The federal government shutdown has lasted for more than a week with no end in sight–and Black Americans across the country are suffering as a result.
Civil rights leaders and the president of the largest federal workers’ union, who spoke with theGrio, warn that if a deal is not struck between Democrats and Republicans soon, the damage would further devastate Black communities, who are already experiencing disproportionate economic harm.
“The ongoing government shutdown is causing real harm to communities across the country, and it’s time for those in power to take responsibility and pass legislation that would safeguard critical services for millions of Americans, including Black communities,” a coalition of civil rights leaders said in a statement.
The leaders of several prominent civil rights groups warned that, if the government shutdown persists, Black Americans will suffer in various ways, including furloughed federal workers not getting paid, veterans and military families not getting federal support, women and children losing access to food assistance like WIC, and delayed services for Social Security and Medicare recipients.
“This shutdown is not just a political impasse—it’s a failure of leadership. We call on Congress and the White House to protect Americans from skyrocketing healthcare premiums and ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to serve the public—not withheld as leverage against the immediate reopening of the government,” said the coalition.
The group of civil rights leaders includes: Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League; Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network; Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable ; Derrick Johnson , president and CEO of the NAACP; Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.; Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; and Shavon Arline-Bradley ; president and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, noted that Black Americans make up a larger share of the federal government than their total U.S. population at more than 18%.
“It’s going to disproportionately affect the Black community in so many ways…They’re going to be suffering from, ‘How do I pay my mortgage bill? How do I pay my medical bills if I don’t have a paycheck coming in?’” Kelley told theGrio.
The union leader said workers are “really stressed right now.”
On Friday, the Trump administration moved to permanently fire some federal workers as a result of the government shutdown, which has received bipartisan criticism. President Trump also suggested that workers who are not receiving their paychecks will not receive back pay, despite a 2019 law that requires it.
The American Federation of Government Employees and other labor unions filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump White House’s “arbitrary, cruel, and punitive” move to fire federal workers.
“That’s his way of antagonizing and intimidating federal employees, you know, and making them the scapegoats in this political game,” Kelley of AFGE told theGrio.
The union president called out the president and Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, accusing them of wanting to “traumatize” federal employees and make them “feel like nobody.”
The impact of the government shutdown on Black federal employees also comes as the Black unemployment rate continues to climb (7.5%) and amid ongoing inflationary strain for households.
Kelley noted that, for decades, the federal government has been an economic driver for Black Americans, which is now in jeopardy following previous mass layoffs and attacks on DEI.”
“The fact that they are dismantling the federal government, don’t think that it’s not intentional because they know that this has been the way that many African Americans have been able to get into the middle class,” he told theGrio.
In addition to the shutdown’s impact on federal workers, civil rights leaders also warned that other critical federal services, such as federal research in public health, are at risk, subsequently “delaying progress on life-saving initiatives.”
The leaders also cautioned that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be unable to review new drug applications, which will stall innovation and access to treatments, and that the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be unable to “process grants, inspect properties, fight housing discrimination, and provide housing assistance is severely diminished.
They also warned, “Federal courts are likely to run out of funding on October 17, denying people access to justice.”
The civil rights coalition added, “The White House has the duty to show leadership and bring the parties to the table to end this crisis, restore government operations, preserve millions of Americans’ access to affordable healthcare, and ensure that federal funding is used for its intended purposes—not held hostage for political gain or rescinded in contradiction of Congress’s spending power under the U.S. Constitution.”
