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RCV Momentum, Young Voters, and Faster Runoffs - This Week’s Expand Democracy 5
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Just the Facts: Trump Administration Pauses International Student Visas
May 29, 2025
The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.
Has the Trump administration put a hold on issuing student visas for this coming fall?
The Trump administration has paused new student visa interviews as part of an effort to expand social media screening for applicants. The State Department has instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to stop scheduling new student and exchange visitor visa appointments until further guidance is issued. However, previously scheduled interviews will still proceed.
Additionally the Trump Administration has temporarily halted new student and exchange visitor visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide while it expands social media screening for applicants. The pause applies to F, M, and J visa categories, but already scheduled interviews will proceed as planned
This move is part of a broader effort to increase vetting of international students, with concerns about national security and antisemitism cited as reasons for the expanded screening. Some universities, including Harvard, have already faced restrictions on enrolling international students. Critics argue that this policy could disrupt higher education and deter students from choosing the U.S. as a study destination
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What are the specifics of the State Department directive?
The directive was widely circulated to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts abroad and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The State Department said it would issue further guidance to consulates and embassies in the coming days. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity," the cable said.
The memo also warned of “potentially significant implications for consular section operations, processes, and resource allocations” in a clear indication of the delay likely for student visa applications.
“Consular sections will need to take into consideration the workload and resource requirements of each case prior to scheduling them going forward,” the cable said, adding the priority should be on “services for U.S. citizens, immigrant visas, and fraud prevention.”
Has the Trump Administration provided any information on how long the temporary pause will last and what the new rules will be?
The State Department has not specified an end date for the pause, stating that further guidance will be issued in the coming days. The expanded vetting process aims to scrutinize applicants' social media activity, particularly posts perceived as hostile to U.S. interests.
What Impact will the pause have on international students?
- Delays and Uncertainty: Many students may miss enrollment deadlines due to visa processing delays, which forces them to defer admission or seek alternative options.
- Financial Losses: Students who have already paid non-refundable deposits for tuition, housing, and flights could lose money if they can’t secure a visa in time.
- Limited Travel: Some universities arewarning students against traveling abroad this summer, fearing they may not be allowed to return.
- Social Media Scrutiny: The expanded social media screening could lead to visa denials based on online activity, raising concerns about privacy and free speech.
What additional actions did the Trump Administration take against China?
On May 28, the Trump administration announced that it would aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, particularly those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to enforce these revocations and revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of future applications from China and Hong Kong.
China has strongly opposed these measures, calling them harmful to students' legitimate rights and interests. The decision could have a significant impact on U.S. universities, which rely on international students for revenue and research contributions.
How Many Chinese Students attend United States Universities?
As of the 2023-2024 academic year, there were approximately 277,398 Chinese students enrolled in U.S. universities, making China the second-largest source of international students in the country. India recently overtook China as the top sender, with over 331,602 students.
Despite a slight decline in numbers, Chinese students continue to make up a significant portion of the international student population, particularly in fields such as engineering, business, and computer science. Their presence contributes to both academic research and university funding.
What Impact will the reduction in the number of international students have on Universities?
- Enrollment Decline: Universities that rely on international students—who make up a significant portion of their student body—could see a drop in enrollment.
- Financial Strain: International students often pay full tuition without federal aid, contributing billions to the U.S. economy. A decline in their numbers could hurt university budgets.
- Reputation Damage: The U.S. has long been a top destination for international students. If visa policies become too restrictive, students may opt for other countries, such as Canada, Australia, or the UK, instead.
How are Universities responding
- Some are taking a wait-and-see policy.
- Higher education groups, including the Association of International Educators, are lobbying lawmakers to reverse the policy, arguing that international students pose no security threat and contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.
- Harvard University has been at the center of legal action against the Trump administration regarding student visa restrictions. Additionally, a University of Cincinnati international student filed a lawsuit, resulting in a federal judge blocking the administration from revoking the student's visa.
- University leaders from MIT, Stanford, and the University of California system have issued joint statements condemning the policy.
- Some universities are offering remote learning options to help students who are affected continue their studies.
