They Want to Erase Our Story: Trump’s Whitewashing Agenda and Why We Need Our Own Everything
DISCLOSURE: Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services that I use, love, or believe will provide value to my readers. Your support helps keep the content on this site free, and I sincerely appreciate it.
Hey Friend!
In this manifesto… we’re pulling back the curtain on the bizarre, infuriating, and downright sinister attempts by Donald Trump and certain Republican allies to press “delete” on key parts of Black history. We’ll dish on their shameless effort to sanitize America’s narrative and preserve their race-centered ideology, all while claiming they’re “restoring truth.” From attacking Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., to painting the Smithsonian’s African American History Museum as “racist,” their crusade is basically a dumpster fire of hypocrisy. We’ll dive into all the juicy details—confederate statues, threatened funding, phony executive orders—and then, because we’re playing the long game, we’ll serve up real solutions rooted in “We need our own everything!” Buckle up: it’s a wild ride that leads straight to building genuine power for our communities.
The Plot to Whitewash America
Let’s be real: it doesn’t surprise anyone that a twice-impeached, criminally convicted ex-President (as Roland Martin truthfully describes him) would aim to destroy the progress Black folks have made in rewriting the American narrative with factual truths. On paper, this plan is served up under pleasant-sounding titles like “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” But in reality, it’s all about removing the living proof that America’s story isn’t as squeaky clean as they’d like it to be.
Chopping Up Black Lives Matter Plaza
What Happened: In Washington, D.C., Trump-allied Republicans forced city officials to tear up the iconic Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street. This was no cheap or easy project. They threatened to withhold funds from the District until officials caved. So much for “fiscal conservatism,” right?
Why It Matters: That stretch of road was more than just paint on pavement. It was a statement: “Black lives do matter.” Clearly, anything amplifying Black voices is a target in the ongoing quest to keep the U.S. narrative lily-white.
Executive Orders and Whiny Rhetoric
Clean Up D.C.: Trump’s newest executive order about making D.C. “safe and beautiful” is basically code for “let’s clamp down on activism and keep the locals in line.” He’s ordering an increase in law enforcement presence, leaning heavily on the Immigration boogeyman, and controlling the district’s purse strings.
Smithsonian Under Attack: The second executive order, innocently labeled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” more accurately translates to “Wipe Out Black History Because It Hurts Our Feelings.” Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture for allegedly calling “hard work” and “individualism” white culture. He’s conveniently ignoring the historical context that these so-called “American values” haven’t always been extended to Black people.
The Confederate Obsession
Look, let’s call it what it is: there’s a weird fascination in certain circles with propping up Confederate “heroes” who literally waged war against the United States. That’s treason, folks—yet these same people claim to be the defenders of American patriotism. The hypocrisy is blinding.
Renaming Military Bases: Military installations have begun renaming bases that once honored Confederate generals like Braxton Bragg and Robert E. Lee. But the Trump crowd wants to “make them great again” by returning to traitor names. In short, they want to celebrate men who fought for the right to own other human beings.
Tying in Dr. King: If they can threaten to remove or “re-contextualize” monuments and museums dedicated to Black history, what’s to stop them from going after Martin Luther King Jr. statues or renaming MLK street signs? The possibilities for erasure are endless, which is exactly why we must stay vigilant.
Our Problems, Plain and Simple
Politically Motivated Historical Revision: Trump and co. want textbooks and museums that glorify America as an unblemished “shining city on a hill.” Meanwhile, they want to downplay or outright erase everything from slavery to Jim Crow to modern systemic racism.
Weaponized Funding: By threatening to withhold federal dollars, they can basically hold museums, local governments, and educational institutions hostage. No compliance? No cash.
Relentless Attacks on Black Voices: From Black Lives Matter Plaza to the African American History Museum, the finger is pointed at any institution that tries to tell the story of Black America accurately. If it doesn’t fit the squeaky clean narrative of white triumph, it’s labeled “divisive” or “Marxist.”
Normalization of Treasonous Symbols: The Confederate flag and statues are glorified. Under the guise of “heritage,” they want traitors placed on a pedestal and racist icons in the public square—maintaining the illusion that the Confederacy was about “states’ rights,” conveniently skipping the “right” to keep enslaving people.
Silencing Future Generations: If we allow them to rewrite history to exclude or trivialize Black oppression and achievements, future generations of Black kids grow up with fewer cultural landmarks, fewer examples of their ancestors’ resilience, and less reason to be proud of that lineage.
The Soul-Saving Solutions: “We Need Our Own Everything!”
Alright, it’s one thing to shout “This is racist!” into the void. It’s quite another to do something about it. Here are actionable steps—starting now—to build Black power in media, politics, and community institutions.
1. Control Our Narrative Through Independent Platforms
Create and Support Black Media: Blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels—anything that allows Black storytellers to own their platform. By producing and distributing our own news, history, and cultural narratives, we’re not at the mercy of corporate or government strings.
Community-Based Archives: Crowdfund local archives and museums in Black neighborhoods, operating independently so federal or state funds (and the meddling that comes with them) aren’t do-or-die.
