by Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
It’s remarkable but perhaps inevitable that this American president would impose a military occupation on the capital city itself. But this atrocity, this brazen power grab from a population already denied statehood, is not a random, petty act of a vengeful man. It is an open and explicit declaration of his ‘War on Blackness.’
Trump’s War on Blackness runs deep. It is relentless and ruthless. But we can not flinch in this fragile moment. We must stand on legacy and overcome. We know the worse blows recently to democracy have been leveled at Black populations—from LA to Texas to D.C. Last month the Trump regime sent 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to quell ICE protests in Los Angeles, whose mayor is a well-respected Black woman, Karen Bass, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Trump’s illegal takeover of a city run by a seasoned Black woman was meant to erase her power and elevate the military presence in a city 70% non-White—over the mayor’s objections. CBTU stands with the state in its lawsuit to end Trump’s illegal seizure of California’s National Guards.
Next on Trump’s Blackness warpath is Texas, where he is bullying the Republican legislature to rip up the current congressional map and draw a new, even more discriminatory political map that would potentially add five more Republican seats in Congress from Texas to help Trump impose his authoritarian agenda after the 2026 elections.
The new GOP seats would come at the expense of members of Congress who now represent hundreds of thousands of Black voters in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth area. This partisan gerrymandering will disenfranchise Black and Brown people to help Donald Trump rig the pivotal 2026 midterm elections. He’s not even trying to disguise his corrupt power grab. Black folks stand in his way to keeping a rubber stamp majority in Congress. Trump is also plotting now to steal Democrats’ seats in other states where Black folks will stand in his way to grab more power, including Ohio, Indiana and Missouri.
Trump’s attempt to redraw congressional maps before the midterm elections and before the next census is unprecedented but very targeted. He’s not trying to shrink representation of White voters in Congress. He only wants to erase the voice and power of Black voters who see through his MAGA lies and distractions. CBTU applauds Texas Democrats for taking a stand against Trump’s redistricting scheme. We are inspired by your courage and determination to defend democracy.
So here we land, in D.C. under Trump’s fabricated occupation—in spite of crime statistics trending downward in major categories, including violent crime, which has reached it’s lowest level in 30 years. As he did in Los Angeles, Trump intentionally bypassed D.C.’s Black mayor, Muriel Bowser, in taking control of the city’s police force and deploying over 200 National Guard troops. He also berated her intelligence and demeaned her leadership, as he did to LA mayor Karen Bass.
It’s no coincidence that he has tried to embarrass and erase two Black women in powerful positions.
But why does Trump’s authoritarian occupation of D.C. matter so much and cuts so deep with Black folks beyond Ben’s Chili Bowl and the capital beltway? Trump wants to put his racist brand on a city that has symbolic meaning to Black people across the country. He wants to humiliate Black leadership and reinforce the racist stereotype of Black incompetence. After all, doesn’t John Wayne or some White superhero always come to rescue a lawless town from ‘them’?
But for a people who have survived slavery’s lash and Jim Crow’s noose and beloved leaders cut down by bullets, this moment is only the test before the triumph.
We condemn Donald Trump’s rampage against Blackness, from LA to Texas to D.C.; from his federal DEI purge to his union-busting and destruction of public education. He cannot purge Blackness from America’s DNA no matter how many executive orders he signs or insults he hurls at strong Black leaders.
We reiterate our call for statehood in the District of Columbia, not National Guard troops patrolling city streets.
We strongly urge our White allies in this struggle to openly and consistently denounce the racist targeting of Black leaders, Black populations and institutions that preserve, teach and elevate Black history and culture. Silence in this moment could have deadly consequences. Be clear, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists has not and never will bow to evil. We do not believe our future is beyond our control. We will not relinquish the power of our labor solidarity and the strength of our resilient Blackness.
We are occupied but not subdued!
