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Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Paul Morigi and Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images & Bloomberg via Getty Images
Nearly five years after fueling the largest protest movement in American history, Black activism stands at a generational, emotional and strategic crossroads.
Why it matters: Many of the Black Americans who flooded the streets in 2020 have stepped back from the renewed anti-Trump protests — torn between the urgency of the moment and the spiritual toll of relentless, often fruitless resistance.
- The stakes are huge: President Trump's second-term agenda is openly hostile to DEI, police reform, and the civil rights protections that have underpinned racial progress for the last half-century.
- But prominent Black activists tell Axios that rest does not equal retreat, and that the movement is evolving — in leadership, tone and tactics — for the long fight ahead.
Driving the news: Photos from last weekend's
"Hands Off!" demonstrations — where millions protested DOGE cuts, immigration raids and mass federal layoffs — show a striking shift from 2020.
- Most participants were older and white, as seen at rallies across the country and confirmed to Axios — a stark contrast to the multiracial, Black-led protests launched in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
- Campus protests over Trump's immigration crackdown have drawn primarily white, Latino, and Asian American students, with Black participants largely absent from the front lines.
- In Washington, D.C., Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House was quietly dismantled last month after funding threats from Republicans — a symbolic setback in what once was the epicenter of 2020's racial reckoning.
Zoom in: A viral video from last weekend showed Black Americans enjoying brunch in Atlanta — a historical hub of Black political power and culture — while white "Hands Off!" demonstrators marched outside.
Others told Axios they're emotionally drained and need a "break" after the demoralizing defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman nominated for president by a major political party.
- Harris won 86% of Black voters overall, but Trump improved his vote share among Black men from 19% in 2020 to 21% in 2024.
- Some Black women saw Donald Trump's victory as a wake-up call to turn inward and prioritize self-care, especially after voters overlooked his record of racist comments for a second time.
- "It's definitely a feeling of, 'I'm not going to push myself to the point of exhaustion,' " said Nina Smith, a strategist who has worked with the Movement for Black Lives. "The best way I can show up in this moment is to take care of myself."
The big picture: Some organizers say Black activism is shifting away from mass mobilization and toward quieter strategies: economic pressure campaigns, digital organizing and coalition-building behind the scenes.
- Activists point to rising fears of targeted state violence under Trump, including the risk that Black protesters could be surveilled, detained or worse — a fear underscored by the treatment of legal residents caught up in immigration raids.
- "People are trying to prepare themselves for the long haul here," said Steve Phillips, author of "How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good."
Between the lines: The movement also is undergoing a generational shift, as older figures from the Civil Rights era pass the baton to new voices who came of age in a more diverse America.
- Rev. Jamal Bryant, who recently met with the legendary civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, launched a 40-day national boycott of Target over its rollback of DEI initiatives.
- Political commentator Angela Rye has been quietly mobilizing leaders through private strategy sessions.
- Latosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, has emphasized the importance of rest, recognizing that Black Americans have been fighting for generations.
The other side: In text message chains and on
social media, some Black advocates chided others for resting amid Trump's multi-pronged assault on DEI and other racial justice priorities.
- They pointed out that civil rights icons Rosa Parks and Ella Baker didn't let regular defeats or roadblocks stop them from organizing and protesting.
But Rev. William Barber, who has spoken at recent rallies dominated by white participants, told Axios it's foolish to think civil rights leaders didn't need to rest while facing racial violence and planning long marches.
- "Ella Baker knew how to have a Saturday party. She'd get down with some spades and some bid whist," Barber said, referring to card games. "Nobody is saying that people need to be constantly on the move."
- Phillips added that rest is an important part of resistance. "When Harriet Tubman rounded up folks to flee the plantation, they didn't go without breaks for sleeping, right?"
The bottom line: Activists say the streets may feel quieter, but the fight is far from over.
