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Why This Matters - White Supremacy in the West Wing

  • Writer: Alston Rousseau
    Alston Rousseau
  • Apr 3
  • 4 min read

Updated: May 4


A sinister White House. Greyscale. Image generated by DALL-E 2, April 5, 2025
A sinister White House. Greyscale. Image generated by DALL-E 2, April 5, 2025

What Can One Person Do About a White Power President in 2025?


White supremacy does not need hoods or torches anymore—it is wearing a suit in the Oval Office.

Let us be clear: white supremacy is not just fringe violence—it is a normalized system of privilege embedded in American institutions. It governs who gets heard, who gets hired, who gets policed, and who gets protected.


Additionally, "The concept of 'whiteness' extends beyond racial identity; it encompasses a set of cultural norms and values that dictate what is considered 'professional' or 'acceptable' in many workplace environments.​


  • These norms often include perfectionism, a sense of urgency, defensiveness, and a binary thinking approach.

  • Adhering to these standards can create a restrictive environment where individuals feel compelled to conform, suppressing authentic expressions of identity and perpetuating a cycle of exclusion.​

Recognizing and challenging these ingrained cultural norms is essential for creating inclusive workplaces that value diverse perspectives and experiences." -Okun (n.d.)

Many Americans would never call themselves racist, yet still uphold systems that favor white lives over others—often without realizing it.


In 2024, America elected a white supremacist president: Donald Trump.


Did everyone who voted for him intend to endorse white nationalism? Likely not. However, intent does not erase the outcome. One-third of eligible voters did not even participate. However, the result is the same: a government now openly enabling white supremacy.


🤔 Am I a White Supremacist?


We flinch at the idea. However, as Patterson et al. write in Crucial Conversations, "We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior." Even if you do not harbor conscious bias, you may still benefit from and even reinforce systems that protect white dominance.

So the real question becomes: Are you willing to confront that reality—or stay comfortably silent?


🏛️ White Supremacy in the West Wing: Trump's 2025 Agenda


In 2025, the threat is not abstract—it is executive policy.


✅ White Nationalists in Power: Trump has placed open white supremacists in key government positions, lending legitimacy to hate-based ideologies.


✅ Erasure of DEI: In January 2025, his administration declared federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs "radical and wasteful," terminating them entirely.


✅ State-Level Attacks: Georgia’s HB127 bans DEI in public education. Other states are following suit, rolling back decades of civil rights work.


"Racism is not a glitch in Trump's vision of America—it is a feature."— Keith Boykin (2025)


📌 DEI Dismantled = Justice Denied

These moves are not about bureaucratic efficiency—they are direct reinforcements of systemic racism:

  • Federal Retreat: By axing all DEI programs, the federal government silences conversations on equity and accountability.

  • Corporate Cowardice: Companies like Ford and Walmart have also reversed their DEI commitments, proving many corporate pledges were performative.

  • Education Targeted: Georgia's anti-DEI law jeopardizes learning environments built on inclusivity and truth.

What is under attack is not "divisive concepts." It is the right to name and challenge oppression.


🗣️ Why Does This Matter?

  • This is not about partisan politics—it is about the soul of a nation. It is about whether we stand for liberty and justice for all or just for some.

  • In a democracy, silence is complicity. Neutrality in the face of authoritarian white supremacy is not an option.



📌 Organizational Development Perspective:

  • Use Your Role: Whether you are in HR, education, or leadership—push for inclusive systems, not just inclusive words.

  • Talk Strategically: Use emotional intelligence and tools like Crucial Conversations to challenge bias.

  • Change Systems: Reform hiring, promotions, and evaluation structures—not just attitudes.

  • Involve Everyone: Equity work must involve all levels of an organization. Build task forces, conduct audits, and take the work seriously.


📌 African American & World Studies Perspective:

  • Awaken Consciousness: Recognize how white supremacy operates in law, media, schools, and culture.

  • Stand in Solidarity: Support Black-led movements. Oppose anti-DEI laws vocally and visibly.

  • Learn the History: Know the patterns. From Reconstruction to Reagan to Trump, this is not new but urgent.

  • Decenter Whiteness: Begin asking whose voices are missing in your work, your votes, your spaces—and why.


🔥 Concrete Steps One Person Can Take: Choose Courage Over Comfort


Strategy

Description

Reflect & Educate

Learn about implicit bias, white privilege, and systemic racism.

Interrupt Harm

Speak up when witnessing racist behavior or policies - at work, with friends and in public forums.

Change Organizational Policy

Push for fair hiring, evaluation, promotion, and resource allocation process.

Support Black Leadership

Uplift Black-led organizations and movements with money, time or platform amplification.

Challenge Legislation

Oppose supremacist policy at local and federal levels (e.g., Georgia HB127)

Sustain DEI Work

Resist backlash fatigue by embedding equity into long-term strategy and operations.

America did not elect Trump because the majority were white nationalists. It happened because too many people underestimated the danger—or chose disengagement over discomfort.

Nevertheless, make no mistake: this is the most blatant federal resurgence of white supremacy since the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, history will ask what you did about it.


  • You do not need to be famous.

  • Or perfect.

  • Or radical.

  • You need to be brave.

History will not ask whether you were comfortable in 2025. It will ask whether you stood up.


📖 References & Further Reading:


 
 
 

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© 2025 by Guerrilla DEI. -  Disclaimer: The author does not speak for any other author, organization, employer, or corporation, past or present and recognizes the privilege this affords him. He received no remuneration for this work. He also believes that white Americans, including himself, have a moral obligation to denounce the modern American government's deliberate cruelty, racism, and fascism—whether in Congress or the White House—if American democracy is to endure.

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