Onyx Impact’s CEO Says White House Fails to Challenge Its Analysis of Federal Health Cuts on Black Community
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AC JosepH Media
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Axios over the weekend published a detailed report on the findings of Onyx Impact’s Blackout Report, which documents $3.4 billion in federal cuts and 15,723 verified instances of policy-driven harm to Black communities in 2025.
The Axios story summarizes key quantitative impacts, the disappearance of public datasets, and the implications of reduced federal investment in Black health, infrastructure, and economic opportunity.
Following publication of these findings, the Trump White House issued a response citing claims federal research agencies were “politicized,” and stating that the administration is working to restore the “Gold Standard of Science,” — reaffirming plans to remove equity programs across the country.
The response also cited selective, dubious accomplishments with no impact evidence.
Onyx Impact Response
Onyx Impact is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, education, and digital innovation hub dedicated to empowering Black communities and exposing and countering the information threats that undermine Black progress.
Esosa Osa, Founder and CEO of Onyx Impact, issued the following statement:
“Smokescreens won’t change the facts. Onyx Impact has provided a transparent, publicly accessible dataset that allows journalists, researchers, and policymakers to independently verify each data point. The Blackout Report includes confirmed documentation of 15,723 examples of harm and $3.4 billion in reduced federal support to programs serving Black communities. To date, none of the documented data points have been challenged.”
“The administration’s comment does not address the specific cuts identified in the Blackout Report, including the $9.4 million reduction in Sickle Cell Disease research and treatment supports. Sickle Cell Disease disproportionately affects Black Americans, and the affected families and clinicians deserve clarity on the status of those funds. And that is just one example of the many identified in this report.”
“The purpose of the Blackout Report is to ensure public access to reliable information, provide verifiable evidence of federal program changes, and support informed policy discussions based on transparent, replicable data. We remain committed to providing this resource and welcome any data-driven engagement with its contents.”
The Axios Story
The Axios article cited findings from the Blackout Report, including:
- $3.4 billion in cuts or freezes to grants for HBCUs, public health research, and Black entrepreneurship
- 6,769 deleted federal datasets
- 591 books by Black authors banned in Pentagon-run schools and libraries
Link to Axios story: axios.com/2025/11/29/funding-cuts-erasing-black-history-blackout-report
Link to the Blackout Report: blackoutreport.org
Organization website: onyximpact.org
Why Transparency Matters
When public datasets become unavailable and programmatic impacts are not documented, it limits the ability of citizens, journalists, researchers, and policymakers to evaluate outcomes or assess institutional performance.
The Blackout Report serves as a mechanism for preserving evidence, summarizing quantifiable impact, and offering policy recommendations for information transparency and data stewardship.
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