Amid DEI Rollbacks, HBCU Students Need More Than Allies

By Denim Fisher

While  President Donald Trump continues rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion policies meant to expand opportunities for underrepresented groups, a campus group at Spelman College is pressing forward with its mission to confront systemic racism and foster meaningful dialogue and healing on campus.

Indeed, in a moment when DEI initiatives are increasingly under scrutiny, sociology professor Dr. Cynthia Spence, who founded Spelman’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center in 2018, says the college’s commitment to truth-telling and healing is more crucial than ever.

“Truth-telling is uncomfortable,” she says. But “you can’t heal if you don’t acknowledge that you have a problem.”

She says the center survived Trump’s first term “because no one really knows about it.” But now, similar initiatives face political headwinds — and she worries about the future.

“The Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation work — I’m wondering now, is it going to be under attack?” Spence says.

From Allies to Co-Conspirators

Spence founded the center — one of 71 such programs recognized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities — during Trump’s first term in direct response to a climate that heightened the need for deeper racial dialogue.

“His election did, in fact, exacerbate the need to have conversations” about race, Spence says.

However, Spence believes this moment calls for more than traditional allyship; it calls for active, risk-taking partners who will speak out against racism wherever it appears.

“We need co-conspirators,” she says. “We need people who want to get their feet, get their hands dirty. Because when I call the counterparts out, I’m an angry Black woman. But when they call their counterparts out, then that’s different.”

Spence underscores that it’s not just Black communities’ responsibility to push for change; all parties must recognize the urgent need for action.

“You want not just Black people to speak up because we’ve been speaking up. We Black women have been speaking up historically. We need somebody else to either join coalitions, help us, and bear the load,” she says.

‘Folks Have to Push Through’

Spelman has long served as an educational refuge for its students, a place to discuss societal challenges and injustices in a supportive environment, but no haven is entirely shielded from the realities of racism — and students need to study the issues before taking action.

“I encourage advocacy,” she says. “You got to do your homework. You got to read. You need to know what the issues are. You need to know how complex they are,” she says. And sustained pressure is vital: “Change does take time because you are looking at people who’ve been in power for so long, who are controlling the purse strings.”

Spence acknowledges that racial healing — especially the emphasis on “truth-telling” — can sometimes be met with resistance.

But “racial justice is everyone’s issue,” she says. So folks have to push through. She recalls when she first engaged with the Truth Racial Healing and Transformation community, she gave students discussion prompts to respond to. “I did receive some pushback,” she says.

“They’d say, ‘We don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable,’ and I say, ‘Yes, we do.”

In the meantime, she’ll continue to do the work at Spelman — no matter the political climate.