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Halfway to Chains: What’s Already Been Enforced Under Project 2025

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — They said it would never happen here. Yet here we are. Forty-eight percent of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s fascist playbook for dismantling American democracy, has already been put into motion.

Published

7 months ago

November 2, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

They said it would never happen here. Yet here we are. Forty-eight percent of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s fascist playbook for dismantling American democracy, has already been put into motion. Nearly half of this regime’s roadmap to erase civil rights, gut public programs, and reimpose racial hierarchy has been realized, with Black America once again standing at the edge of the abyss.

Project 2025 was never just a “policy plan.” It was a declaration of war on pluralism itself. A promise by Donald Trump, Russell Vought, and Stephen Miller to chain the machinery of government to white nationalism, Christian dominance, and patriarchal control. The American Civil Liberties Union warned that it would replace the rule of law with right-wing ideals, reviving 19th-century bans on abortion, dismantling civil rights enforcement, and weaponizing federal agencies against immigrants and protestors. Now, the chains are tightening. The Center for Progressive Reform reports that 251 of the 532 Project 2025 actions have been executed. Entire agencies that were once meant to serve and protect have been hollowed out, their missions inverted. Within the Department of Justice, Trump’s appointees have revived the death penalty, reinstated the racist China Initiative, and authorized aggressive prosecutions of local officials who refuse to enforce his version of “law and order.” Civil rights enforcement has been stripped bare; instead of protecting citizens from discrimination, the DOJ now protects power from dissent.

At the Department of Education, Title IX protections for women and LGBTQ students have been rolled back, and the Office for Civil Rights dismantled. Public education is being replaced with privatized indoctrination, pushing “parental rights” that serve as a Trojan horse for white Christian control. Even special education programs have been gutted, leaving millions of disabled children abandoned in the name of “efficiency.” The Department of Health and Human Services, which was once a guardian of public welfare, has been turned into a moral police force. Abortion access is being criminalized, Planned Parenthood defunded, and data on gender identity erased from health surveys. The new public health priorities are “fertility awareness” and “family discipline,” language straight from the Heritage Foundation’s patriarchal gospel. In housing, Trump’s HUD has repealed fair housing protections and reintroduced policies that penalize single mothers while rewarding “marriage stability.” The echoes of Jim Crow are unmistakable. Homes and neighborhoods once opened through decades of civil rights struggle are being closed again under the pretext of “local control.”

Project 2025’s architects have already unleashed the machinery of cruelty on immigrants and communities of color. Thousands have been rounded up under ICE raids that blur the line between citizen and foreigner. It’s a calculated terror tactic meant to normalize the surveillance and detention of Black and brown bodies. Families have been separated again. Birthright citizenship is under attack. ICE, that iron emblem of modern slavery, now casts a shadow over the same soil where slave patrols once hunted the enslaved. This is not accidental. It is the vision of Russell Vought, who co-authored the 900-page “Mandate for Leadership,” the Project 2025 manifesto. As Trump’s budget director and now his ideological enforcer, Vought believes in purging the federal government of “unfaithful” employees, which means anyone who resists his religious and racial orthodoxy. Stephen Miller, the same architect of family separation and Muslim bans, is back to oversee deportations, surveillance, and the silencing of dissent. Their fingerprints are everywhere, from the federal hiring purges to the empowerment of police forces granted immunity from prosecution. Nearly half of the Project 2025 vision has already been achieved, and it is remaking America into a parody of its democratic promise. The Environmental Protection Agency has reversed greenhouse gas regulations, the Department of Agriculture has reinstated draconian work requirements for food aid, and the White House itself now dictates loyalty tests for every federal employee. This is not governance, it is occupation.

The Center for Progressive Reform notes that Trump’s government shutdown in October 2025 was not a failure of management but a strategy. A deliberate effort to dismantle public programs while blaming “big government” for their collapse. He used the shutdown, as the report states, “as an excuse to advance his goals of slashing programs that benefit millions of Americans.” In this America, cruelty has become the operating principle. The poor are starved to feed the rich, the immigrant is caged to comfort the fearful, and truth itself is outlawed. He once warned that if we do not confront the truth of who we are, we will be consumed by it. Project 2025 is the truth of America unmasked. A nation willing to trade freedom for dominance, justice for vengeance, and compassion for control. Nearly half of the chains have already been forged. They rattle in our schools, our hospitals, our courts, our homes. And while they may not yet bind every wrist, they are ready. The architects of Project 2025 have made their intention plain. To enslave the will of a free people through law, bureaucracy, and fear.

We are halfway to chains.

Stacy M. Brown

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy

ROLLING OUT — Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport.
The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

5 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

The seven-time major champion read frustration, not a real goodbye, in the world No. 1’s words

By David Kesiena | Rolling Out

When the world’s top-ranked player said she wanted to walk away from the sport, Venus Williams chose empathy over alarm.

Aryna Sabalenka’s blunt remark after her French Open quarterfinal collapse rattled plenty of fans, but Williams heard something different in it. The seven-time Grand Slam champion treated the comment as the raw reaction of a hurting athlete rather than a serious signal about her future.

The collapse that triggered the comment

Sabalenka looked headed for a routine win over Diana Shnaider. She took the opening set 6-3 and built a commanding lead in the second, climbing to 4-1 and later serving for the match at 5-4 while sitting just two points from victory.