How many international students are there in the United States, and which University will be most impacted
As of the 2023/2024 academic year, the U.S. hosted over 1.1 million international students, marking a 7% increase from the previous year. These students make significant contributions to the economy and academic diversity.
Some universities have a high percentage of international students, which means they may be heavily affected by visa restrictions. The top institutions with the highest proportion of international students:
1. Illinois Institute of Technology – 51% of students are international.
2. Carnegie Mellon University – 44% international students.
3. Stevens Institute of Technology – 42% international students.
4. Northeastern University – 40% international students.
5. Columbia University – 40% international students.
6. New York University (NYU) – 37% international students.
Additionally, universities like Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California system have reported visa cancellations affecting their international students. Harvard alone has 27% international students, making it one of the most impacted institutions.
David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
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Defining the Democracy Movement: Connie Razza
May 29, 2025
The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's interview series engages diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This initiative is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.
The latest interview in this series took place with Connie Razza, the Executive Director of Future Currents. This organization creates spaces for movement organizations to build resilient relationships, tackle pressing challenges, and prepare for possible conditions. Connie is an organizer at heart and by training, having worked on economic justice issues for most of her career.
Most of the interviews in this series to date have featured practitioners in the more traditional democracy ecosystem: election administrators, bridge-builders, structural reformists, and local practitioners. I appreciated the opportunity to speak with Connie to gain a perspective from someone embedded in the movement-building space —those on the front line. Often, there appears to be a perceived— and at times real —divide between organizers and pro-democracy advocates. It was refreshing to explore that dynamic with Connie.
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One of the key topics we discussed, which has gained traction and importance in the wake of the 2024 election, was whether the pro-democracy movement should more explicitly connect with economic justice. Many Americans, understandably, are primarily concerned with day-to-day survival, including the cost of living, economic opportunities, and basic needs. Preserving democratic norms, such as the rule of law and self-governance, can justifiably feel like a secondary concern.
Connie addressed the challenge and opportunity of bringing the pro-democracy and economic justice movements into closer alignment. She also explored how the pro-democracy tent can expand its reach, perhaps by rethinking its language and metaphors, as well as its behavior.
Her main reflections included:
- Democracy and economic justice must be linked: Too often, nonprofits and advocates separate democracy from economic issues, perhaps a natural byproduct of a fragmented and siloed nonprofit and policy landscape. The division is counterproductive. It is also not new. Having the right to participate in a free society and having the economic means to live freely and securely are deeply interconnected.
As Connie shared, “In my career in nonprofits. I feel like they've been really bifurcated. There's..folks who work on the economy and folks who work on democracy.
But when you think about it, the 1964 march on Washington was about economic justice. It was also about democracy and civil rights. And when you go back even further- abolition was economic democracy. It was all of the things. And so, I think that really this is like an approach that is very much repairing an artificial sort of separation that has happened before.”
- The movement needs to be more fun and more imaginative: Pro-democracy work can feel like a grind right now, with new daily threats and increasingly high stakes. But perhaps ironically, there are lessons to learn from the far-right. Despite a sometimes-destructive vision, it offers its followers a sense of belonging, imagination, possibility, and purpose. Those fighting for democracy can and should tap into joy, creativity, and hope to build a movement equally compelling.
As Connie notes, “I think we struggle because I think that we really do deeply believe in each other. I think that we are seeing (from the other side) what a radical imagination of exclusion, of consolidation, of power, of destruction. That imagination is inconceivable in our minds- because I think that we believe in our democratic norms and practices….
But I do think that it means that there is an opportunity in front of us, to imagine, not rebuilding what existed, but rebuilding what we need for the future.” - Maybe it’s not a pro-democracy tent. It’s a democracy music festival: We often talk about the “big tent” of the pro-democracy movement- a metaphor for a broad, inclusive coalition. We need as many people as possible in the tent to be successful, and so the argument becomes how to build a broad-based coalition.
But in practice, litmus tests emerge. If someone believes in core democratic principles but holds other contested policy views, can they still be part of the tent?
In response, Connie offers the idea of a music festival:
“I know that we always talk about the big tent, and it suggests that we literally all have to be in there together. (But) I don't want to be actually in a tent with certain people. I mean, I know that we're not supposed to say this, but like there are people that we don't want to be in the tent with, and they really don't want to be in the tent with us.
