Black folks, it’s easy to feel discouraged in a world like today’s– where political violence and anti-Black policies are championed. But we also know Black Americans are some of the most resilient people on the planet! And no matter what, we’re going to find a way to support our own.
Suggested Reading
And frankly, most of 2025 has hinged on Black people creating ways to preserve our history and build wealth when the government failed to help out. Cuts to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) didn’t rock us. Instead, we organized, protested and bought Black. Attacks to the Civil Rights Act haven’t slowed us down either, and that was evident in the massive blue wave across the country this past November election… and that’s only the beginning.
Building Community
Black folks’ answer to ongoing economic uncertainty was to build our own financial houses serving Black American and immigrant communities. Specifically in St. Ann, Mo., the African Diaspora Federal Credit Union (ADFCU) officially opened this month. The organization provides financial and banking services meant to keep the Black dollar in our own communities.
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that there’s power in the Black dollar. Black folks made the conscious decision to boycott brands with anti-DEI policies, and according to end-of-year reports, companies like Target took major hits to revenues after Black leaders like pastor Jamal Bryant led the charge, we previously told you.
Award-winning business leader Valeisha Butterfield also stepped up the plate to help Black women following the unemployment rate shockingly reached six percent, we previously told you. The launch of her organization, Global State of Women Rapid Relief Fund, promotes financial support.
Preserving History and Legacy
Despite the ongoing movement to erase the contributions of Black people in American history, there were several major efforts to call out political leaders rewriting the history books.
Just take Palm Beach County, Fla., which just approved a $1 million grant to fund the African American Museum and Research Library (AAMRL) project, according to WLRN. This Dec. 8 pledge is all on top of the already $80 million Black museum development in the West Peach Beach area.
We previously told you President Donald Trump’s administration has been repeatedly accused of white washing American history. He faced backlash earlier this year when MLB legend Jackie Robinson was removed from government websites in an effort to get rid of DEI. Robinson’s contributions have since been reinstated.
With all the efforts to discredit Black history, billionaire donors like Robert Smith and Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott have invested hundreds of millions to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), we previously told you. Without their financial contributions, HBCUs would certainly be in trouble.
Black Leaders in Politics
As Trump continues his blitz of executive orders, controversial deportation scheme and latest redistricting plan ahead of the 2026 midterms, we have to talk about all the Black leaders who are still making a difference! Folks like Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and N.J. Sen. Corey Booker made a name for themselves standing up to Trump. In fact, they’ve even become targets for MAGA over their stances against the president. And they’re not the only ones…
Minn. Rep. Ilhan Omar continues to push back against Trump’s targeted attacks to the Somali community in her state, we previously told you. And other Black women like Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook and N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James have even won legal battles against Trump.
This is, of course, in addition to all of the Black politicians who made history this year. On Tuesday, Joseline Peña-Melnyk was unanimously elected to be the first Afro-Latina House Speaker in Maryland, according to Maryland Matters.
Sen. Booker also broke the record for the longest filibuster on the Senate floor back in April. We told you all about how Booker broke the previous record set by an ultra-racist South Carolina senator opposing the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
It’s moments like these that act of reminds that all hope isn’t lost! While resilience and resistance are practically in Black folks’ DNA, so is innovation and joy… and that’s exactly what we mean by Black magic!
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.