By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
House Republicans on Thursday approved a budget blueprint that slashes vital programs like Medicaid and child nutrition assistance to help fund an extension of the 2017 Trump tax law. This includes an $880 billion cut to Medicaid, over the next ten years, which would reduce funding for the children’s health program, support for seniors in nursing homes and disabled people needing continuing health services
According to a new congressional estimate, this move will cost as much as $5.5 trillion over the next decade when factoring in interest. The plan, backed by House GOP members, would extend tax breaks overwhelmingly benefiting the wealthy and large corporations. Despite claims from Republican senators that the cost would be offset, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) and Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects a staggering long-term price tag: $4.6 trillion without interest and $5.5 trillion, including debt service costs over the next 10 years.
According to the JCT estimate, the permanent extension includes maintaining the Trump-era income tax rate brackets, boosting standard deductions, and preserving other business-friendly tax provisions like 100 percent bonus depreciation. The costliest element—extending individual tax provisions—would drain $3.8 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade. Business tax cuts would add another $832 billion to the deficit. Meanwhile, rising debt interest costs tied to the extensions would increase outlays by over $871 billion.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.), and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) requested the estimate to expose what Democrats have called a fiscally irresponsible giveaway to billionaires at the expense of working families. “The country is rapidly undergoing an intensifying economic crisis created by Trump and Congressional Republicans, and the only legislative solution they’ve put forward is to double down on tax cuts for billionaires while eliminating health care access and food assistance for millions of Americans,” said David Kass, Executive Director of Americans for Tax Fairness. “While Congressional Republicans have so far ignored the demands of their constituents—this fight is far from over,” Kass continued. “Americans will not stand by as price-gouging corporations raise their costs while billionaires amass even greater wealth. We call on Republican members of Congress to listen to their constituents: no cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and finally raise taxes on the rich to make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.”
Raw sewage next to children’s playground in Lowndes County, Alabama
By Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com
The U.S. Department of Justice ended its agreement with the State of Alabama regarding sewage in Lowndes County.
“The DOJ will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in a news release. “President Trump made it clear: Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect, and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria.” Under President Joe Biden, the federal government opened two investigations into sanitation issues in the Black Belt and specifically Lowndes County. Residents of those counties frequently lack proper sanitation and some resorted to “straight piping” sewage into the ground.
In 2023, the DOJ reached a settlement agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health, agreeing to suspend investigation of possible civil rights violations in exchange for the department of health implementing significant changes, including suspending criminal penalties for improper sanitation and assessing possible wastewater or septic systems in the area.
But now the DOJ is terminating that agreement, effective immediately, according to the news release. “The federal Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have terminated their Interim Resolution Agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) regarding sanitation concerns in Lowndes County,” Ryan Easterling, a spokesperson for ADPH, said in an email. “The installation of sanitation systems and related infrastructure is outside the authority or responsibilities conferred upon ADPH by state law. Nonetheless, ADPH will continue working with subgrantees on installation of septic systems as contemplated by the Interim Resolution Agreement until appropriated funding expires. After that time, ADPH will support and be available to provide technical assistance to other organizations that may choose to engage in this work.” “Resilient and sustainable sanitation is a problem in rural communities across the U.S.,” said Catherine Coleman Flowers, Lowndes County native and founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice. “The people of Lowndes County exposed this issue to the American public. I pray that today’s action means that this administration will make sanitation a priority for all who are affected throughout rural America.” U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice’s termination of the environmental justice agreement in Lowndes County: “This agreement had nothing to do with DEI. It was about addressing a public health crisis that has forced generations of children and families to endure the health hazards of living in proximity to raw sewage, as the DOJ itself documented. By terminating it, the Trump Administration has put its blatant disregard for the health of my constituents on full display. “Access to adequate wastewater infrastructure is a basic human right. Without support from the Trump Administration, it is vital that the Alabama Department of Public Health continue to do its part to remedy this injustice. I will continue fighting to address Alabama’s rural wastewater crisis and get our communities the infrastructure they deserve.” The termination comes as a result of President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which forbid federal agencies from pursuing programs related to “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” according to the news release. “Environmental justice,” a term used to describe disproportionate environmental threats to lower income or minority communities, would be considered “DEI” initiatives, according to the news release. Under the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ is working to close cases like the Lowndes County case. “Today’s closure is another step this administration has taken to eradicate illegal DEI preferences and environmental justice across the government and in the private sector,” according to the news release. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened a second investigation related to sanitation in the Black Belt in 2023, when Biden was still in office. This investigation targets the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and whether the department discriminates against Black Belt residents when handing out grants as part of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
The investigation followed a complaint filed by Flowers, who received the MacArthur “Genius” grant for her environmental activism. Flowers filed her complaint in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council. It’s unclear how today’s announcement would affect this investigation. President Trump has worked to end “environmental justice” initiatives since returning to office. Last month, the EPA closed its environmental justice and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” offices at the direction of Trump. Top officials in the Justice Department froze civil rights litigation in the weeks following Trump’s return to office, according to the Associated Press.
