12 Ways the Trump Administration Dismantled Civil Rights Law and the Foundations of Inclusive Democracy in its First Year

Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

One year after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, a pattern emerges. Across dozens of executive orders, agency memos, funding decisions and enforcement changes, the administration has weakened federal civil rights law and the foundations of the country’s racially inclusive democracy.

From the start, the U.S. was not built to include everyone equally. The Constitution protected and promoted slavery. Most states limited voting to white men. Congress...