This year Black History Month, beginning February 1, demands a second look and fresh eyes. I’ve written in past Februarys about how it is easy for we white people to see Black History Month as not about us. We may give polite acknowledgment or attend an event or two.  But we have minimal emotional investment. But if there was ever a year to pay attention to Black History and to what is happening to people different than us, this is it!

Unfortunately, our not paying attention to racial equity and the purpose of Black History Month has not served anyone well. A lot has changed in one week of the new Trump administration. 

Robert Reich, a veteran of the Carter and Bush administrations and commentator at robertreich.substack.com sums up in his January 26 article on the hate and divisiveness sown by the Trump administration in just one week this way: “The government now recognizes only two ‘immutable’ genders, male and female. Migrants (now referred to as ‘aliens’) are being turned away at the border. Immigration agents are freed to target hospitals, schools, and churches in search of people to deport. Diversity efforts in the federal government have been dismantled and employees turned into snitches. Federal money will be barred from paying for many abortions.”

It is impossible to say where the most harm is being done. Every change Trump has initiated squarely and intentionally hurts and threatens Black and Brown people. In the Washington DC metro area where I live, long-time residents of this country and recent arrivals share a terror of ICE and deportation. Children don’t go to school; mothers are afraid to go to a birthday party or leave their homes. The federal government historically has been a reliable employer. Now it no longer is, as people of all races and ethnicities live in fear of losing their jobs. And we know that Black and Brown families, due to long-term structural racism and economic disparities, will suffer more and suffer longer.

The press releases President Trump issued to honor Black History Month in the last two years of his first term –  appear supportive of African Americans even perhaps anti-racist. In 2019 he condemned the  “unscrupulous slave trade in the American colonies” beginning in 1619. 

His 2020 Black History proclamation was even more unbelievable – with a theme of African Americans and the vote. I will spare you the rhetoric and hypocrisy of the 2020 proclamation as he sought African-American voters. But today, in 2025, the story and his rhetoric are quite different.

Yes, I know it is naïve to give any credence to anything Trump says. I share these statements to support the obvious: It’s a new day. His attacks in 2025 are planned, executed with precision and intended both to deny rights and reestablish or some would say sustain white power by a few. This attack on all citizens cannot be ignored.  

This year’s Black History Month is a sounding drum for all to step forward to fight to protect the rights of our neighbors in any way we can. It’s our job to get educated about who is working for racial justice and against the Trumpian attacks in our community and nationally. Provide personal and financial support to your neighbors who are losing their homes, have no heat, can’t afford medical care, are threatened by ICE and scared to go out of their homes. 

Consider supporting or becoming involved with the Southern Poverty Law Center or Black Lives Matter. Or an organization in your community working for equal justice for African Americans or fighting as CASA is in my community against deportation and illegal attacks on schools and churches.  Share what you are doing with your friends and neighbors. 

The civil rights leaders who fought to achieve gains in rights and freedoms were organized, persistent and risked their lives in their fight. To preserve and protect these rights, there will be sacrifices for all of us, including us white folks. 

If we love our neighbor and value the freedoms and gains achieved over the last century, we have a duty to ask ourselves what we can do to fight back against this war against our brothers and sisters.