NEW YORK — In what was the first national gathering of Black American political leaders and influencers since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, attendees at the 2025 National Action Network (NAN) Convention set a tone of defiance against the administration’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and policies that help people of color.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, scholar Michael Eric Dyson, as well as relatives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner were among many who shared their frustrations with the administration during the four days of the meeting. The theme was “Being a Light in Dark Times.” The Rev. Al Sharpton is founder and president of NAN.
During a fireside chat with Sharpton, Moore spoke out against the attacks from the Trump White House on DEI initiatives and the teaching of Black history.
“Loving your country doesn’t mean lying about its history,” Moore said. “The reason this is being done is because they do not want people to understand their power.”
Other leaders acknowledged that the timing of state-level lawsuits attacking Trump policies and announced right after the president’s Jan. 20 inauguration was by design.
“We filed legal actions, lawsuits, briefs to combat President Trump’s illegal efforts, winning temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions,” Letitia James said during a speech.
She and four other attorneys general — Matthew Platkin of New Jersey, Aaron Ford of Nevada, William Tong of Connecticut, and Phil Weiser of Colorado — were at the conference.
“We anticipated this,” James said of the parade of efforts by the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, to make widespread cuts across government. “And, each and every day he files an illegal executive order, we strike back.”
Leaders also admonished the administration for its efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the umbrella agency that manages public schools, colleges and universities, and other institutions.
Particularly at risk are programs for students with intellectual developmental disabilities and Title 1 programs, which provide additional funding and resources for schools in lower-income areas. Black and Brown students would likely be disproportionately affected.
The danger of Trump’s mission is that it will put power back into states that would otherwise have no incentive to fund certain schools and programs, said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the country’s largest labor union.
“They don’t want us to challenge what they’re doing, but we will not be fooled, and we will not stand by while they take money from our public schools and give it to private schools for the richest 1 percent,” Pringle said.
The labor leader added that every level of government has a responsibility to expand and defend educational rights for students, educators and more. She urged individuals to make themselves heard by coming forward and sharing their stories, as well as to independently convene groups with educators and community members.
“We need you to tell real stories about how the dismantling of the Department of Education is impacting you; we need you to break it down. Put a name to that story. Put a face to what’s happening,” Pringle said, advising members of the public to text “Action” to the number 48744 to stay connected to the NEA.
On the anniversary of the April 4, 1968, assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the late King’s sons, Martin Luther King III, said during a session that progressives must ignore attempts by the administration to derail them. The younger Kind made reference to the administration’s declassification of the remaining assassination records related to the killings of King and President John F. Kennedy.
“It’s not about anything of substance, it’s about discrediting and diminishing (MLK),” the younger King said.
Black America and progressives must fight all of the administration’s moves, King added.
“We can’t allow our freedoms to be diminished,” King said, speaking about the need for individuals to push back against this administration’s efforts. “Their hope is we don’t do anything and if it doesn’t get challenged, they can go ahead and do it. We can’t and we won’t allow that.”
Words of defiance also came from a session titled “From Grief to Action” moderated by Ben Crump and featuring mothers of unarmed Black victims in several cases that gained major notoriety — Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner, Pamela Dias, mother of Ajike “A.J.” Owens, and Wanda Cooper-Jones, mother of Ahmaud Arbery. The panel also included Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, and New York City Coucnilmember Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five.
Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York City council and a mayoral candidate, may have best summarized the meeting’s purpose.
“We are not going back, Donald Trump, to where our civil rights were taken away from us,” she said. “We are not going back, Donald Trump, because we are not afraid of your stance, your stature, and your ignorance.”