Then everything unraveled. Shnaider stormed back to steal the second set 7-5 and bageled the world No. 1 in the third, with Sabalenka dropping 12 of the final 13 games in gusty conditions that reached around 26 mph. The 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 result sent Shnaider into her first Grand Slam semifinal and extended Sabalenka’s long wait for a maiden Roland Garros title.

In the aftermath, Sabalenka did not soften her feelings. She told reporters she had no thoughts and no emotions left and felt like quitting on the spot. She described being stuck in a deep, dark mental hole during the match, unable to find her way back.

What Venus Williams said about Sabalenka

Williams reacted with understanding. She admitted the moment made her sad and said she had been swept up in Sabalenka’s emotions, feeling a surge of empathy for her. She praised the Belarusian for laying everything bare on court, where every feeling shows.

Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport. Rather than scold her, Williams offered a gentle observation about the rhythm of professional tennis. She suggested players might benefit from a little more time to gather themselves before stepping in front of the cameras, a quiet acknowledgment that athletes are routinely asked to dissect painful defeats before the sting has faded.

Sabalenka walks it back

The story did not end on that bleak note. Within days, Sabalenka signaled she was not actually quitting, framing the press-conference outburst as heat-of-the-moment honesty rather than a plan. At the time of the loss she had also left the door open, saying she would see how she felt in a few days and hoped to get back on track mentally. The walk-back lined up with how Williams had read the situation from the start.

It is not the first time a Paris quarterfinal has pushed Sabalenka to her limit. In 2024 she exited at the same stage and skipped her press conference entirely because of illness, with the tour later releasing her quotes on her behalf. The pattern underscores how heavily this particular tournament has weighed on her despite deep runs in recent years.

For now, attention shifts to the grass. Wimbledon offers Sabalenka a quick chance to reset, and a strong showing there would turn this French Open meltdown into a footnote rather than a turning point.

Originally published by Rolling Out — https://rollingout.com.

The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue

THE CAROLINIAN — Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.
The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

By Judaea Ingram | Special to The Carolinian

RALEIGH, N.C. – Music filled the air as families danced through the crowd, children gathered around activity stations, and community members explored wellness resources from local organizations. Black-owned businesses lined the streets while people stopped for chair massages, conversations, and moments of connection inside the wellness suite.

At the center of the event stood a simple but powerful reminder:

“You Matter.”

For Darkness RISING, those words represent far more than a slogan. They reflect the organization’s mission to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community while creating spaces centered on healing, honesty, and hope.

Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.

The organization hosts a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including block parties, wellness workshops, mixers, kickoff events, community classes, and Darkness RISING: Live — a free annual arts and wellness festival now celebrating its ninth year.

The festival combines entertainment with healing-centered resources, featuring live music, dancing, singing, food trucks, Black vendors, children’s activities, mental health resources, wellness spaces, and opportunities for open conversations about mental health.

While the events may feel celebratory on the surface, organizers say the deeper purpose is creating safe spaces where people can feel comfortable discussing mental health without fear of judgment.

Darkness RISING also provides free nationwide resources, including a Black Mental Health Resource Packet, a Black Mental Health Provider Database, and its “Find Me a Therapist” initiative, which helps connect individuals with culturally competent care.

The organization’s work is rooted in addressing longstanding inequities that continue impacting mental health access within Black communities.

Historically, segregation, redlining, racial discrimination, incarceration, poverty, and unequal healthcare access have contributed to higher rates of behavioral health challenges while simultaneously limiting access to proper treatment and support. Darkness RISING approaches those issues through what organizers describe as a transformative justice lens, focusing on healing rather than punishment and creating equitable wellness opportunities for marginalized communities.

Its REBUILD program specifically supports justice-involved and formerly incarcerated people of color through free therapy and wellness support, while the REBUILD Youth program focuses on young people impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs.

For Rudolph, therapy became life-changing after decades of incarceration and years of rejection after returning home.

“Came home in 2015, started my own computer company, investing in real estate, did the normal thing and got some jobs here and there and was met with rejection after rejection and people telling me I am not a good person,” Rudolph shared. “Even had a rejection in church.”

He said one of the hardest battles became overcoming the mental barriers created during incarceration.

“I got in touch with a couple of friends, and they explained to me how I had to get over the mental hurdles and get rid of the way my prison mindset was in order to survive and become successful,” he said.

Rudolph later moved to North Carolina hoping for a fresh start, but the struggle continued.

“Things were looking bad,” he said. “Could not get a job. The struggle was real.”

Eventually, therapy and support through organizations like Darkness RISING helped begin his healing process. He said working alongside other justice-involved men through therapy gave him the ability to rebuild mentally while finding community with people who understood his experiences.

Stories like Rudolph’s reflect the foundation behind Darkness RISING’s mission: ensuring people feel seen, supported, and worthy of healing regardless of their background or circumstances.

Community members who attend the organization’s events often describe them as emotionally transformative.

Some participants say Darkness RISING encouraged them to seek therapy for the first time, while others say the organization gave them a safe space to openly discuss struggles they previously kept hidden.

“I have been encouraged by the beautiful, generous, brave and open individuals who come together and use their talents to create art, share personal experiences and provide hope to those who may be struggling with mental health,” one participant shared.

By combining art, wellness, education, and community outreach, Darkness RISING continues changing how mental health conversations happen within the Black community.

Not through silence.

But through healing, honesty, connection, and joy.

Originally published by The Carolinian — https://caro.news.

The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.