6 Policy Areas that Would be Affected by Project 2025

For the communities served by the Chicago Urban League, the detrimental impact of Project 2025 can be assessed through various policy proposals and their potential implications.  While Project 2025 aims to advance conservative policies, its implementation could lead to significant challenges for Black Americans in the following areas.

1. Economic Policies:
   • Reduction in Social Programs: A reduction in social safety nets may lead to increased economic instability within these communities​.
   • Anti-DEI Policy and Rhetoric: The initiative calls for eliminating the terms “sexual orientation,” “gender identity” (SOGI), “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion” (DEI), “gender,” “gender equality,” “gender equity,” “gender awareness,” “gender-sensitive,” “abortion,” “reproductive health,” “reproductive rights,” and any other related terminology from all federal rules, agency regulations, contracts, grants, and legislative documents. This action aims to address perceived infringements on First Amendment rights of “anti-woke” conservative activists.

2. Health Care:

• • Elimination of the Affordable Care Act: Project 2025 seeks to dismantle key components of the ACA, including the individual mandate, employer mandate, and subsidies for health insurance purchased through the exchanges.
  • Medicare and Medicaid: Project 2025 suggests that states should have the authority to impose work requirements on Medicaid. Black Americans are approximately half as likely as white Americans to receive callbacks for entry-level positions, which would disproportionately affect them under such requirements.

3. Education:
   • Eliminating Head Start and Title I Programs: The conservative policy plan proposes eliminating Head Start, a move that education advocates find alarming. Head Start serves over 787,000 low-income children in the U.S., including about 111,000 children with disabilities. Title I is the largest federal initiative for K-12 schools, aimed at assisting children from low-income families.
   • Student Loan Forgiveness: The proposal aims to eliminate income-driven repayment programs and prevent federal loan forgiveness.

4. Criminal Justice and Policing:

• • Strengthening Qualified Immunity: The project supports maintaining or even strengthening qualified immunity for police officers, which shields them from liability in cases of misconduct. This could make it more difficult for victims of police brutality, disproportionately African Americans, to seek justice​.

5. Environmental Policies:

• • Reduced Focus on Climate Change: Project 2025’s emphasis on economic growth over environmental protection may lead to less aggressive action on climate change. African American communities, which are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change (such as extreme weather, heatwaves, and flooding), could face increased health and safety risks as a result​.
  • Increased Health Risks: Deregulation and increased pollution can exacerbate health issues such as asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory illnesses, which already disproportionately affect African Americans. Weakened enforcement of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act could lead to poorer air and water quality, further impacting public health​.
  • Reduced Protections: Project 2025 advocates for rolling back environmental regulations to promote economic growth and reduce the burden on businesses. This could lead to weakened protections against air and water pollution, disproportionately affecting African American communities that are often located near industrial sites and pollution sources​

6. Civil Rights and Anti-Discrimination Policies:

• • Civil Rights: Advocates for redirecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s focus to address what it terms as the threat of “anti-white racism” by eliminating affirmative action and DEI policies.
  • Voting: Project 2025 calls for the DOJ’s Criminal Division to handle investigations into “voter registration fraud and unlawful ballot corrections,” rather than the Civil Rights Division.

Critics of Project 2025 argue that its proposals could negatively impact marginalized communities, including Black Americans. Some of the major concerns are that the project might promote more stringent law enforcement and criminal justice policies, potentially exacerbating existing racial disparities and disproportionately affecting Black communities. Additionally, if Project 2025 supports tax cuts or deregulation, critics suggest that these measures could favor the wealthy and corporations, while reducing funding for programs that benefit lower-income and minority communities. This could widen economic inequality and hinder economic mobility for Black Americans. The actual impact would depend on the specific policies implemented and their execution, prompting advocates for Black communities and social equity to closely scrutinize these proposals and push for adjustments that better address systemic issues.