Mass layoffs and the adjoining attack on DEI threaten to turn back some of the gains of a growing Black middle class.
by Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Tyler Mitchell
Within weeks, the Trump administration has ousted dozens of career officials, undone decades of policy aimed at removing barriers for Black inclusion, and signaled a return to patronage rather than merit.
The recent wave of federal firings and policy shifts under the Trump administration represents a dismantling of government policy and practice that has led the private sector in opportunities for African Americans. Much of the private sector still lags greatly behind the government — the largest employer in our economy — in including African Americans at all levels of their workforce.
As leaders from different generations, we see this attack on the government workforce from two critical vantage points: its immediate threat to current federal workers and its chilling effect on the next generation of public servants.
RELATED: Federal Layoffs Present New Barriers for Black K-12 Students
For decades, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’ research has shown that federal employment has been transformative for Black Americans. These positions offer significantly better benefits, anti-discrimination protections, and traditional job security. Though wages in government positions are often less than in the private sector, the combination of job security and better benefits have proven to be a stronger path to wealth building than similar work in the private sector.
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