The Black middle class was built by federal jobs. Now drastic cuts by Trump, Musk are putting it under threat

Major cuts by the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk’s DOGE, are threatening a path to Black financial stability once offered by federal jobs.

When Francine Verdine took a job as a clerk at the Internal Revenue Service in Houston in 1983, it was supposed to be a stopgap until something better came along. She didn’t expect that 42 years later, she would look back on it as the start of a rewarding career that provided growth in various management positions, upward mobility and the opportunity to build a comfortable life for her family. 

“I enjoyed my career,” said Verdine, who retired in 2019. “I had no idea when I started that I could make the money I did by the time I left. It’s sad that many others’ opportunity to have a similar career could be over.”

For decades, the federal government provided both reliable jobs and guardrails to offset systemic racial bias in hiring and promotions, offering an alternative for Black workers who might be overlooked or ignored in the private sector. They played a crucial role in helping Black workers like Verdine join the middle class and thrive. But vast cuts by the Trump administration, led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, are threatening to close down that once-dependable path to financial stability.

The government, which has about 3 million employees, is the largest employer in the country. At least 75,000 of them accepted buyout offers  and thousands were fired in the last several weeks. Many of the workers fired were either newer hires or told they were let go for subpar performance. 

“The federal workforce was a means to help build Black middle class. It hired Black Americans at a higher rate than private employers,” said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents the Education Department employees. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-federal-job-cuts-trump-musk-dei-middle-class-rcna191704

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