Racism Rising: 2026

‍Growing up in East Harlem, NY, I attended Catholic schools with children of Irish, German, and Italian immigrants. Throughout elementary and high schools, my teachers were white nuns--the Sisters of Charity. At all-girls Cathedral High School (since closed), I was one of a handful of Black students among 500. (Every St. Patrick’s Day, I was proud to wear the green and join in performing the Irish jig during the St. Patrick’s Day parade.)

‍During those years, I never encountered the full force of racism’s malignancy.

‍That would change on September 15, 1955, when I saw a photo (published byJet magazine) of 14-year-old Emmet Till’s bloated and disfigured body laid out in his casket.

‍ According to The United States Civil Rights Trail website, “In August 1955, (Till) was visiting family in Money when he and his cousin Curtis Jones went to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market with some local boys to buy candy … some versions claim that Till whistled at 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, who owned the store with her husband, Roy Bryant, 24 ….”

‍In the early hours of August 28, 1955, Till was dragged from his uncle’s house (by Bryant and others), taken to a barn in Drew, Mississippi, where he was badly beaten and shot in the head. His naked body was tossed into the Tallahatchie River, “…(and) weighed down with a large fan blade they’d stolen from a cotton gin.”

The sheer brutality of Till’s murder left a lasting mark on me. I still recall bringing it up through tears in a high school class, only to be met with little comfort from my teacher, a white nun.

In the years that followed, I began educating myself about the history I was never taught — the brutal reality of 246 years of Black enslavement, the injustices of Jim Crow, and the legalized discrimination in housing, education, and employment that systematically blocked Black Americans from progress.

‍At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, assaults by white Southerners against Black and white protesters—broadcast on national television—made unmistakably clear that Black Americans had no rights white America felt compelled to respect.

Racism: 2026

Today, almost 60 years later, tolerance for racist rhetoric, right-wing efforts to dilute Black political power, and public disruptions by neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and white nationalists is on the rise.

Consider:

‍On April 29, 2026, the U. S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled “that Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map, which created a second majority-Black district to remedy racial vote dilution, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” However, the NAACP stated, (the ruling) “is a license to silence Black voters and rig the voting system … (and) a devastating blow to our democracy and decades of work to ensure equal citizenship for Black people….”

President Trump’s Executive Order14253 targeted and effectively eliminated federal diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and programs focused on health disparities and equity.

‍Public displays by white supremacists and white nationalists such as Hate Club and the Patriot Front are increasing. In February 2025, Hate Club members paraded on an interstate overpass waving swastika flags but were chased off by local community members. On July 4, 2026, hundreds of masked men carrying banners, including the Confederate flag, marched through Washington, DC., chanting racist slurs.

In April 2026, according to BET News, Alvin Brown, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of “… removing him — and dozens of other Black officials across the government — because of their race….”

Racism: Out of the Closet

With little fear of public censure, right-wing conservatives, social media influencers, and MAGA supporters boldly spew racist ideologies and anti- “woke” disinformation.

‍In June 2026, following the U. S. Supreme Court’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) decision, lawyer, and political commentator Megyn Kelly sparked outrage when she told Haitians, “Go back to fcking Haiti!” and “Get out. Go home.” A month later, on July 15, she criticized Hollywood’s diversity efforts, arguing that white actors are increasingly sidelined in classic stories—such asThe Odyssey, currently in theaters—(and) are “recast with people of color.” She added, “You can’t win an Oscar if everybody in your movie is white.”

‍In October 2025, Politico exposed 28,000 private text messages exchanged over seven months among Young Republicans from New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont chapters. The messages reportedly “referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” (and) … lauded Republicans …who support slavery.” (Editor’s Note: The texts also targeted Jews, Latinos, and Asians.)

The Wall Street Journal reported on leaked texts Paul J. Ingrassia, acting general counsel of the U. S. General Services Administration. “We need competent white men in positions of leadership.’ ‘MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd, and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.’” 

The Trump Effect

In October 2025, Marcus W. Robinson, former senior spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee told the grio, “Unfortunately, this kind of racist, hateful rhetoric has become all too common under Donald Trump, …the climate that has been unleashed since (he) first came onto the scene has fostered such vile, hate-fueled, and racist rhetoric …"

The Backlash

Deniers of systemic racism claim that efforts to address racial inequalities amount to “reverse-racism,” which unfairly privileges minority groups. The Trump administration ended data collection on racial inequalities (e.g., in health or education) to promote “race-neutral decision making” in government. Apologists argue that enslaved people were “better off” than free laborers, or that slavery was more humane than “wage slavery.”

‍Racist messaging from government actors, social‑media ecosystems, and conservative media outlets is hardly new to many Black Americans. For generations, we have navigated political climates in which our rights, our institutions, and our children’s futures often feel vulnerable — protected only when federal safeguards remain intact.

‍Photo by Chris F (pexels.com)