I've really been thinking about a music festival rather than a tent. It's like we all came to the same event. We can all be enjoying (different music), and we'll run into each other in the beer line, and we'll run into each other in the bathroom line, and it'll be fine. We'll navigate that, and maybe we'll even be like, hey? Oh, my God! I love that shirt that you got.
We can share a core belief that we can make decisions together, and we can get to a place, and I think that this is where the headwinds are, where we believe that we share an interest in our families thriving.”
I’m grateful to Connie for offering such thoughtful reflections on how we can build a more joyful, purpose-driven, and expansive pro-democracy movement—one that connects economic justice and democratic values, and that welcomes many into a shared future.
Scott Warren is a fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He is co-leading a trans-partisan effort to protect the basic parameters, rules, and institutions of the American republic. He is the co-founder of Generation Citizen, a national civics education organization.
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Coalition of Nonprofits, Research Institutions Fight Against Proposed Cuts at CDC Injury Center
May 29, 2025
WASHINGTON–Shayna Raphael started promoting infant safety 10 years ago after her daughter Claire passed away due to an unsafe sleeping environment at her daycare.
The Claire Bear Foundation, which Raphael created with her husband, teaches parents about unsafe products. But first, they need the data about which products endanger babies. They rely on a little-known agency at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Injury Center. The center collects most of the data used to keep people safe from injuries and death.
For instance, over the last several years, the Injury Center compiled data that led to a CDC recommendation against swaddling babies in blankets that are weighted.
A study referenced by the CDC found that soft bedding, including weighted products, increased the chances of suffocation 16-fold.
“When there are products that have been part of an injury or death that are reported, either through public health reports or autopsies, that goes into the CDC system,” Raphael said.
Despite the Injury Center’s importance, the Trump administration has targeted the agency in the recent wave of federal cuts.
In early April, the Trump Administration cut about a third of the Injury Center’s staff. A couple of weeks later, a leaked budget proposal for the Health and Human Services Department—first reported by the Washington Post and leaked by Inside Medicine—called for nearly 30% budget cuts at the Injury Center. According to the proposal, funding for programs ranging from firearm death and drowning prevention to traumatic brain injury research would be discontinued.
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“In essence, what we're doing right now is taking off our seatbelt before we crash,” said Sharon Gilmartin, the executive director of Safe States Alliance, a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen practices of injury and violence prevention.
Over the last couple of weeks, local, state, and federal supporters of the Injury Center pushed back.
The Keep America Safe Coalition, a coalition of over 40 health organizations across the country, came together to advocate for the Injury Center's survival.
Under the leaked draft proposal, the Injury Center would be transferred to a newly created agency, the Administration for a Healthy America, which was announced in March. According to the draft, the Injury Center’s proposed budget for 2026 would be around $550 million, a decrease from around $760 million in 2024. A Health and Human Services spokesperson said the leaked document is pre-decisional and that no final decisions have been made.
Programs relating to suicide prevention, opioid overdose prevention, domestic violence and rape prevention, and the National Violent Death Reporting System would remain at the Injury Center.
According to the Safe States Alliance, 52 congressional representatives and 12 senators had signed letters expressing support for the Injury Center as of May 15. None were Republicans.
One of the Injury Center’s congressional supporters, Rep. Gwen Moore, D-WI, said, “Any ‘restructuring plan’ that leaves state and local authorities without support to reduce preventable deaths and survivors of abuse without the resources they need must be abandoned,” in an email to the Medill News Service.
At congressional hearings on May 14, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy indicated that any proposed cuts would eliminate waste and consolidate programs and centers to improve efficiency.
When asked about the Injury Center specifically, a Health and Human Services spokesperson redirected Medill News Service to President Donald Trump’s “skinny” budget proposal.
Although President Trump's administration has yet to release the full budget proposal, a redacted “skinny” budget was released in late April. In the “skinny” budget, every single agency within the Department of Health and Human Services would see some sort of budget cut, with the CDC losing $3.5 billion less than it is currently allocated.
The “skinny” budget failed to specify which programs within the agencies would be cut or defunded.
