While Black August is coming to a close, the fight for Black liberation rages on. Seeing the representation of Black faces in high places does not diminish the plight of Black Americans. That’s because the entire system is rigged against Black working class people – and no matter who is in the White House, the symptoms do not get any better. For Black liberation to become a reality, the entire system must fall!

The cycle of poverty is a never-ending, self-fulfilling prophecy under the capitalist system. When communities don’t have an adequate tax base or political influence, then critical programs are not properly funded. When critical programs aren’t properly funded, educational, environmental and health outcomes are all predictably worsened. Impoverished communities, then, become even easier for governmental bodies to neglect as “a lost cause”.

Black communities entered 2026 facing the same economic inequalities that have plagued Black communities for generations — higher unemployment, lower wages, and a persistent racial wealth gap.

In July 2026, Black unemployment stood at 6.3%, compared with 3.6% for white workers. Black full-time workers earned a median of $1,029 per week in the second quarter of 2026, roughly 19% less than the $1,268 median for white workers.

The latest data shows that the median Black family holds just $44,900 in wealth, compared with $285,000 for the median white family.

That we see more Black people represented in higher positions of power today does not diminish the grave reality of widespread poverty and disinvestment that Black working class people are experiencing.

In fact, this disparity can be used as a means of further criminalizing Black communities. Black communities experience higher levels of policing, but all the research shows that police don’t actually solve crime. They end up perpetrating the crime of mass incarceration instead. While Black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population, they represent nearly 40% of the prison population, further contributing to the deterioration of Black communities.

The entire system is rigged against Black working class people – and no matter who is in the White House, the symptoms do not get any better.

Throughout the history of this country, the struggle of the Black community for equality and democracy has been the main engine of progress.

The overarching goal of the Trump administration is to undo that progress and plunge the country into a new era where there are no limits on the power of the rich and corporations to exploit the people and destroy the planet. Even if he focuses his racist rhetoric against other targets, like immigrants from Latin America, at the core of Trump’s agenda is an all-out assault on Black people.

Trump’s second term has brought a direct assault on Black communities and the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. His administration has dismantled federal DEI and affirmative-action programs, gutted offices responsible for enforcing workplace civil rights, and pushed the Justice Department to abandon or dismiss investigations into police departments accused of unconstitutional treatment of Black communities while rolling back federal oversight. At the same time, the administration has taken positions against expanding Black voting power under the Voting Rights Act and is pushing new restrictions on mail-in voting that threaten to make voting harder for millions.

Trump’s 2025 budget law cuts Medicaid and SNAP, programs millions of working-class Black families depend on, while shifting resources toward tax cuts, policing, immigration enforcement, and the military. The administration is also shrinking the federal workforce and dismantling programs designed to address racial discrimination, threatening jobs and protections for Black workers. These policies make clear that Trump’s agenda is not simply about rolling back “DEI” — it is about dismantling the public institutions and protections that working people have fought for, while leaving Black communities to bear the greatest costs.

But just because Trump wants to push through racist policies, doesn’t mean he’ll be able to get away with it.

Racist injustice against Black people is so persistent in the U.S. not solely because of personal attitudes and prejudices. Racism is an essential tool used by the billionaires who rule this country and the powerful institutions they control to cement their domination over society.

White supremacy allows the ruling class to grow even richer by exploiting Black workers especially intensely — with slavery as the most extreme example upon which the country was built. And further, racism divides working people, helping the elite maintain their political power. If Black people are demonized and presented as the source of social problems, then the millionaires and billionaires who are actually to blame get let off the hook.

Through courageous struggle, there have been periods of historic progress towards Black freedom. But whenever that struggle slows down, the natural tendency of the system is to roll back that progress. Take affirmative action for instance — the Black liberation movement of the 1960s won affirmative action programs nationwide, but starting in 1978 the courts gradually restricted these policies before ending them altogether.

For decades, the vast majority of Black voters have supported Democratic Party politicians, only to have those politicians abandon the interests of the Black community as soon as they take office.

No matter how many Black politicians are elected, or how many Black people are in positions of prominence in economic and cultural institutions, conditions for the working class majority of the Black community never change — or even get worse.

The problem is at the roots: this country is ruled by a tiny handful of billionaires, and decisions are made to maximize profits for those billionaires. White supremacy persists because it is in their interests for it to persist. But the grinding oppression and inequality Black communities are subjected to would be totally at odds with the goals of a society ruled by the working class, where decisions are made to meet the needs of the people and the planet.

Featured Image: Demonstrators in Philadelphia park during 2020 mass uprisings against racism and police brutality. Credit: Amistad Law Project.