The National Urban League has declared a nationwide “state of emergency” for civil rights, personal freedoms, and Black economic progress.
The declaration, revealed Thursday alongside the release of the League’s annual State of Black America report, sounds the alarm over what the organization calls a coordinated rollback of civil rights protections in the United States, led in large part by President Donald Trump and the conservative movement backing him.
“If left unchecked, they risk reversing decades of progress that have made America more dynamic, competitive, and just,” the report warns.
Unveiled at the Urban League’s national conference in Cleveland, the report paints a sobering picture of a federal government actively retreating from its duty to protect marginalized communities. The authors point to shrinking civil rights offices, weakened enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, and mounting efforts to gut DEI initiatives across industries.
Urban League President Marc Morial didn’t hold back when addressing the current political climate. He described a multi-year, well-funded movement, backed by legal activists, lawmakers, and media figures, to shift the U.S. away from equity and inclusion and toward a more exclusionary and homogeneous vision of America.
“It is not random,” Morial said. “It is a well-funded, well-organized, well-orchestrated movement of many, many years. For a long time, people saw white supremacist politics and white nationalism as on the fringe of American politics. It has now become the mainstream of the American right, whose central foundation is within the Republican Party.”
Central to the report’s critique is Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint coordinated by the Heritage Foundation. The document outlines plans for deep federal workforce cuts, harsher immigration enforcement, and a legal strategy that critics argue would enable authoritarian-style governance.
The Urban League calls it a direct threat to democracy and civil rights.
The Urban League’s report doesn’t stop at Washington; it calls out major corporations, universities, and law firms for walking back DEI efforts in response to political and legal pressure. The organization also accuses social media giants like Meta (formerly Facebook) and X (formerly Twitter) of double standards, censoring Black voices while allowing extremists to spread disinformation and hate unchecked.
According to the report, this cultural shift away from inclusion isn’t just political, it’s economic. Black workers and entrepreneurs are disproportionately impacted by these changes, particularly as DEI programs in hiring and procurement come under attack.
The Urban League is urging everyday Americans, business leaders, and policymakers to resist the wave of regression and recommit to building a more inclusive and equitable country. That includes pushing back on anti-DEI rhetoric, supporting Black-led businesses and institutions, and defending civil rights policies in the courts and at the ballot box.
