On February 20, President Donald Trump announced the appointment of Alice Johnson, a Tennessee woman whose life sentence for a drug crime he commuted in 2018 and fully pardoned in 2020, as his “pardon czar.” The announcement was made during a Black History Month reception at the White House, just weeks after Trump returned to office and began implementing significant rollbacks of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government.
Trump praised Johnson, stating, “Alice was in prison for doing something that today probably wouldn’t even be prosecuted. You’ve been an inspiration to people, and we’re going to be listening to your recommendation on pardons. You’re going to find people just like you.” The event was attended by a predominantly African American audience, including notable figures such as golfer Tiger Woods.
The celebration of Black History Month at the White House stood in stark contrast to Trump’s recent executive orders targeting DEI efforts. These orders directed federal agencies to terminate DEI programs and encouraged private companies to follow suit. Trump also mandated that all agencies identify potential targets for civil investigations, which could lead to legal action.
Civil rights organizations and racial justice advocates have sharply criticized these actions, arguing that DEI programs have been instrumental in addressing historical inequities affecting Black Americans and people of color in various aspects of American life. Additionally, Trump has reinstated the death penalty, a move that research and experts say disproportionately impacts incarcerated Black Americans.
Earlier on February 20, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, lauded the changes, stating, “He has ended all DEI across the federal government. He has terminated all federal workers involved in promulgating these unlawful policies. He has ended diversity, equity and inclusion in all federal contracting. The death penalty is back. Law and order is back. The streets are being made safe once again.”
During the event, Trump referred to Black Americans as an “indispensable core of America” and criticized the focus on 1619, the year the first recorded enslaved Africans arrived on American soil. He suggested that the focus should instead be on 1776, the year the United States declared its independence.
Kimberly Morella, a Republican district leader in Westchester County, New York, expressed her support for Trump’s remarks, stating, “I prefer that our kids prefer to learn about 1776. I believe in the ideals that this administration is putting forward in helping all people, and it’s not a matter of playing into a victimhood in how we’re oppressed and how we want reparations.”
Trump made some gains with Black voters in the 2024 presidential election, particularly among Black men, but he only received 20 percent of their vote, a one percentage point increase from 2020, according to Edison Research. Former vice-president Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee last year, won 92 percent of Black women voters nationwide, up two points from 2020. Overall, Harris secured 86 percent of the Black vote, compared to 12 percent for Trump, the same share of support Joe Biden received in 2020.