As media entrepreneur Roland Martin has repeatedly argued, the Trump administration’s implementation of policies aligned with Project 2025 has accelerated what he describes as the “defunding of Black America”—reducing support for education, housing, healthcare, civil rights enforcement, and economic opportunity.
For generations, Black communities relied on a combination of federal protections, civil rights enforcement, educational investments, and community institutions to create pathways toward economic mobility. As many of those supports weaken or disappear, erasing 60-100 years of civil and human rights progress, a pressing question emerges: What now?
The answer may not be found in Washington, Austin, or the courts. Increasingly, Black leaders say the solution lies in rebuilding what Black communities have built before: Our own systems.
Stop waiting for rescue
“Capital without education leads to misuse. Education without capital leads to frustration,” said Houston financial advisor Angela CeZar.
CeZar argues that Black communities must build alternative financial ecosystems capable of generating, retaining, and circulating wealth internally.
Her model begins with community investment trusts, which allow residents to invest modest monthly amounts in community-owned real estate and business assets. She also advocates investor education programs, micro-lending pools supported by churches and civic organizations, and wealth-building academies connected directly to Black-owned financial institutions where “we teach wealth skills that plug directly into Black‑controlled financial institutions.”
“The goal is not just access to capital, but retention of capital. Not just financial literacy, but financial agency,” said CeZar, stressing moving beyond individual financial success and creating systems that strengthen entire communities.
Rebuild community from the ground up
For John Nicklos II, founder of Lead 360 and chairman of Juneteenth Houston, the first step is surprisingly simple.
“Get to know your neighbors,” he said.
Nicklos believes many Black communities lost something vital during suburbanization and social fragmentation.
“We’ve always been communal,” he said. “Black people do community really well.”
Strong neighborhoods create informal support systems that can help families weather job losses, housing instability, childcare challenges, and other hardships that government programs once helped address.
“When things happen on the top line that we can’t access, what we can do is support each other,” Nicklos said.
His recommendation: Intentionally build neighborhood networks, mutual aid circles, community communication systems, and local resource-sharing groups.
Invest in Black spaces
Nicklos also believes Black communities must prioritize preserving and expanding Black-owned public spaces.
And to make this real, Nicklos suggests encouraging Black businesses to use the church tithing model.
“Make a line item for Black philanthropy, specific to Black public spaces. So many of our public spaces, our historic spaces, our cultural spaces, which become our safe spaces, and our homes, we lose them because we’re not being philanthropic,” stated Nicklos. “The same way that ingrained idea of paying tithes and offerings, that 10% every Sunday, we need to be investing in the reclamation, the revitalization, the restoration, and the preservation of our historical assets, our cultural spaces, our safe spaces.”
He points to the origins of Juneteenth celebrations as a model. After emancipation, Black Texans organized communities, purchased land, and created spaces where they could gather freely and celebrate their culture.
Today, many of those spaces face economic pressure, redevelopment threats, and declining investment.
Whether through philanthropy, community fundraising, or business sponsorships, Nicklos says Black institutions must prioritize preservation.
Build, buy, and circulate
Tamani Mwandani, founder of Black Gold Nation, believes the ultimate answer is community self-determination.
“The solution for Black America, regardless of the ailment, is community,” stated Mwandani.
He argues that Black Americans have survived slavery, Jim Crow, racial terrorism, and systemic exclusion by relying on collective action and institution-building.
“We have been through worse, and we’ve come through all of it,” he shared.
Currently, Mwandani calls for Black people to continue the current national boycott of Asian-owned businesses in response to recent viral examples of anti-Blackness as expressed by some in the U.S. and global Asian communities.
“We must capitalize on this opportunity of so many of our people being on the same page, at the same time, about the same thing,” said Mwandani. “We can’t afford another George Floyd & Black Lives Matter missed opportunity.
His strategy centers on what he calls “Block Out, Buy Out, and Build Up.”
“We must absolutely block these businesses out of our communities, buy them out if possible, and/or build up what we need and replace them. We simply can’t afford not to do this,” added Mwandani. “Billions are on the line, needed to develop our own housing, education system, healthcare, food production, and other critical systems.”
This isn’t new—it’s Black history
The good news is that Black people have done this before. Throughout American history, Black communities created mutual aid societies, benevolent associations, insurance companies, schools, churches, business districts, labor networks, and international solidarity movements when mainstream institutions excluded them.
Organizations such as the Free African Society pooled resources to provide healthcare and burial assistance. Black entrepreneurs established companies like North Carolina Mutual when traditional financial services were unavailable.
“The same way that ingrained idea of paying tithes and offerings, that 10% every Sunday, we need to be investing in the reclamation, the revitalization, the restoration, and the preservation of our historical assets, our cultural spaces, our safe spaces.”
John Nicklos II
The Universal Negro Improvement Association promoted global Black economic independence, while Black churches, Freedom Schools, and community organizations built educational and social-service networks long before government programs existed. Institution-building has always been part of the Black survival tradition.
What still needs to be built
Many leaders believe significant gaps remain. Areas needing greater Black-owned and Black-controlled infrastructure include:
- Affordable housing development
- Community land trusts
- Cooperative grocery stores
- Healthcare clinics
- Mental health services
- Credit unions and lending institutions
- Independent educational programs
- Workforce development pipelines
- Childcare networks
- Agricultural cooperatives
- Community security initiatives
- Technology and media platforms
The challenge is substantial. But many advocates argue that waiting for political change is no longer a sufficient strategy.
Houston organizations doing the work
Several Houston-area organizations are already helping build community-based solutions:
- Project Row Houses — Community development, affordable housing, and cultural preservation.
- Emancipation Economic Development Council — Black business and neighborhood revitalization.
- Houston Area Urban League — Workforce development, entrepreneurship, and housing assistance.
- The Black United Fund of Texas — Community investment and nonprofit support.
- Houston Black Chambers — Business networking, procurement opportunities, and entrepreneurship support.
- Bread of Life, Inc. — Housing, food security, and community services.
- Juneteenth Houston — Cultural preservation and civic engagement.
- Black Gold Nation — Economic self-determination and community organizing.
The message from many Black leaders is consistent: if traditional systems are disappearing, the response cannot simply be resistance. It must also be construction. Black America’s future may depend less on what gets restored and more on what gets rebuilt.