L to R: Kayla Nickson Miss Debutante 2025, Madison Thompson 1st winner up and Alyce Josephine Hill 2nd winner up.
Greene County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated held its 39th Debutante Ball on Saturday, April 5, 2025 at the Eutaw Activity Center in Eutaw, Alabama. Twelve lovely young ladies made their debut to their family and guests. The 2025 Debutante and Escorts were Debutante Sanaa Braxton escorted by Thomas Fritts; Debutante Jakayla Brown escorted by Indaglis Hunter; Debutante DeMya Chavers escorted by Mekhi Bragg; Debutante Nichyia Cook escorted by Christian Lewis; Debutante Alyce-Josephine Hill escorted by Christopher K. Williams; Debutante Zamiyah Hughes escorted by Nicholas Henley; Debutante Aniya McMillian escorted by her brother Anthony McMillian, Jr.; Debutante Kayla Nickson escorted by Jaron Lavender; Debutante ZoToria Petty escorted by Kameron Landrum; Debutante Jasmine Simpson escorted by her father Steven Simpson; Debutante Madison Thompson escorted by Joseph Ian Jones; Debutante Diamond White escorted by James Eatmon.
Debutante Kayla Nickson was crowned Miss 2025 Debutante. First Runner up was Debutante Madison Thompson and Second Runner up was Alyce-Josephine Hill.
The guests enjoyed an elegant affair that had “A Storybook Ending”. Phillis Branch Belcher is the chapter President and Nancy Cole was the Debutante Ball Chair.
On Saturday, April 5, 2025, 30 people from Greene County held a picket line and rally at the Eutaw, Alabama Post Office , from 10:00 AM to Noon to as part of the national “Hands Off” protest against the actions of the Trump-Vance- Musk regime in their first 75 days in office. The people of Eutaw and Greene County were protesting and resisting the actions of Trump-Vance-Musk in firing Federal workers, destroying Federal agencies, e.g., USAID, CFPB, Department of Education; proposing budget cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, Food Stamps and other programs that help poor people, while giving tax cuts to the wealthy; and re-writing the history and contributions of Black people to our nation in the name of ending civil rights, voting rights and “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI). Carrying signs that said, Trump Hands Off Social Security, Trump Hands Off Medicare, Trump Hands Off Medicaid, Trump Hands Off Food Stamps and Food Banks, Trump-Vance-Musk Hand Off our Museums and National Parks, Trump-Vance-Musk No Tax Cuts for the Rich on the Backs of the Working People and the Poor, the protestors walked on the sidewalk at the front of the U. S. Post Office, the only Federal Building in Eutaw. Garria Spencer, Chair of the Greene County Commission, said “The people of Greene County need to wake up and protest and resist the illegal and immoral acts of the Trump, Vance and Musk regime. If we don’t stand up and speak up now the leaders in Washington will cut our benefits and programs to give tax cuts to the rich and well connected.” Mayor Latasha Johnsonof the City of Eutaw, said “ I am glad to be here protesting against Trump who is taking away all our rights and programs. Small rural places like Eutaw will be hurt if all these cutbacks go through. We all need to stand up now or we will be sorry later.” Spiver Gordon of the Alabama Civil Rights Museum, said “Trump, Vance and Musk are trying to erase Black history and the contributions of Black people during and after slavery to our nation. That doesn’t seem like making things great – it seems like going backwards.” Carol P. Zippert, Democrat Co-Publisher said, “ I am especially disturbed by the impact of these authoritarian steps taken by Trump, Vance and Musk to hurt our children by dismantling the Department of Education, cutting back on school lunches, banning books in libraries, cutting healthcare for children and mothers. If you were not able to join us this time, I am sure we will be voicing our resistance again soon, so I hope you will come next time to show the opposition to trump is growing.” John Zippert, Democrat Co-Publisher, said “We joined millions of people across America and the World, in big and small places, in bearing witness to the illegal and unjust actions of Trump-Vance-Musk in trying to end our national progress toward fairness , social change and democracy for all people.