The proposed budget and staffing cuts were not the only signs of an unstable future for the Injury Center. In last year’s budget appropriations process, House Republicans targeted the center for elimination.
“That was kind of our first indication that there was an effort afoot by some lawmakers, by some policymakers, to target the Injury Center,” said Paul Bonta, the director of Government Relations at the Safe States Alliance.
The Injury Center has played a crucial role in funding for injury prevention at the local level on acute health risks, ranging from firearms to falls by the elderly. These programs would be cut under the leaked budget proposal.
“All of the things that the Injury Center works on, most of them are preventable,” said Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition. Juliano said, “So, we should be thinking about how can we best prevent those things and making changes where needed, but not breaking it all and then figuring out later how to rebuild it.”
There were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in 2022, according to the CDC.
The Big Cities Health Coalition, a member of the Keep America Safe Coalition, includes health officials from 35 of the country’s largest cities.
The Claire Bear Foundation, which is also part of the coalition, values the Injury Center’s data collection and research on adverse childhood experiences.
Research into adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, violence, and unstable home situations, looks at reducing and researching traumatic events occurring in minors from birth to 17 years of age.
Under the leaked proposal, research on adverse childhood experiences would be cut from the Injury Center. Raphael said any cuts to research could have consequences for infant safety.
“These cuts, along with what’s already happened to [the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development] and other federally supported programs, make it even harder to identify and address risk factors, leaving families with fewer resources to help keep their babies safe,” Raphael said.
Ismael M. Belkoura is a graduate journalism student with the Medill News Service at Northwestern University. He specializes in health, business and legal reporting.
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This week marks the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin and the worldwide protests for racial justice that his death inspired.
CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Five Years After George Floyd’s Death, Activists Say the Promise of Change Remains Unfulfilled
May 29, 2025
The fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death is approaching, a time that many remember as a “racial reckoning” that heightened the world’s attention on police brutality and its deadly impact on Black people.
Activists, leaders and community members believed five years ago that the country would point to this moment as the one that brought lasting change toward racial equity. Now, the majority of Americans say that moment has passed with its promise unfulfilled.
In a study published on May 7, the Pew Research Center found that in 2020, 52 percent of U.S. adults believed that an increased focus on racial issues across the country would lead to significant change in the years to come. In 2025, 72 percent of U.S. adults said that the focus on racial inequality did not lead to any changes that helped the Black community.
Furthermore, in 2025, 67 percent of Black Americans said they felt doubtful the United States would ever achieve racial equality; 65 percent felt similarly in 2020.
The 19th spoke with Black activists about the country’s progress toward equality since Floyd’s death and how they envision a more inclusive future.
‘You have to do things to actually show how you feel’
Alaunna Thompson was attending a predominantly White high school in Montville, N.J., when Floyd died. His murder was a call for her to organize a protest in her local community, she said, describing her ongoing struggles with racism in school as the driver that pushed her to use her voice.
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Alaunna Thompson (left) and Gabriel Broadman (right) at a George Floyd protest they both organized in Englewood, New Jersey on May 31, 2020. (ALAUNNA THOMPSON
Protestors gathered at Mackay Park in Englewood, N.J., to demand justice after Floyd’s death. Following a route that led them around the city, participants stopped to deliver passionate speeches and craft signs that they would carry while organizing. Parents, teachers, students and Englewood residents all came out to support.
“It was a mix of us feeling some way about our school and on top of that, hearing all this stuff [about] Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd. It was back to back to back.”
Arbery was a 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed while on an afternoon jog in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Georgia. Arbery’s death happened in February 2020, just months before Floyd’s.
Thompson remembers feeling sadness, anger and disbelief. With the stunting pain also came the realization that this time, something felt different.
“I saw people talking about [Floyd’s] drug charges and the things he did, and I was just, like, ‘Wow, this is really sad,’ and I felt angry about it. Honestly, I thought nothing would happen,” she said. When Derek Chauvin got arrested and convicted in federal court of killing Floyd, “that was a shock to me,” Thompson said. “That’s never really happened before.”
In Thompson’s eyes, while Floyd’s murder did not put an end to racially motivated violence, it did shift our social understanding of how we discuss police brutality. Up until the day of Floyd’s death in 2020, she had never witnessed so much language that reflected how brutal police violence is.
