The Political Issues Still Impacting Black Women in 2026: How We Organize for Our Power

Black women have always been the backbone of American democracy. We are the organizers, the strategists, the caretakers, the cultural architects. Yet, in 2026, we are navigating a political landscape that continues to undermine our safety, our autonomy, and our economic stability. From the sweeping implications of Project 2025 to the ongoing fight for reproductive justice, the policies shaping this moment are not abstract. They are lived. They are felt. They are reshaping the daily realities of Black women across the country.

One of the clearest signs of this shift is the disappearance of more than 300,000 Black women from the workforce in 2025. That loss wasn’t accidental. It was the result of policy choices, economic pressures, and the erosion of protections that once helped us stay afloat. And the impact of that displacement is still unfolding in 2026.

This moment demands clarity, courage, and collective action. Here’s what we’re facing and how we continue to build power in the midst of it.

Project 2025 and the Restructuring of Federal Power

Project 2025 is not just a policy agenda. It is a coordinated effort to reshape the federal government in ways that weaken civil rights protections, restrict bodily autonomy, and roll back decades of progress. By the end of 2025, many of its recommendations were already in motion, and the effects are landing hardest on Black women.

The rollback of civil rights and DEI protections means fewer safeguards against discrimination in hiring, pay, housing, and education. For Black women, who already face the widest wage gaps, this deepens economic vulnerability. Attacks on reproductive rights further limit our ability to make decisions about our bodies and our futures. Narrowing definitions of gender and race threatens the safety and legal protections of Black LGBTQ+ women and girls. And weakening labor enforcement agencies leaves us more exposed to wage theft, harassment, and unsafe working conditions.

These shifts are directly connected to the disappearance of 300,000 Black women from the workforce. When civil rights enforcement weakens, when childcare becomes unaffordable, when wages stagnate, when public-sector jobs are cut, Black women are the first to feel the impact. The consequences are long-term: loss of income, loss of generational wealth, reduced access to healthcare, and shrinking representation in leadership spaces. Project 2025 is not just shaping government. It is reshaping the economic landscape Black women must survive in.

Abortion Access and the Fight for Reproductive Justice

Reproductive justice remains one of the most urgent political battles of 2026. After the fall of Roe, states with large Black populations enacted some of the harshest abortion bans in the country. Today, nearly seven million Black women live in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted.

This crisis hits Black women hardest because we already face the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. Many of us live in maternity care deserts with limited access to OB-GYNs or birthing centers. Restrictions on medication abortion and mail-order access disproportionately affect low-income and rural Black women. And the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes increases surveillance of Black mothers, especially those navigating poverty or unstable housing.

Reproductive justice and economic justice are inseparable. When Black women lose control over our reproductive lives, we lose control over our economic futures. Many of the 300,000 Black women pushed out of the workforce in 2025 were navigating unpredictable childcare, pregnancy-related health risks, lack of paid leave, and job discrimination tied to caregiving. Abortion access is not a single-issue fight. It is a fight for our autonomy, our safety, and our ability to build stable, thriving lives.

Economic and Health Inequities Deepened by Policy

Black women have always worked. We have always carried more than our share. But in 2026, the economic landscape is even more precarious.

We are still navigating wage gaps that have barely moved in decades. Cuts to public health funding reduce access to preventive care and culturally competent providers. Environmental rollbacks increase pollution in Black neighborhoods, worsening asthma, cancer risks, and chronic illness. Threats to SNAP, Medicaid, and childcare subsidies destabilize families who already carry the weight of caregiving and community support.

The racial wealth gap continues to increase debt burdens, and pushed more families into housing insecurity. It has also reduced the number of Black women in leadership pipelines, which means fewer of us in rooms where decisions are made. This is not just an economic issue. It is a political one. Policies created the crisis. Policies can also undo it.

How Black Women Can Stay Involved and Make Our Voices Heard

Even in the face of systemic barriers, Black women have always organized, strategized, and led. Our power is collective, cultural, and deeply rooted. And in 2026, our voices matter more than ever.

Staying informed is a form of protection. Following Black-led policy organizations, hosting political check-ins with friends, and sharing resources in our group chats and community spaces helps us stay grounded in the truth of what’s happening around us.

Voting in every election, especially local ones, is essential. Local governments determine abortion access, school curriculum, policing, housing, and public health funding. These decisions shape our daily lives more than most federal agencies ever will.

Supporting Black women–led advocacy organizations strengthens the work happening on the ground. Groups like In Our Own Voice, Black Women’s Health Imperative, SisterSong, and local reproductive justice collectives are fighting for our safety and our futures.

Contacting representatives is still one of the most effective tools we have. It takes minutes to call or email and say clearly that you oppose policies restricting reproductive freedom, that you support civil rights protections, and that you expect your leaders to protect Black women’s health, safety, and economic stability.

Finally, building community power is how we’ve always survived. Civic circles, town halls, voter registration drives, mutual aid networks, mentorship for younger Black girls stepping into their political voice, these are the spaces where our power multiplies.

Black women have always been the architects of change. We don’t wait for permission. We build the world we need.

What are some of the political concerns you have for 2026 and how is it impacting your friends, family, and neighborhoods?