FSC/LAF holds 3rd Annual Women in Agriculture Conference
Shown above are Eddie Ayers’ family members honored on his behalf, Mr. Ayers’ daughter, Una Johnson, Gallion, AL; grandchildren Michael and Yanna, children of Mr. Ayers’ daughter Janella Jones of Jonesboro, GA.
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Land Assistance Fund (FSC/LAF) held its 3rd Annual Women in Agriculture Conference, Friday, April 4, 2025 at the New Generation Church Fellowship Hall in Eutaw, AL. The program was organized under the leadership of Ms. Audrey Haskins, FSC/LAF Research and Training Center staff. Ms. Brenda Goree served as facilitator. Under the Conference’s theme: The Lady, The Land, The Legacy, the program featured several presentations including Female Empowerment Message by Portia Shepard of Black Women Rising; New and Beginning Farmers by Decetti Taylor, State FSA NIFA Coordinator; National Women in Ag by Cheryl Bell, of Alabama Women in Ag Chapter. The Women’s Health Panel included presentations on Women’s Physical Health by Catherine Shelton of UAB; Women’s Mental Health by Lashaunda Lark Darien of Lock & Key Wellness and Therapeutic Health by Briana Hubbard-Bell. Dr. Carol P. Zippert, a founder of FSC, was the keynote speaker focusing on a current project of the Federation’s Memorial Legacy Committee (MLC). She explained that the goal of the MLC project is to honor and memorialize the individual and groups that created, built and sustained the Federation since its birth in 1967. Several edifices will be constructed on the grounds of the FSC/LAF Research and Training Center in Epes (Sumter County), AL. The edifices, including a memorial wall, orchards, gardens, trails, cabins, gazebos, benches, etc. will be dedicated to individuals and groups that helped form the FSC/LAF. Special presentations by Ms. Audrey Haskins and Ms. Ethel Giles, FSC/LAF staff were made to the family of Mr. Eddie Ayers, who contributed significant work to the Federation. He served on the Board of Directors representing Alabama cooperatives. He is also famous for founding and growing the Demopolis Federal Credit Union in 1966.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) – The chaos and confusion resulting from systemic changes and closures at multiple federal agencies have now reached the $242 billion budget of the Department of Education. With the agency’s workforce cut in half, and plans announced to shut it down, millions of students and families who rely on federal financial aid for higher education are facing a front-line assault.
State attorneys general in 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging the agency’s gutting. According to the AGs, the department is a congressionally authorized executive agency with laws creating its various programs and funding streams. As such, the Executive Branch lacks the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.
“The administration’s lay-off is so massive that ED will be incapacitated and unable to perform essential functions,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown. “As the lawsuit asserts, the administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support. They will gut ED’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. They would additionally hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs.”
“This administration may claim to be stopping waste and fraud, but it is clear that their only mission is to take away the necessary services, resources, and funding that students and their families need,” said New York Attorney General Leticia James.
While it is encouraging for state attorneys general to file legal challenges against administration actions, and education advocates to raise their voices and influence to thwart these changes, every day that passes without direct relief makes borrowers’ financial challenges harder and more difficult to resolve.
