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During a recent NAACP meeting in Greensboro, Project 2025 was scrutinized through a local lens, revealing new layers of controversy. As the Republican-led initiative aims to reshape several key policies, community leaders voiced specific concerns about its potential impact on Greensboro’s socio-economic landscape. The meeting underscored how Project 2025 could affect local residents and highlighted the need for ongoing dialogue and scrutiny.
“It’s not about party. It’s about what will impact us all,” said NAACP Greensboro branch President Kay Brown.
Members of the Indivisible Guilford County Leadership Team, AJ Tschupp, LCSW and Karen M. Skelton gave a presentation on Project 2025 at the NAACP meeting on August 19.
Indivisible Guilford County is a grassroots progressive action group established shortly after the 2016 presidential election, and serves as a platform for hosting demonstrations, voting participation, and pushing for a more progressive and inclusive country.
The 900-page manifesto is called, “Mandate For Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” and was published by the Heritage Foundation. If Trump is elected, the foundation intends to put the plan into action within the first 180 days of his term. The Heritage Foundation has asserted that Trump administration has already helped enact two-thirds of their agenda during his first term.
At Monday’s presentation, Tschupp and Skelton placed a focus on The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Department of Education (DOE), two US departments that have already seen the impact of the implementation of some of these strategies on the state level.
With the rolling back of Roe v Wade, it gave more power to the states to make decisions on reproductive rights.
“It’s not just Trump. But he is poised to help enact this agenda whether he admits it or not and this will outlast him. Very intelligent minds have thought this through, step-by-step, across all elements of the federal government. This is all infused with Christian nationalism to have scripture-based law in every aspect of our lives and governance, and the three main targets throughout are race, gender and reproductive rights,” said Tschupp.
Skelton explained that under a “pause and review” policy, decisions on policy changes could be put on delay, in a way that will also put a hold on funding being distributed to states, even if the funds have already been approved by Congress. That in turn would have a trickle-down effect of funding constraints on counties and municipalities.
“Where people are going to see the biggest impact is when there is a loss in funding,” said Skelton. “Everyone is seeing this through a different life lens. So, this will affect everyone differently based on your life, but it definitely will affect everyone.”
The chapter on the Department of Education lays out reforms to transfer programs to other departments or just eliminate them completely. It envisions a reduction of the federal government’s role in education, and the elevation of school choice and parental rights. To achieve that goal, it proposes eliminating the Department of Education, and allowing states to opt out of federal programs or standards.
“These are some of the impacts we might expect to see in everyday life if these things get implemented. I think one of the biggest surprises for a lot of people is the constant emphasis put on a faith-based system of government where there would be further erosion of reproductive rights,” said Tschupp.
North Carolina has already experienced the impact of the elimination of federal support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs at colleges and universities, the banning of Critical Race Theory (CRT) taught in schools. Other proposed changes include the elimination of Grad PLUS loans and Parent PLUS loans for college students, cuts to the school meal program, and elimination of the Head Start program, to name a few.
NAACP member, Solomon Quick, said he hopes that more college students will become informed about Project 2025 and understand the implications it can have on them.
“We really have to focus on reaching the young adults, ages 18 – 30, because this affects them directly. I think that if we educate them on Project 2025, they will definitely start asking questions, and they will start asking those questions to leadership. That is important,” said Quick.
For more information can be found at www.indivisibleguilford.org.
