It was during the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration that the press and the public began to mark and review the president’s first 100 days in office. It has since been used as a prism through which we can get a sense of their priorities and their upcoming Agenda.
During his first 100 days, Roosevelt pushed through a wide range of legislative and regulatory actions, including declaring a bank holiday to stop the the disastrous run on the banks, taking America off the gold standard, and pushing through legislation for farmers, homeowners, and the unemployed. He also passed amendments to the Volstead Act, which had created prohibition.
Although many presidents have tried to match the popularity and success of Roosevelt’s 100-day legacy, the one that comes the closest is Ronald Reagan who pushed through 83 major program changes and laid the groundwork for later passing 834 amendments to the budget, 151 lesser budgetary actions, and 60 additional pieces of legislation (all within the first two years). Reagan’s political agenda was largely guided by the Heritage Foundation’s 1981 publication “The Mandate for Leadership (i.e. “Project 1981”). He wrote 60% of its recommendations into public policy in his first year in office and many lower-and middle-income Americans suffered because of it.
The first 100 days actually do matter, particularly in this moment.
Wednesday, April 30th marks the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, which already includes 124 Executive orders; attacks on and cancellation of DEI policies; sweeping changes to the immigration policy coupled with mass arrests and deportations; threats to universities along with cuts/freezes to their federal funding; and, massive layoffs, forced retirements, data breaches, and concerns across every federal governmental agency. It is a time of change and instability, and it is a time to lean in even when we would rather lean out. This is where the Freedom to Learn Network comes in.
National Week of Action
Led by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) in partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and other civil rights organizations, the Freedom to Learn National Week of Action will have a variety of ways to get activated in Washington, DC, and across the country.
From April 27 to May 4, civil rights groups and our allies will be uniting across the country under the Freedom to Learn National Week of Action banner to send a clear message to Washington: #HandsOffOurHistory. Our critical institutions are under attack, including but not limited to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The goal is to erase Black history and corrode the guardrails that protect all of us. We will not let this happen as we know that any effort to erase Black history, voices and culture is an effort to erase Black lives and upend democracy itself.
On Wednesday, April 30th, we will be hosting our Second National Convening, a virtual Under the Blacklight conversation that will provide an assessment of what the first 100 days have meant for Black communities, history and knowledge and outline why we must robustly defend our freedom to learn Black History if we hope to save our democracy. Our panel features Kimberlé Crenshaw, AAPF’s Executive Director; Kaye Wise Whitehead, President of ASALH; Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League; and, Shavon Arline Bradley, President of the National Council of Negro Women who will each highlight the threat of these attacks on Black history, why it is vital to commemorate this history in physical spaces and how this is connected to the broader assault on racial justice and democracy.
Stay tuned for a calendar of activations and more information on how you can show up in your community to demonstrate to our leaders that they should keep their hands off Black history and Black culture.
