Protestors rally in Washington DC against the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Credit: Flickr/Geoliv (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Black communities bear the brunt of capitalism
The working class is facing a period of grave instability – faced with the challenge of managing rising prices of basic goods, stagnant or even deflated wages, and a future that is increasingly insecure in more ways than one. And as is so often the case, Black working class communities are experiencing the worst consequences of these systemic failures.
Black workers entered 2025 faced with the same challenges that have plagued Black communities for generations – higher levels of unemployment, lower wages, and broad disinvestment that impacts all aspects of life. Still, Black workers make, on average, 20% less than their white counterparts, experience an unemployment rate more than 150% of the national average, and a median wealth of a mere $45,000. One out of every three Black children lives in poverty.
The cycle of poverty is a never-ending, self-fulfilling prophecy under the capitalist system. When communities don’t have an adequate tax base or political influence, then critical programs are not properly funded. When critical programs aren’t properly funded, educational, environmental and health outcomes are all predictably worsened. Impoverished communities, then, become even easier for governmental bodies to neglect as “a lost cause”.
That we see more Black people represented in higher positions of power today does not diminish the grave reality of widespread poverty and disinvestment that Black working class people are experiencing. In fact, this disparity can be used as a means of further criminalizing Black communities. Black communities experience higher levels of policing, but all the research shows that police don’t actually solve crime. They end up perpetrating the crime of mass incarceration instead. While Black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population, they represent nearly 40% of the prison population, further contributing to the deterioration of Black communities.
The entire system is rigged against Black working class people – and no matter who is in the White House, the symptoms do not get any better.
Trump’s war on the Black community
Throughout the history of this country, the struggle of the Black community for equality and democracy has been the main engine of progress. The overarching goal of the Trump administration is to undo that progress and plunge the country into a new era where there are no limits on the power of the rich and corporations to exploit the people and destroy the planet. Even if he focuses his racist rhetoric against other targets, like immigrants from Latin America, at the core of Trump’s agenda is an all-out assault on Black people – and his first actions as president proves it.
Right when he took office, Trump issued an executive order telling the Department of Justice to freeze all civil rights lawsuits – whether it’s against cops, local government agencies, or private corporations like banks that discriminate in loan applications. And the DoJ has to suspend all “consent decrees” where the federal government imposes certain policy reforms on police departments that have proven themselves to be the most racist and violent. As a signal to cops that they can kill Black people with impunity, he pardoned two DC police officers involved in the killing of a 20 year-old Black man, Karon Hylton-Brown.
Trump’s ban on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs is the last nail in the coffin of affirmative action. Whatever the limitations of DEI programs are, they still represent the last remaining programs aimed at combating racism in the workplace. And now, Black workers in the federal government run the risk of being branded a “DEI hire” and lose their job on that basis.
Trump also wants to take the public services that Black workers rely on the most and – instead of making badly-needed improvements – destroy them by turning them over to private corporations. Trump wants to privatize the postal service, the largest source of jobs for Black workers that pay a living wage. Medicaid and Medicare help curb the worst inequalities in the health system, but Trump wants insurance companies to take over and turn these programs into a source of profit. Schools in Black communities are given totally inadequate funding, but instead of providing more resources Trump wants to let charter school corporations take over public education.
But just because Trump wants to push through these policies doesn’t mean he’ll be able to get away with it. By far the most serious challenge to Trump during his first term was the 2020 George Floyd uprising, which drew millions of people into the streets. The Black working class was able to do what none of the Democratic Party politicians could accomplish – take a courageous stand and put Trump on the defensive. Now that he’s back in office, Trump could face even more massive resistance than the first time.
For Black liberation to become a reality, this system must fall!
Racist injustice against Black people is so persistent in America not just because of personal attitudes and prejudices – it is an essential tool used by the billionaires who rule this country and the powerful institutions they control to cement their domination over society.
White supremacy allows the ruling class to grow even richer by exploiting Black workers especially intensely – slavery is the most extreme example and was the foundation the entire economy of the United States was built on. And racism also helps the elite maintain their political power by dividing working people. If Black people are demonized and presented as the source of social problems, then the millionaires and billionaires who are actually to blame get let off the hook.
Through courageous struggle, there have been periods of historic progress towards Black freedom. But whenever that struggle slows down, the natural tendency of the system is to roll back that progress. Take affirmative action for instance – the Black liberation movement of the 1960s won affirmative action programs nationwide, but starting in 1978 the courts gradually restricted these policies before ending them altogether.
For decades, the vast majority of Black voters have supported Democratic Party politicians, only to have those politicians abandon the interests of the Black community as soon as they take office. No matter how many Black politicians are elected, or how many Black people are in positions of prominence in economic and cultural institutions, conditions for the working class majority of the Black community never change – or get even worse.
The problem is at the roots: this country is ruled by a tiny handful of billionaires, and decisions are made to maximize profits for those billionaires. White supremacy persists because it is in their interests for it to persist. But the grinding oppression and inequality Black communities are subjected to would be totally at odds with the goals of a society ruled by the working class, where decisions are made to meet the needs of the people and the planet. That’s why visionary Black freedom fighters from W.E.B. DuBois to Assata Shakur to Huey Newton have looked to socialism as the key to achieving Black liberation. White supremacy will only be overthrown if it is uprooted alongside the capitalist system that gave birth to it.
This article is also available as a downloadable pamphlet here.
