David Troutt and Anna Griffith of the Center for Law Inequality and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey, recently authored a new report, “Rewriting Racial Equality: The State of Civil Rights Law Under Trump.” The analysis documents how the second Trump administration has transformed how the federal government views and enforces civil rights and discusses how those changes will impact Black Americans for years to come.
“What we’re seeing is a wholesale reversal of fundamental equations about racial equality that will change this country forever,’’ said Troutt, founding director of CLiME and a Distinguished Professor of Law.
In their report, Troutt and Griffith highlight how the Trump administration has recast the modern civil rights movement as a defense against anti-White race discrimination. The co-authors summarize the administration’s approach into four areas: redefining racial discrimination, dismantling the framework for government support of racial equity and cancelling existing investigations, enforcing policy priorities through defunding and fining institutions, and encouraging racial gerrymandering of congressional districts in the guise of political gerrymandering.
According to Troutt and Griffith, actions such as mass layoffs for federal employees, halting or canceling civil rights investigations, and terminating or freezing billions of dollars to institutions because of their DEI-related programs could lead to an uptick in anti-Black racism, a shrinking Black middle class, the loss of Black-owned businesses, and fewer educational opportunities for Black students.
“Our fundamental understanding of equality is inextricably tied up with racial justice for Black people,” said Professor Troutt. “When systemic discrimination occurs, its greatest victims, generation after generation, are Black people as reflected in rates of excess death, incarceration, unemployment, racial wealth gap, and exclusion from educational opportunities.”
Going forward, Professor Troutt and Griffith plan to update their report every six months, ensuring it remains an up-to-date resource.
