By Eddie Martin, Jr. 

History has shown us that civil and human rights progress is often met with resistance, and the early days of the second Trump Administration have been no exception. After just six weeks, the nation faces a profound democratic threat, as the administration has put a greater priority on a highly inflammatory agenda than on economic relief for American citizens. Rather than foster unity, this agenda is designed to divide the country—both racially and economically—through direct attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); civil rights; and equal opportunity. These efforts, enforced through executive orders and policy decisions that lack factual basis, dismantle decades of federal policies that promote equal opportunity. They instill fear, suppress opposition, and sow confusion while masking more insidious efforts to entrench inequality. The consequences are already severe and will continue to worsen, increasing economic injustice and deepening poverty, particularly for people with low incomes and in communities of color. 

For those who remember the harsh realities of segregation, the recent executive orders and the Project 2025 playbook aren’t new. Rather, they are a continuation of a long-standing cycle in which racial and economic justice and civil rights progress for marginalized communities are often met with resistance. For others who have not directly faced systemic oppression, these attacks spark anger, anxiety, and uncertainty, leaving many feeling powerless. However, history teaches us that these moments of backlash must be met with action, not despair. Yet if we are to withstand this onslaught, we must cut through misinformation, respond with strategic resolve, and reaffirm our commitment to equity and inclusion. History must serve as our blueprint for resilience, success, and justice.  

The Interconnectedness of Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Economic Justice 

The fight for civil rights and racial equity in America has always been inseparable from the fight for economic justice. The Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) sought not only to dismantle approximately 100 years of Jim Crow segregation and secure voting rights but also to ensure equitable access to health care, housing, education, and employment. Landmark legislation such as the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (which established Head Start), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 (which led to the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 laid the foundation for promoting economic justice and opportunity and fighting systemic racism. 

Despite facing violence and threats, civil rights leaders—including Dorothy Height, Medgar Evers, A. Philip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, John Lewis, Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—led organizations like the National Council of Negro Women, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Congress of Racial Equality, National Urban League, and Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Their grassroots organizing and legal victories secured the very protections that today’s DEIA and anti-discrimination initiatives rely upon. 

However, history also warns us that every major civil rights gain has been followed by attempts to roll it back. Just as Nixon’s Southern Strategy and Reagan’s War on Drugs systematically undermined the civil rights advancements of the 1950s and 1960s, the Trump Administration launched attacks on DEIA progress made in recent decades. As civil rights advocate and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw cautioned, these most recent efforts aim to “come after the entire infrastructure that has been created from the Civil Rights Movement.” 

The Impact of Rolling Back Human and Civil Rights Protections 

The administration’s preemptive policies (past and present) have resulted in: 

• ICE raids and the separation of children from their parents, violating fundamental human rights. 

• The rollback of employment discrimination protections for federal contractors. 

• The elimination of transgender protections and erasure of DEIA efforts across the federal government. 

• The firing of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission commissioners. 

• Increased corporate fear, leading companies to prematurely discontinue DEIA programs to avoid litigation. 

These attacks extend beyond the workplace, reaching institutions of higher education and social safety nets. Universities face pressure to end DEIA initiatives under the threat of losing federal funding. Critical programs that provide health care, food, and housing assistance to working-class families and communities of color are at risk of being slashed. Federal troops are being weaponized at the border, while newly appointed civil rights officials are being deployed to target political opponents and to advance reckless economic policies, such as the imposition of tariffs, that threaten to further burden the most vulnerable populations. 

A Call to Action: How We All Stand Together to Fight for Justice 

The administration has consolidated power across all three branches of government, making resistance more challenging but no less necessary. To counteract this systematic injustice and harm, we must adopt a multilateral approach that secures short-term wins while laying the groundwork for long-term strategic and structural change. 

• Institutions, corporations, and universities must resist intimidation and double down on their commitments to DEIA and equal opportunity. 

• Civil rights organizations must continue to challenge every discriminatory policy in the courts, in legislative halls, and in the court of public opinion. 

• Individuals and advocacy groups must reclaim the narrative, countering false claims that equate DEIA and civil rights efforts with discrimination. 

• Grassroots organizations, direct service organizations, and coalitions must continue mobilizing communities, raising awareness, and providing direct support to those most impacted. 

• Nonprofits and socially conscious businesses must stay the course, ensuring that their missions remain focused on supporting vulnerable communities. 

• Donors and philanthropists must have the moral courage to support just causes, even in the face of intimidation. 

• Faith-based organizations and institutions must venture beyond institutional walls to inspire, serve as a moral compass, and advocate for justice, just as many did during the Civil Rights Movement. 

• Elected officials must be willing to take principled stands, even at personal or political risk, remembering that “the time is always ripe to do [what is] right.” 

Challenging oppression requires courage, strategy, and often sacrifice. As A. Philip Randolph once said:: 

Justice is never given; it is exacted … and the struggle must be continuous, for freedom is never a final fact, but a continuing evolving process to higher and higher levels of human, social, economic, political and religious relationships. 

To uphold democracy, equity, and justice, we must be creatively maladjusted to injustice, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. suggested: fearless in our pursuit of freedom and unrelenting in our demand for equality. The road ahead is difficult, but history has shown us that when we stand together, we prevail.