Amplify the Arts: Music, visual arts, fashion—these are powerful storytelling methods. Holding events in the community—like spoken word nights or local film screenings—keeps our story alive and kicking.
2. Build Economic Power in Black Hands
Buy Black, Bank Black: Every day, we can shift our dollars to Black-owned businesses, banks, and credit unions. Systemic inequalities in funding and capital are real—but when we collectively decide to keep dollars circulating in our communities, that’s an automatic power boost.
Cooperative Economics: Think worker cooperatives, community investment trusts, and grassroots funding. Pooling resources not only helps break the cycle of economic dependence on folks who don’t have our best interests at heart—it also fosters local job creation and wealth-building.
Long-Game Investment: We need to start building and investing in legacy-minded structures—everything from real estate developments to tech startups that remain in the community. The bigger the economic footprint, the harder it is for outside forces to shut down or ignore.
3. Own Our Educational Institutions
Black-Led Charter Schools and Homeschool Co-ops: Focus on curricula that highlight African American history year-round, not just in February. Implement financial literacy, civic engagement, and practical skills that ensure we cultivate tomorrow’s leaders who understand their heritage deeply.
Partner with HBCUs: Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been the bedrock of Black intellectual power for generations. Let’s forge more partnerships that encourage research, scholarship, and publications that preserve and celebrate our contributions.
Community Education Programs: Evening workshops at libraries, local churches, or community centers can focus on Black history, from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement to present-day activism. Bring in local historians, elders, and educators—people who lived through these events.
4. Grassroots Political Muscle
Local Elections First: While national politics gets all the headlines, local school boards, city council, and county commissions often hold the keys to real change. Make sure that progressive, pro-Black-history candidates get the support they need.
Form and Strengthen PACs: Political Action Committees can pool money to back candidates and issues that matter to us. That ensures we have a seat at the table, or we’ll be on the menu!
Lobby. Lobby. Lobby.: Let’s tap into our phone trees, our group chats, our barbershops, and our beauty salons. Flood local reps and senators with calls and emails whenever these “whitewashing” bills or proposals crop up. They need to feel the heat, or they’ll stay cozy under the status quo.
5. Keep the Pressure On—Always
Social Media Blitz: Hashtags and viral posts can sometimes force mainstream media to cover issues they’d otherwise ignore. Never underestimate the power of a million angry tweets or Instagram Reels.
Vigilant Legal Action: Partner with organizations like the NAACP, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and others who can file lawsuits when your city or state tries to impose sneaky censorship measures or confederate fetish laws.
Hold Public Officials Accountable: Show up at town halls, city council meetings, and your state legislature. Bring receipts—highlighting the cost of tearing up streets, the hypocrisy of “fiscal conservatives” who blow public dollars on removing BLM signage, or the contradictions in their “pro-America” stance when they champion confederate names.
Playing the Long Game: What Republicans Already Know
When you observe the political strategy in many conservative circles, you’ll notice they excel at thinking 10, 20, 50 years down the line. They started the slow grind to chip away at voting rights, Roe v. Wade, and the teaching of accurate Black history long before some of us even noticed.
They Pack the Courts: Stacking the judicial system with ideologues who interpret the law through a narrow lens. That’s how they can ban critical race theory in schools or greenlight racially skewed district maps.
They Starve Opponents’ Funding: It’s not an accident that public education funding is slashed while tax breaks for the wealthy get rubber-stamped. By depriving certain communities of resources, they maintain leverage.
They Hijack Culture War Issues: They latch onto slogans like “hard work and individualism” not to celebrate these qualities in Black communities, but to weaponize them as markers of “white culture,” implying that any narrative acknowledging systemic racism is “un-American.”
Our Counter Strategy: Stay organized, relentless, and anchored in our vision for a future where Black stories are told without apology, Black communities control their economics, and Black children see their faces—past, present, and future—reflected in the nation’s memory.
Wrapping Up This Manifold Manifesto
Trump’s attempt to vanish Black history is basically the next chapter in a centuries-long tradition of ignoring, rewriting, and outright lying about the contributions—and oppression—of Black Americans. But guess what? We’re still here. We’ve always fought back, and we always will.
By creating our own platforms, strengthening our financial power, taking local politics by the horns, and continuously pressing for accountability, we can do more than survive their “whitewash” attempts. We’ll thrive. This is a call to arms, but also to hearts and minds, reminding us that we hold the keys to preserving our story, shaping our present, and charting our collective future. And yes—when we say “we need our own everything,” we mean it. The long game is ours to play.
Live Pleasurably,
(For the overthinkers, the second-guessers, and the ‘I should have figured this out by now’ crowd.)
You don’t need another strategy. You need to stop second-guessing yourself. Let’s clear the noise.
WTF is not a coaching session. It’s not me handing you a step-by-step blueprint. It’s me helping you untangle the thoughts that are keeping you stuck, so you can finally hear your own damn clarity. LEARN MORE >
Manifestos You’ll Love!
