DOGE Cuts Kill Georgia Internet Access Program For Black People
Several federal grants designed to expand internet access for rural and Black communities as well as help fund several non-profits focused on Black healthcare in Georgia were cut as part of the DOGE endeavor earlier this year.
According to The Current, the Digital Equity Capacity Program was a federal grant intended to address the digital divide and provide high-speed internet access to rural and low-income communities, with $22 million set aside specifically for Georgia. The grant was abruptly canceled earlier this year by the Department of Commerce after Trump saw the word “equity” and immediately labeled it “a racist and illegal $2.5 billion giveaway,” on Truth Social.
The grants weren’t only designed to help Black and brown communities; seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and low-income families would have also received assistance to help catch up with the digital age. Georgia had a whole, 466-page plan outlining how they would spend the money.
It would improve cell tower service across the state as well as provide access to fiber optic internet in rural communities such as McIntosh County. A third of McIntosh’s population is Black and the county has a median income of $50,000, which is $25k less than the state at large.
The plan would also expand telehealth services to those rural and low-income communities, as well as upgrade digital literacy to help identify cyber and telephone scammers. Speaking as a man with a Black grandmother, I know firsthand that our elders are especially susceptible to misinformation and scammers. With scammers getting more sophisticated and more robust, this is information that would help protect some of our most vulnerable.
The Georgia DOGE cuts didn’t stop at digital equity, they also targeted the Georgia Department of Public Health and various grants that would help improve the lives of Georgia’s Black population.
The Georgia-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lost $334 million in funding due to federal funding cuts earlier this year. As a result, several non-profits focused on Black health in Georgia have lost funding. The Center for Black Women’s Wellness lost $438,000 as a result of the DOGE cuts. BLKHLTH Inc., a non-profit focused on vaccine equity in Georgia’s Black community, said they would lose nearly $500,000.
“We are a small nonprofit and this was a million-dollar reimbursable grant, so that was a large percentage of our anticipated budget for the year,” BLKHLTH co-founder Kadijah Ameen told GPB.
One of the most notable, and dangerous, funding cuts revolves around HIV/AIDS research and prevention. The Trump administration has already tried to withhold congressionally approved funding for nonprofits focused on HIV research and sexual health within the LGBTQ community. Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” cuts funding for HIV research, surveillance, and prevention efforts.
Federal funding cuts to HIV research and prevention efforts would especially hit Georgia’s Black population. Black people are only 31 percent of Georgia’s population, yet make up 67 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the state.
There’s a lot of noise (for good reason) about the various atrocities and absurdities committed by the Trump administration on a daily basis. Yet the most insidious evil of the current administration is the way it has managed to weaponize the dollar to cause undue harm to Black, brown, and most vulnerable communities.
SEE ALSO:
Are DOGE’s Massive Layoffs Hurting Black Workers?
Related Posts
About The Author