“People are more comfortable holding these police officers accountable now. I think versus the Trayvon Martin period, people were [thinking] these are not people who are going to get prosecuted because they are above the law,” she said. “They’re also more comfortable saying that this person killed this person instead of it being police brutality. This is murder.”
At just 17 years old, Martin was shot and killed while walking in Sanford, Florida. His killer, George Zimmerman, was the captain of Sanford’s neighborhood watch and reported to police that he saw a “suspicious person” prior to shooting Martin. Zimmerman was later found not guilty in the trial.
Although Thompson does not feel there has been effective systemic change in the five years since Floyd’s life was taken, she does recognize the impact that he has had. Her place in history is what will continue to compel her to use her voice, she said.
“It’s about history. It’s not about two little kids from Englewood who may not make that much of a difference when it comes to the law, but it makes a difference when it comes to which side of history you were on.”

‘I hope many people hold onto … the possibility that lies ahead’
Throughout her life, Angela Ferrell-Zabala has looked to the strength of her mother and grandmother to inspire her activism. At a young age, her family instilled in her the belief that she has a voice and the power to advocate against injustice in the world. As she grew older, she followed their lead in the work she’s done for her community.
As a mother of four living in Washington, D.C., she wanted to do something about gun violence in the city. So she joined Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention advocacy group. Three years ago, she became its first executive director.
Ferrell-Zabala felt that Floyd’s murder was a continuation of violence against Black and Brown people that had become normalized. While she helped the people in her community, she had to remember to give herself grace to deal with the emotional turmoil she was also experiencing.
“In the moment, you just want to make sure everyone’s OK,” she said. “You want to wrap your arms around them, but then there’s this point about ‘What do I need?’”
Five years later, Ferrell-Zabala said that it’s a hard moment for the country — and a hard moment for Black folks in particular. Decades of pain and trauma are continuing to impact the Black community, and many in the community feel like no one cares about the struggles they are facing.
For instance, Ferrell-Zabala said that Black people are disproportionately impacted when it comes to gun violence, and communities say that solutions aren’t meeting their needs fast enough. With corporations and the federal government rolling back inclusive programs that civil rights leaders fought hard for, many people have lost hope.
“Right now, it feels particularly difficult because there’s this sense of, ‘No one cares, no one gives a damn,’” she said. “But I think what makes it harder [is that] now, it’s beyond not caring. It [feels] like intentional cruelty.”
Ferrell-Zabala told The 19th that the country has a long way to go when it comes to creating true equality, equity and justice. She looks to her grandmother’s resilience as a reminder to keep working toward a better future. To move forward, she said that the Black community has to think about where they are and balance it with their radical visions of what could be.
“That’s one of the things I hold onto,” she said. “I hope many people hold onto who we are, where we come from and the possibility that lies ahead.”

We’re the only thing protecting each other’
Destine Riggins saved on her phone an album of pictures labeled Black Lives Matter March. She took these photos five years ago in West Jefferson, a town in the rural Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. She was the sole photographer there.
Riggins used to look at the photos and see impact, unity and change. Now, when she looks at them, Riggins said she feels like “the whole world is against us again.”
“I feel like we’re in a worse scenario right now than we were five years ago. With the current administration we have, police brutality is easy for them to slip under the rug or even for a policeman to get off, especially with [President Donald] Trump wanting to pardon officers,” Riggins said.
Floyd’s murder immediately made Riggins think of Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland, a Black woman roughly handled and arrested by the police in Texas and then found dead in her cell a few days later by what the local police consider suicide. There was also Sonya Massey, who was shot and killed in her home by the police last summer.
Since the march, Riggins has watched the national conversation around race and policing shift, making her feel tired, heavy and more unsure than ever.
“Each time we see these murders by the police it feels like another hit to the Black community. Another disappointment. Another reason to not like the cops. And another reason for a White man to be able to kill a Black man,” Riggins said.
Millions of people across the country have been protesting against the Trump administration through efforts like the Hands Off and 50501movements. Many Black communities have decided on other forms of resistance and several people, like Riggins, are choosing to turn inward, by resting and leaning on their community for support.
