As our communities continue to navigate uncertain times under the current White House administration, it is more urgent than ever that we come together—Black, Brown, and bold—to examine the issues directly affecting our lives, our families, and our futures.
We are proud to announce the launch of “Progressive Voices on the Border,” a community conversation series centered on the challenges and opportunities facing Black and Hispanic communities under the policies of today’s federal leadership. This series will provide a safe, informed, and empowering space to explore the impacts of new and proposed legislation, executive actions, and institutional changes.
What’s at stake?
From civil rights to housing, education to voting access, and workplace justice to cultural representation, we are witnessing a sweeping rollback of protections that once sought to level the playing field for historically marginalized groups.
Key concerns include:
- Civil Rights & Equity: The dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies signals a retreat from efforts to combat systemic racism.
- Economic Opportunity: Black workers—especially in federal roles—are seeing labor protections eroded, while small businesses of color face cutbacks in crucial funding and contracts.
- Affordable Housing: Rising rents, gentrification, and cuts to federal housing programs have worsened the housing crisis. Black and Latino families face growing displacement, overcrowding, and homelessness in cities across the country—with few protections in place.
- Education Access: Policies targeting civil rights protections in schools threaten to widen the opportunity gap for Black and Latino youth, while federal aid and school meal cuts will hit our children hardest.
- Racism in Everyday Life: From discriminatory school discipline to biased hiring, workplace harassment, and profiling in our own neighborhoods, racism continues to harm Black and Brown people at every stage of life. These issues are often ignored by policy makers and worsened by the administration’s silence—or approval.
- Voter Suppression: New restrictive laws and intimidation tactics are undermining the political power of our communities, echoing a dark history we’ve fought hard to overcome.
- Immigration Raids: Federal raids and increased enforcement have sown fear in mixed-status households and immigrant neighborhoods—especially among Black immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa, and Latino families—causing community trauma and instability.
- Environmental Justice: Communities of color remain on the front lines of pollution and climate risk, while funding cuts reduce our ability to recover and fight back.
- Policing & Justice Reform: The administration’s embrace of harsher sentencing and reduced police accountability further endangers Black lives in a justice system already fraught with bias.
- Cultural Erasure: Moves to defund Black historical institutions and reinstate symbols of white supremacy are more than symbolic—they are an affront to truth, memory, and dignity.
Our communities have always been resilient, resourceful, and revolutionary. But resilience does not mean silence.
We invite you to join us—activists, elders, youth, educators, clergy, workers, and neighbors—for open dialogue and action. Together, we’ll strategize, organize, and reclaim the narrative. This series is more than talk—it’s a call to mobilize and build collective power.
Stay tuned for dates, speakers, and locations. We will not be erased. We will not be silenced. Our voices matter—and our future depends on them.
Monica is the founder and publisher of Black El Paso Voice. She is an advocate fighting against racism and embracing positive community involvement. She is a lover of God, Puerto Rican cuisine, and the greatest defender of her family. She also enjoy House Music and swears it’s the best music on the planet!
