The Purge: Black Leaders, Black Workers, Black History and Trump’s Remaking of America

May 11, 2026

The Trump administration has systematically removed Black leaders from prominent federal positions, including General Charles Q. Brown Jr. , the second Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and numerous other Senate-confirmed officials across independent agencies.

Who is affected

General Charles Q. Brown Jr., fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Carla Hayden, fired Librarian of Congress
Gwynne Wilcox, removed from National Labor Relations Board
Alvin Brown, terminated from National Transportation Safety Board
Robert Primus, forced out from Surface Transportation Board
Willie Phillips, pressured from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Board member (removal attempted)
Black federal workers (342,000 federal jobs eliminated)
Black middle class, particularly in areas like Prince George's County, Maryland
Black Americans generally through unemployment increases (7.3% versus 4.3% national rate)
Communities of color dependent on public health programs facing cuts

What action is being taken

The Trump administration is firing Black officials across federal agencies
The administration is dismantling diversity programs in government and institutions
Federal contracting language prohibiting segregated facilities is being rolled back
Health and Human Services is cutting staff and restructuring programs
Alvin Brown is filing a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination
Civil rights organizations are documenting reversals of anti-discrimination protections
Democratic lawmakers are questioning administration officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., over cuts affecting Black communities

Why it matters

This represents the most severe rollback of progress for Black Americans in the federal government in over 100 years, comparable only to President Woodrow Wilson's resegregation of the federal workforce in 1912. Federal employment has historically provided Black families critical pathways to the middle class after facing discrimination in the private sector, offering homeownership, retirement security, healthcare, and upward mobility. The systematic removal of Black leaders, elimination of anti-discrimination protections, and cuts to programs serving communities of color threatens to erase decades of civil rights gains and dismantle the Black middle class. The pattern appears deliberate, with legal complaints noting that 75% of Black officials at independent agencies have been removed, suggesting institutionalized racial targeting that validates historical patterns of white backlash following Black advancement.

What's next

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated that despite cuts, "essential services would continue"
Alvin Brown's lawsuit alleging racial discrimination will proceed through the courts

Read full article from source: The Washington Informer