“There is no protection for Black people except us, we’re the only thing protecting each other and right now that feels kind of disintegrating. My biggest opinion is to lay low right now,” Riggins said. “I don’t want to bring any extra attention to myself because I don’t have time to try to fight a justice system that was never meant for me in the first place.”

‘Police brutality shouldn’t just be personal to Black people’
While Riggins took pictures, Queue Wellington helped lead the march in West Jefferson, where more than 300 people protested in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Growing up Black in a rural, White, conservative and poor region, Wellington constantly saw how white supremacy and police brutality negatively impacted everyone.
“White people love to cling to power, but that power is white supremacy. As this country continues to lean overtly more into fascism and acceptance of police brutality, then that means Black people will keep dying, White people will keep dying and everyone will keep dying — largely by the hands of the police or people in power,” Wellington said.
After the summer of 2020, Wellington saw an increase in White people in their town attempting to unlearn anti-Black behavior, understand systemic issues and work in community with Black movements. Since then, they said those same people have faded away and that their actions were likely performative.
“There was a wave of White people trying to become more conscious or get more informed on things, but where are they now?” Wellington said. “Black people have always had to juggle it all at the same time: work, bills, lives and oppression.”
While Wellington feels that things aren’t better for Black Americans since the summer of racial reckoning, they do believe that at least more White people are grasping the reality of police brutality.
“If we can’t get a thousand White people to understand, maybe having one White person on board or seeing the reality of police brutality will change things or even create safer environments for Black folks,” Wellington said.
Wellington thinks this understanding could even be found in places like the Appalachian Mountains, where Stuart Mast, a White man, died while in deputies’ custody in a similar way to Floyd.
Several community members are outraged by Mast’s death, and people who once “backed the blue” are now questioning the system that police brutality has created.
“The fact that White people in my community are outraged over police violence feels oddly familiar. We should all be asking why folks are getting killed by the police. This murder has started to cause a divide between the police and White people here,” Wellington said. “Police brutality shouldn’t just be personal to Black people, but to everyone because it affects everyone.”

Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, participates in the People’s March on January 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (CARĒS JARON)
‘Our joy has to be non-negotiable’
In 2020, Monica Simpson and her community felt caught in the middle of challenging moments: Trump was finishing his first term and the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak.
As the executive director of SisterSong, a reproductive rights group based in Atlanta, Simpson joined other members to create mutual aid opportunities for those in need and help pregnant women get access to birth workers.
Then Floyd was murdered. When the news broke, Simpson was immediately reminded of the other Black men and boys who were murdered by White men, such as Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice — and the list keeps going, she said. But it felt like the world had to keep moving forward. Simpson had to continue doing the work for her community.
“We were having to still hold our community in all the ways that we need to for the work that we do every single day,” she said. “We had to be on the frontlines at the same time.”
At that time, the country saw what the media called a racial reckoning and Simpson felt that it took away from the grief the Black community was feeling after Floyd’s murder.
In 2025, with Trump back in power and making more changes to disenfranchise marginalized communities, Simpson feels that Black communities did as much as they could to restore what Trump’s 2016 administration destroyed. Black-led advocacy organizations came together, despite their contradictory beliefs, to put forth the work necessary to help their communities and each other.
Overall, Simpson said the Black community knew a second Trump presidency “would be detrimental.” Ninety-two percent of Black women voted for Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election and mobilized their communities. During his first five months in office, Trump has made strides to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs and positions in the federal government, and many corporations have followed suit.
“I think we’re in more danger now than we were before,” Simpson told The 19th. “We’re in the same position of our rights, our bodies, our communities being under attack.”
To create a more inclusive future, Simpson said that the Black community must continue to work together across religions, political values and identities because “disrespectability politics … have kept us divided.” The Black community has to come together to advocate for their needs, which includes educating each other, reclaiming their culture and embracing moments of joy.
“We need all the Black joy as possible because our joy has to be non-negotiable at this time,” she said. “That’s a powerful and necessary part of how we make it through.”
Five Years After George Floyd’s Death, Activists Say the Promise of Change Remains Unfulfilled was originally published by The 19th and is republished with permission.
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