Washington D.C — This Black History Month, as the country reflects on the fight for economic opportunity and fairness, Congressional Republicans are continuing to push an agenda that’s making life harder for Black families.
Republicans in Congress have prioritized tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations, while Black families face higher costs, more difficulty putting food on the table, and diminished economic opportunity.
“This Black History Month, it’s impossible to ignore the damage Republicans’ agenda is doing to Black families,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “Their policies disproportionately raise costs and deepen existing economic hardships for Black Americans. We need everyone to stand up this Black History Month – and every month – to call on Republicans in Congress to stop making life harder for Black families.”
Here’s a look at some of the Republican policies hurting Black Americans:
Congressional Republicans’ historic SNAP cuts are disproportionately impacting Black families.
Continued failures by the US government to adequately fund food assistance forced families into difficult decisions to make ends meet and posed serious threats to the human rights of tens of millions of people in the United States.
The harms caused by these cuts were disproportionately borne by children, Black families, and adults with disabilities. In fiscal year 2023, 39 percent of SNAP recipients were children under 18. Families of color—including Black, Indigenous, and Latino households—are twice as likely to participate in SNAP as white households. Adults with disabilities are similarly overrepresented. Participation in SNAP reduces both racial and geographic disparities in food insecurity.
More than 170,000 Black Americans in ten major metro areas are losing health coverage because Congressional Republicans let health care tax credits expire.
Economic Policy Institute & Groundwork Collaborative:
“Losing the subsidies will substantially reduce coverage for Black families in particular, as they are both more likely to live in states without Medicaid expansion and more likely to face uninsurance due to lower and less stable incomes. Our analysis projects Black losses in health care coverage attributable to the premium tax credits expiring for 10 major metro areas with large Black populations…:
As Congressional Republicans wrecked the economy, the Black unemployment rate soared.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Amid the weakening labor market, unemployment among Black households jumped in 2025. In December, the Black unemployment rate was 7.5 percent, the highest since October 2021.
Congressional Republican-backed tariffs are taking a toll on Black-owned businesses.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Small businesses have struggled to adapt to this chaotic tariff scheme because they don’t have clarity on tariff rates or cannot avoid some of the high rates on inputs…This problem is particularly acute for Black small businesses, which have been disproportionately affected by higher input costs, as they tend to operate on thinner profit margins and have less access to capital than similar white-owned businesses. Whether it is beauty stores that rely on international supply chains or transportation firms that source globally for parts and equipment, these Black-owned businesses are facing higher costs that require them to make decisions about either raising prices, cutting staff, or a combination of both.
Republicans slashing nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid has directly put a large percentage of births by Black mothers at risk of worse care and worse outcomes.
From slashing over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to undermining public health and blocking research on racial disparities, Trump and congressional Republicans have pushed policies that worsen health outcomes and inequities for Black Americans. These decisions translate into higher mortality rates, preventable hospital closures, and more barriers to care for Black families.
Trump and the GOP’s continued attacks on programs like the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicaid, which reduce Black uninsured rates and increase Black Americans’ access to quality health care, are exacerbating the already stark racial inequities in American health care.
The massive Medicaid cuts coupled with work requirements will disproportionately affect Black families, who make up 13.7 percent of the U.S. population but about 20 percent of Medicaid enrollees; they will have a much greater risk of losing coverage than their white counterparts.
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
###
About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.