Let us not be seduced by the illusion that what’s happening in D.C. is an isolated incident. It’s not. It is the first domino in a dangerous campaign—a blueprint for authoritarian control, carried out one Black-led city at a time. Washington, D.C., with its proud legacy of Black governance, is simply the first target. But it will not be the last.
Donald Trump has already named the next cities on his list: Chicago. New York. San Francisco. Democratic strongholds, yes—but more importantly, urban centers with large Black and Brown populations and leadership that refuses to bow. His so-called “crime emergency” has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with power—who holds it, who wields it, and who is allowed to keep it.
Make no mistake: this is racialized political warfare. This is about controlling the narrative, the resources, and the votes in cities that do not align with Trump’s authoritarian worldview. And if he must gut the Constitution to do it, so be it. That is the essence of a soft coup.
In D.C., he installed an unelected “Emergency Police Commissioner,” stripping power from the duly appointed Black police chief and bypassing the mayor—a Black woman elected by the people. In Chicago, he invoked the image of “African-American ladies” begging him for help, as though Black women were children in need of a strong hand. And in San Francisco, he declared the city lost and in need of federal “salvation.” But these aren’t acts of compassion. These are acts of domination—rooted in the same paternalistic ideology that once justified plantations and poll taxes.
And history is repeating itself, dressed in modern suits and press conferences. In 2020, Trump deployed federal agents in Portland, Seattle, and Kansas City under the guise of Operation Legend. Agents in camouflage snatched protesters off the streets, in tactics more befitting a police state than a democracy. Now, he’s brought that same authoritarian playbook back—but this time, he’s testing it on Black-led cities.
This is not about crime. This is about control.
This is not about safety. This is about suppression.
And this is not about America. This is about an America that never was—but one that Trump is desperately trying to resurrect.
We’ve seen this before. The use of federal force to neutralize Black progress is as old as Reconstruction. What Trump is doing now is no different than when Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock—not to protect Black children, but because white mobs wouldn’t allow them into Central High. It’s no different than COINTELPRO infiltrating civil rights groups under the false flag of “national security.” And it’s no different than the war on drugs targeting Black communities under the pretense of law and order.
The through-line is power—and who gets to hold it.
Washington, D.C. is the canary in the coal mine. If this federal overreach goes unchecked, we will see similar takeovers in cities across this country. And not just the big names. Places like Jackson, Mississippi; Baltimore, Maryland; Flint, Michigan. Communities that are already underfunded, overlooked, and disrespected. Now they will be occupied too.
Trump doesn’t want law and order. He wants submission. He wants cities where the votes are blue and the skin is Black to kneel before him in silence.
But we won’t.
Not now. Not ever.