For example, even before legislation was enacted to avert a government shutdown in March, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicted the popular Pell Grant program that over six million students rely upon faced a $2.7 billion funding shortfall this year. Pell Grants, the single largest source of post-secondary education grants provided $31 billion in aid with approximately 6.5 million undergraduate students in FY2023.
Without additional funding, the grant shortfall is expected to balloon to $10 billion in 2026. Currently, the maximum annual award per eligible student in the formula-based program is $7,395. Most Pell recipients come from families whose total income is $60,540 or less.
It is relevant to note that the new round of cuts to the Pell Grant program are not the first time that significant changes have been made. Instead, the new changes come in addition to others never restored. For example, in the aftermath of the Great Recession in FYs 2011 and 2012, the option for “year-round” Pell, which helped students make continuous progress toward their credentials was eliminated. That same action also cut the number of lifetime semesters a student can receive Pell Grants from 18 to 12 semesters and remains unchanged.
In response to CBO’s disturbing report, a coalition of over 100 higher education organizations signed a February letter appealing to committee chairs and ranking members in both the Senate and the House to act with dispatch. Its signatories included an array of organizations such as: the American Association of University Women, Center for Law & Social Policy, Georgetown University Center on Education & the Workforce, NAACP, National Education Association, National Consumer Law Center, Student Borrower Protection Center, and the United Negro College Fund.
“If additional funding is not added to the Pell Grant program very soon, students could face eligibility or award cuts for the first time in more than a decade,” wrote the educators. “Students cannot afford such cuts during a time of rising living costs, and our economy cannot afford to have students lose access to the education and training they need to succeed in the labor market. The maximum Pell Grant already covers the lowest share of college costs in the program’s history, contributing to a persistent “affordability gap” that forces low- and middle-income students to either take out loans or forgo higher education and training entirely.”
And speaking of loans – borrowers understand that when it takes longer to repay principal owed, interest fees rise as well. Further, fixed interest rates on graduate student loans come at a higher price than those for undergraduate loans. New federal direct loans disbursed between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2025 carry 6.53 percent fixed interest rates for undergraduate loans, but an 8.08 percent rate for graduate and professional loans.
In other words, higher education comes with higher costs. And the longer loan repayment takes, the higher and harder it becomes to fully repay them.
Today, many borrowers currently enrolled in affordable, income-based repayment options have been frustrated by a lack of online access to complete mandatory income recertification. Without that timely access, spikes in monthly payments ensue. As recently reported by Forbes, “This effectively keeps millions of student loan borrowers who had enrolled in SAVE stuck in a forbearance. The forbearance pauses payments and sets interest to zero, but the period does not count toward student loan forgiveness, including for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF – a popular program for borrowers working in nonprofit or government settings.”
“For many of us, student loans were supposed to be a path forward, not something that holds us back,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. “We need leaders that prioritize policies that put working people first.”
Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org” data linkindex=”10″>Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks on the Senate floor on Tuesday.NBC News
By Sahil Kapur, Frank Thorp V, Julie Tsirkin, Kate Santaliz and Syedah Asghar NBC News
WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wanted to do something extraordinary. He knew Democratic voters were desperate for it. So he took to the Senate floor with little fanfare and went on to deliver a marathon speech — excoriating the Trump administration for lawlessness and undermining American values and in the process breaking the record for longest Senate speech ever, yielding last Tuesday after 25 hours and 5 minutes. It was a cathartic moment for a vast swath of demoralized voters across the country, who tuned in amid hunger for some action by the opposition party beyond the traditions of business as usual.And for a Democratic Party that has been lost in the wilderness since its bruising defeat to Donald Trump last fall, it offered a rare moment of hope to pursue what may be its only chance of slowing Trump down: inspiring a mass popular uprising against him. “There’s a lot of people out there asking Democrats to do more and to take risks and do things differently,” an exhausted Booker told reporters after he walked off the floor. “This seemed like the right thing to do. And from what my staff is telling me, a lot of people watched. And so we’ll see what it is. I just think a lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself.” Throughout Tuesday afternoon, Booker was trending across social media, including on TikTok, BlueSky and even Elon Musk’s X. The speech got over 350 million “likes” on Booker’s TikTok livestream of his remarks, according to his office, including more than 300,000 people viewing them across his platform at once. It included over 200 stories from New Jerseyans and Americans. And it drew over 28,000 voicemails of encouragement on Booker’s office phone line, along with public accolades from Democratic luminaries like former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker. “Rank-and-file Dems are desperate for leadership and fighters,” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of the progressive organization Indivisible, which has accused Democrats of being too passive against Trump. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Booker taught Democrats a lesson. “He made the Senate relevant, and he captured the moment where people were focused on the why we have to push back and stand up against Trump, as opposed to the tactical day-to-day slog,” he said. “It was very inspirational .”Yet despite the reaction, Booker’s speech won’t end Trump’s attempts to dismantle the federal government or halt his agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations from barreling through the Republican-controlled Congress. The only specific Senate business it disrupted were votes on a resolution involving Trump’s tariffs and his nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO. After Booker finished, the GOP moved toward a vote on that nominee, Matthew Whitaker, prompting some outside liberals to say Democrats should treat it like an abnormal moment and object. Democratic strategist Mike Nellis said that Booker’s move recognizes the political currency of the modern era and that Democrats can take a page from his playbook. “Cynics are going to call Booker’s speech a stunt. Maybe—but stunts aren’t necessarily a bad thing. The name of the game is attention,” he wrote on X. “Trump and Musk are very good at it. Democrats have struggled to take these kinds of risks to our own peril—but Cory is paving the way forward.” Adam Jentleson, a former senior Senate Democratic aide, said Booker marshaled the chamber’s arcane rules to great effect, posting on X that “in today’s fractured media environment, Booker single handedly drove the narrative.” He added that Democrats have more tools at their disposal to build on that, if they unify: “As a thought experiment, imagine what a coordinated, caucus-wide talking filibuster against, say, a GOP funding bill that cuts popular social safety net programs would look like — as opposed to just voting it down at a 60-vote threshold?” Booker’s preparation included 1,164 pages of material — and some unusual physical techniques to brace his body, which couldn’t sit or go to the bathroom for the entire session. A spokesperson said Booker didn’t wear a catheter or a diaper. And Booker managed to remain on message for the duration of his remarks, albeit with help from Democratic colleagues who joined to ask him questions. While senators before him had gone off topic during long floor remarks — like Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who read the book “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss during a 21-hour speech protesting Obamacare in 2013 — Booker stayed focused on highlighting what he perceived to be the negative impacts of the Trump administration’s policies. “I fasted for days into it. I stopped drinking water a long time ago. I think that had good and bad benefits. I definitely started cramping up from lack of water,” he said. “So there’s just a lot of tactics I was using to try to make sure that I could stand for that long.” “I really spent time dehydrating myself beforehand so I did not have to go to the bathroom,” he said. Inside the packed chamber, Booker got a standing ovation when he crossed Strom Thurmond’s record of 24 hours and 18 minutes. It was a deeply symbolic moment for Booker, who is African American, to end a record held for nearly 70 years by a man who was a symbol of segregation politics and was fighting at the time to kill the Civil Rights Act in 1957. “To be candid, Strom Thurmond’s record always kind of just really irked me — that he would be the longest speech, that the longest speech on our great Senate floor was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate,” Booker told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night. “So to surpass that was something I didn’t know if we could do, but it was something that was really, once we got closer, became more and more important to me.” NAACP President Derrick Johnson thanked Booker “for demonstrating true courage in the face of hatred.” “Despite Trump’s attempts to silence the voices, contributions, and history of Black people, a Black man just made history tonight in protest of Trump himself,” he said in a statement. Yet Booker was the first to insist his speech can’t be the end. “My constituents — the letters, the calls — the demands were definitely an ignition point for me,” he said. “But we have got to continue to ignite this movement.”
