Black studies programs are facing a new round of cuts in higher education as the Trump administration continues its effort to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in schools, corporations, and government.
The Washington Post found that more than a dozen private and public institutions have scaled back Black, African, or African American studies programs since 2024. The changes have included closing or merging academic units, eliminating majors and degrees, trimming courses, and reducing staff. The University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Kansas are among institutions that have closed or consolidated African American studies units. Other schools, including Kennesaw State University
forwp-incontent-ad1">“Politics is the engine, not a factor,” Jafari Sinclaire Allen, the director of Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American Studies, told The Washington Post.
Allen warned that the consequences could extend beyond individual campuses and weaken the pipeline for future researchers and faculty.
“They are not cutting at the fringe,” Allen said. “They are striking the foundations.”
Many of the institutions are also facing challenges in funding and filling the programs. Data analyzed through 2025 found that fewer than 700 degrees in African American studies were awarded nationally for three consecutive years, despite a gradual increase in the number of institutions offering degree programs. At the University of Iowa, officials noted that only nine students were enrolled in its African American studies bachelor’s program when the school decided to eliminate the major. The University of North Texas, meanwhile, cited a projected $45 million budget shortfall as it moved to close or consolidate a list of programs, including an Africana studies minor.
Still, academics argue that enrollment and budget figures don’t tell the entire story. Erica R. Edwards, the chair of Black studies at Yale University, said such programs have become a target because “the field is unapologetic in its critiques of fascism, antiblackness, sexism and antitransness, and antiimmigration.” In an email to The Post, she added that “given the concerted attempts of our current administration and its allies to suppress history and silence truth, it comes as no surprise that Black Studies programs are facing challenges from the inside—cuts, intense scrutiny, censorship, and consolidation—as well as attacks from the outside.”
The cuts are unfolding as states impose new restrictions on how colleges teach race, gender, and other topics. Florida, North Carolina, and Texas have adopted policies that cut race- and identity-related coursework, while the Trump administration has continued its push against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In January 2025, President Trump signed an executive order targeting DEI programs at colleges that had a DEI office or promoted DEI and diversity work on campus.
“Institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’” the order states.
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