#NNPA BlackPress

Black Americans Face Unequal Burden as U.S. Inches Closer to War

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — As the United States edges closer to possible military action against Iran, history signals a familiar reality for Black Americans

Published

3 weeks ago

June 22, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

As the United States edges closer to possible military action against Iran, history signals a familiar reality for Black Americans: disproportionate risk, unequal support, and a long legacy of being asked to sacrifice more while receiving less. From World War I through Iraq and Afghanistan, Black servicemembers have routinely been overrepresented in combat roles and underrepresented in decision-making positions. Today, although Black Americans make up just over 13% of the U.S. population, they account for nearly 19% of active-duty Army personnel. “When the U.S. goes to war, Black Americans, whether as civilians, enlisted personnel, or military families, often carry a disproportionate share of the burden,” Liscah R. Isaboke, Esq., Managing Partner at Isaboke Law Firm, PLLC, told Black Press USA.

“Historically, Black service members have been overrepresented in frontline and high-risk roles while underrepresented in officer ranks,” Isaboke said. “This exposure results not only in increased physical danger, but also long-term disparities in access to VA benefits, career advancement, and mental health care upon return.” That overrepresentation is linked to greater economic inequality. Recruitment data shows the military draws heavily from low-income communities, and Black Americans—more likely to face systemic barriers to college and employment—are disproportionately represented among enlistees seeking stability, education, or opportunity. Once enlisted, they are less likely to be promoted into leadership roles, often due to bias in evaluation and selection processes. According to the VA’s National Health Study, 21.9% of deployed Black veterans screened positive for PTSD, compared to 14.1% of white veterans. Studies have shown that Black veterans are less likely to receive long-term, culturally competent mental health care and face more barriers to follow-up treatment. Military justice records also reveal that Black service members are more likely to face court-martial than their white counterparts.

“Black Americans have historically been overrepresented in the U.S. military while being under-protected both at home and abroad,” Cazoshay Marie, a disability advocate, artist, and writer, wrote in an email to Black Press USA. “From the disproportionate impact of PTSD and other invisible war wounds among Black veterans to the lack of adequate support upon returning home, the psychological and socioeconomic costs of war weigh heavily.” “Increased military spending often coincides with the defunding of essential programs—education, healthcare, and community infrastructure—which are lifelines in our communities,” Marie said. Those federal divestments have long-term consequences. During the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s estimated that the U.S. spent over $6 trillion on military operations, interest payments, and veteran care. As those expenses ballooned, domestic programs—including housing subsidies, public education investment, and job training—faced cutbacks. Black Americans, already on the receiving end of wealth gaps and institutional neglect, felt those losses acutely.

In their February 2024 essay “The Race Gap That Shapes American Views of War,” published in Foreign Affairs, Naima Green-Riley of Princeton University and Andrew Leber of Tulane University wrote that Black Americans have consistently been less likely than white Americans to support U.S. wars abroad. The authors cited not only political and moral skepticism but also a deeply rooted sense that these wars are carried out in the name of democracy while offering little tangible benefit to Black communities. “Black Americans are more inclined to ask: Is this war just? Will our people gain anything from it? And what are we sacrificing for a country that so often withholds justice at home?” Green-Riley and Leber wrote.

The article pointed to cultural responses, including KRS-One’s 2008 track “Our Soldiers,” which critiques the Iraq War and opens with a siren that initially evokes U.S. policing. The song’s hook, “Frontline of the political war,” highlights a dual consciousness: the experience of fighting abroad while being targeted and marginalized at home. “As a historian of public health and policy, I can say that when the U.S. goes to war, Black Americans often shoulder a disproportionate share of both the burden and the consequences—on the battlefield and at home,” Dr. Zachary W. Schulz, of the Department of History at Auburn University, told Black Press USA. “Historically, military service has been a double-edged sword for Black Americans,” Schulz said. “From the Civil War through Iraq and Afghanistan, Black soldiers have fought for freedoms abroad they were denied at home. Military service offered mobility, education, and sometimes even a pathway to civil rights advocacy—as in the case of the Double V campaign during WWII—but it also exposed Black personnel to racism within the ranks, limited advancement opportunities, and post-service disparities in veteran care.”

“Civilians are also deeply affected,” Schulz said. “Wars often fuel economic shifts and labor demands that open up jobs for Black workers—only to see those gains reversed when the war ends. Wartime policing and surveillance disproportionately target Black communities, and anti-war protest movements led by Black activists—think Muhammad Ali or Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Beyond Vietnam’ speech—have historically met with state suppression and public backlash.” “The impact is layered,” Schulz added. “Black Americans are overrepresented among the fighters, under-resourced in the aftermath, and frequently erased from the national narrative of sacrifice.” “We must tell the full truth,” Isaboke concluded. “Black Americans have always shown up for this country, even when this country has not always shown up for them, especially in times of war.”

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

7 days ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

Published

7 days ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized. “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”