Blackout: The Real-World Cost of Erasing, Distorting, and Suppressing Black Progress
A comprehensive analysis by Onyx Impact
About the Report
THE BLACKOUT REPORT
Black history and Black futures are under coordinated attack. This is not just about deleting stories or banning books—it’s a deliberate nationwide strategy to erase, distort, and suppress Black excellence, truth, and opportunity.
These tactics are sophisticated, the impacts are deep, and the stakes are generational.
This is a disinformation campaign designed to seize illegitimate power and control, using “DEI” as a smokescreen to justify harm.
These tactics are sophisticated, the impacts are deep, and the stakes are generational.
Quick Highlights
federal datasets erased
(CDC, Census, DOJ, FDA)
Black books banned in 2025 across 21 states
in federal grants cut or frozen
Documented impact points
PUTTING BLACK HEALTH, WEALTH, AND FUTURES ON THE LINE
First-of-its-kind Report
This is the first report of its kind—built from thousands of real-world data points nationwide. The harm is not theoretical: Black jobs lost, grants slashed, data deleted, and opportunities blocked, all in just 8 months. Together, we must expose this strategy, push back against the lies, and protect our future.
Black jobs lost, grants slashed, data deleted, and opportunities blocked
These tactics echo the backlash after Reconstruction
when Black progress was systematically erased and rewritten. Today’s campaign is faster, digital, and risks unprecedented, lasting harm.
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ADD TO THE RECORD
Have you witnessed or documented an erasure, distortion, or suppression event?
Help us build the record. Share specific examples—such as deleted data, banned books, cut programs, or policy changes. Together we can strengthen the evidence base and hold power to account.
This report is central to Onyx Impact’s mission: empowering Black communities by exposing and countering information threats that undermine Black progress. The Blackout Report is the result of rigorous, data-driven research conducted over the last five months—documenting the real, material impact of this coordinated campaign.
© 2025 THE BLACKOUT REPORT. All Rights Reserved
A comprehensive analysis by Onyx Impact. Onyx Impact is a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan nonprofit organization. Onyx Impact is powered by community. Stay connected—sign up for updates and action alerts.