AT A GLANCE
- Black mayors from major U.S. cities vowed to resist Trump’s threats and white supremacy at the 54th CBC Legislative Conference.
- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the fight “the assignment” to bury white supremacy and build Black wealth.
- Mayors from D.C., Baltimore, Oakland, Atlanta, and Savannah joined Johnson for a panel moderated by Angela Rye.
- Leaders warned of Trump’s agenda to erase Black history and dismantle racial equity programs.
Black Mayors Unite at CBC Legislative Conference
At the 54th Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, Black mayors from across the country took a firm stand against Donald Trump’s threats and what they view as his administration’s attempts to uphold white supremacy.
“The assignment is to finally bury white supremacy and build Black wealth,” declared Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose national profile has grown since clashing with Trump over his threat to send the National Guard into Chicago.
Johnson was joined by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson in a panel moderated by activist Angela Rye.
Johnson: Trump’s Attacks Are No Accident
Johnson, a former teacher, underscored that all the cities Trump has threatened to militarize are led by Black mayors. He argued this is not coincidental but rooted in America’s unfinished reckoning with its history.
“That is very intentional because there is an extremism in this country that has not accepted the results of the Civil War,” Johnson said. Pointing to Trump’s efforts to weaken civil rights protections, erase federal racial equity programs, and sanitize Black history, Johnson added, “They are fully engaged in their rematch.”
He urged Black Americans to look to their ancestors, recalling that enslaved people carried out “the largest act of dissidents in this country” when they collectively put down their tools, refusing to build a democracy that denied them freedom.
Baltimore’s Mayor Scott: ‘They Don’t Think Our Black Asses Belong Here’
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who has been derided by Republicans as a “DEI mayor,” didn’t mince words. “They don’t think our Black asses should be in [office] in the first place,” he said.
Scott added that attempts to erase Black history are futile. “They, too, come from Africa, because they come from us. You cannot erase from which you come from,” he said.
Baltimore, like Chicago, has faced Trump’s threats of militarization despite experiencing a historic decline in violent crime. Scott said his city, working alongside Maryland Governor Wes Moore, is prepared to pursue every legal option against Trump’s agenda.
‘We Are the Descendants of the Creators of Civilization’
Scott told the audience that Black Americans must understand their strength in the face of political attacks.
“We are the descendants of the creators of civilization. Everything worth salt and on this Earth was created by Black people. We have to understand and know our strength…We have been through times like this before. As much as they try to erase us, they cannot.”
