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Race in America: Better or Worse, One Year After Charlottesville

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Washington, D.C. is ground zero this weekend for the white supremacists who left Charlottesville, Virginia bruised last year and exposed President Donald Trump’s affinity for their hateful, racist views when he failed to condemn their protests and described them as having “good people” in their midst.

The permit application for this year’s so-called “White Civil Rights Rally” indicates the one-year anniversary event will take place in Lafayette Square, located near the White House. There are reports David Duke and his supporters will protest in front of the White House.

“I think it just shows that the KKK, the neo-Nazis and the other white supremacists are celebrating,” says Dr. Ray Winbush. “They are celebrating Donald Trump. What we are seeing is people celebrating their racism.”  

Winbush, who is the director of the Institute for Urban Research at Morgan State, points out that deaths linked to racial justice often involve African Americans and the police. And, in most cases, there are few witnesses. Yet, last year in Charlottesville when a car rammed into a crowd of counter protesters, Heather Heyer was killed.

“Charlottesville was a modern and very, very public example of Black people and White people getting together with those in opposition to the white supremacist march and a death occurred,” Winbush says.

Heyer was a 32-year-old white woman.

“White women are very important in America,” Winbush states. “I was musing with my students. If it had been a black woman, a black man, or even a white man, things would have been different. But, Whites now have a recent martyr like Viola Liuzzo, and I think the country pays attention to that, both black and white Americans.”

In an ABC News report, Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, says she is “not dwelling in hate.”

In anticipation of unrest, the state of Virginia has already declared a state of emergency. In Washington, D.C. law enforcement is preparing for tempers to flare. And, movie producer, Spike Lee, timed the release of his new movie, BlacKkKlansman, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Charlottesville.

Lee is known to address race relations in his films. Throughout his more than 30-year career as a filmmaker, he has not shied away from art that offers an opportunity to talk about race in America. In an interview with TIME magazine, Lee recalled seeing Gone with the Wind while in college, and there was no conversation following the film he says to place the antebellum era in context nor was there discussion about the black actor, Butterfly McQueen who starred in it.

Winbush is cautious when he talks about Lee’s new film and its ability to foster a racial dialogue.

“I think this idea that we will have an American dialogue on race is an integrationist myth,” he says. “The idea is that you’ll have a truth and reconciliation commission like in South Africa. We attempted it in the 1990s under Bill Clinton, but that got sidetracked. We are in a bad place in this country. And, I hope Spike’s film achieves the national dialogue on race that he wants, but I don’t have much faith that it will happen.”

Many African Americans share the pessimism Winbush articulates. As the stories of whites calling the police on African Americans they think are in the wrong place such as the student at Smith College having lunch, the group of women playing golf, or the family eating at a Subway in rural Georgia, there is very little reason to believe the country is interested in a conversation about race.

According to Winbush, racism was “bad in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.” But, he adds, “This is the worst I have seen it in over 40 years.”

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Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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