not freaking out.

1. We expected Trump’s Republican administration to behave precisely as it is behaving.

2. We understand the Republican administration is constantly putting out racist rage bait to provoke us.

3. DEI and Diversity initiatives were not working for Black people. Black people were the ninth most positively affected by DEI. White women and military veterans were the most affected. It was a shame they did not realize that, or maybe they would have voted differently, or maybe not.

4. Powerful old white men are not really after us: it’s the white women they are targeting; we are not the primary target. They want more white babies to work in their blue-collar industries.

Anticipated Republican Behavior

From the moment they announced Trump had won the election, Black people knew we would be in for a bumpy ride the four years he was in office. Trump and his Republican allies made no secret they believe black people are inferior, dumb animals to be managed like cattle.

The first sign was the assumption that any Black person in a position of authority got their job through a DEI initiative. Republicans have made the initials DEI mean Black.

Don’t believe me? Listen to any of the MAGA conversations around DEI — they spit the initials DEI out with the same feeling and tone as they spit out the word Nigger. Black people hear Nigger clearly when Trumpsters are talking about DEI policies. Just replace DEI with the N-word, and you, too, can hear what we hear.

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The Bad Influence
The Bad Influence

Published in The Bad Influence

We’re a Bad Influence because we INCITE change through inclusion, thought and creativity. We imagine a world where people can think critically, express themselves, and thumb their nose at the status quo, together.

Toni Crowe
Toni Crowe

Written by Toni Crowe

Sharing the hard lessons I've learned in life. Best-selling author. Humorist. Editor. Writing whatever interests me . Owner: No Air. Editor:MuddyUm.

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