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
President Donald Trump has announced sweeping new tariffs on dozens of nations, including a record-setting 50% reciprocal tariff on the tiny southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho — the highest levy imposed on any sovereign country by the United States. Trump’s move targets at least 60 countries with duties starting at 10%, with Lesotho and other African nations bearing some of the heaviest hits. The White House said the tariffs are aimed at addressing what it described as long-standing trade imbalances that hurt American manufacturers. In the case of Lesotho, the administration cited a 99% tariff on U.S. goods and a $264 million trade surplus in the kingdom’s favor as justification for the steep penalty. Lesotho, which exports diamonds and apparel to the U.S., imported only $8 million in American goods in 2022, according to the Tralac Trade Law Centre in South Africa. The U.S. government’s action also appears to signal the impending death of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a landmark trade deal from the Clinton administration that allowed duty-free access to the U.S. market for many African exports. The pact will expire in September, but trade experts say the tariffs effectively end AGOA months ahead of schedule. “The reciprocal trade announcement policy will pull the AGOA rug from under our feet,” said Adrian Saville, an economist and professor at South Africa’s Gordon Institute of Business Science. “That will be gone. It will replace AGOA; you don’t have to wait for September.” Other African nations are also reeling. Madagascar faces a 47% tariff, Mauritius 40%, Botswana 37%, and South Africa — the continent’s largest exporter to the U.S. — 30%. For several of these countries, the tariffs could not come at a worse time as they struggle with severe poverty, natural disasters, or public health crises. Lesotho, for example, has one of the world’s highest HIV/AIDS infection rates and relies on South Africa for 85% of its imports. “African countries are being penalized for having trade surpluses, some of them achieved by pursuing export-driven development policies, as advised by the U.S.,” Bloomberg Africa economist Yvonne Mhango wrote. “Lesotho exports apparel to the U.S., a product that until recently enjoyed duty-free access and helped create jobs for the youth that migrates in large numbers to neighboring South Africa. One of Trump’s arguments for these tariffs is to bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Slapping high tariffs on Africa is not going to help this narrative.” Lesotho now joins Saint Pierre and Miquelon — a French archipelago off the coast of Canada — as the only other territory to face a 50% reciprocal tariff from the Trump administration. While acknowledging the setback, the South African presidency said the tariffs make it even more important to reach a new agreement with the U.S. “The tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the U.S., as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty,” the South African government said in a statement.
By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
After significant public backlash, the U.S. National Park Service has now appeared to restore its original webpage on the history of the Underground Railroad after it was met with backlash for deleting a prominently featured photo of abolitionist and women’s suffragist Harriet Tubman, as well as segments of text describing the horrors of slavery. Part of the restored text describes the 18th- and 19th-century Underground Railroad as “efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage.” Tubman was one of the system’s best-known “conductors.” Earlier, a photograph of Harriet Tubman was removed from a webpage about the Underground Railroad. Previously, the page opened with a photo of Tubman and a description that acknowledged slavery and the efforts of enslaved African Americans to escape bondage. That language is now gone. The change followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month directing the Smithsonian Institution to eliminate “divisive narratives.” A review by The Washington Post found that since Trump’s return to office, dozens of webpages across the National Park Service have been edited to soften or eliminate references to slavery, racial injustice, and the historical struggles of African Americans. On the website for the Stone National Historic Site in Maryland, mentions of Declaration of Independence signer Thomas Stone owning enslaved people were removed. Elsewhere, references to “enslaved African Americans” were changed to “enslaved workers.” A page exploring Benjamin Franklin’s views on slavery and his slave ownership was taken offline. Those references were still missing despite the restoration of Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The Defense Department also removed several webpages related to diversity and minority contributions to the U.S. military, including a tribute to Jackie Robinson’s Army service and content honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Marines at Iwo Jima. Officials later said some content would be republished after public outcry. Nearly 400 books were removed from the library at the U.S. Naval Academy. The list includes Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Memorializing the Holocaust, Half American, and Pursuing Trayvon Martin. Officials cited Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s directive to eliminate books that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
