African American Students Impacted as Colleges Cut DEI Programs

Story by Ny MaGee 

As U.S. colleges scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts under mounting political pressure, students of color are beginning to feel the impact, losing access to programs and support systems that once helped them feel seen and supported on predominantly white campuses, The AP reports.

These changes come amid a broader crackdown led by Republican lawmakers and accelerated by President Donald Trump. Under his administration, the federal government has issued sweeping directives aimed at dismantling DEI programs, warning institutions that failure to comply could cost them federal funding. In a letter to Harvard University, the administration even threatened its nonprofit status, demanding the school eliminate DEI initiatives “to the satisfaction of the federal government.”

At the University of Michigan, the DEI office is shutting down, and its campus-wide inclusion plan has been abandoned. Breeana-Iris Rosario, a junior at the university, said the move feels like erasure. “It feels like we’re going back. I don’t know how else to describe it,” she said. “It’s like our voices aren’t being heard.”

These cutbacks extend beyond higher education. K-12 schools are also required to certify that they do not engage in DEI practices to receive federal funding. Meanwhile, Democratic-led states are pushing back, challenging the legality and morality of linking federal resources to compliance with anti-DEI mandates.

A February memo from the U.S. Department of Education intensified the rollback by ordering schools to strip race from consideration in areas such as admissions, hiring, housing, financial aid, and student services. The memo made it clear: non-compliance could mean losing access to vital federal dollars.

Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin praised the University of Virginia’s decision to eliminate its DEI programs in March, declaring, “DEI is done at the University of Virginia.” He described the move as a transition toward a focus on “merit-based opportunity.”

As investigations into dozens of universities unfold and billions in funding remain frozen for institutions like Harvard, the future of DEI in education appears increasingly uncertain. For many students of color, this shift represents more than policy, it’s a step backward in their pursuit of belonging and equity in American academia.

“DEI is a violation of the Civil Rights Act,” said conservative strategist Christopher Rufo, who has fought DEI, on X. “Any publicly funded institution that continues to practice DEI should face a federal investigation, consent decree, termination of funds, and loss of nonprofit status. If that doesn’t work, send in the 101st Airborne.”

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