State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession

State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession is the product of a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of Joint Center staff, fellows, and trusted external partners. Key takeaways include:

• Financial Deregulation and Digital Assets: The dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the uneven, largely untested shift in cryptocurrency and other digital asset regulations have left Black communities disproportionately vulnerable to predatory fees, discriminatory lending, and financial fraud, while shifting the burden of protection to states, researchers, and community institutions that cannot fully replace federal enforcement.
• Broadband Policy: The Trump administration’s turning away from equity scoring, the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act, the removal of mobile hotspot and school bus Wi-Fi connectivity from E-Rate eligibility, and weakened broadband pricing transparency requirements undermine the structural supports designed to broaden access and adoption and could reduce the number of Black households with internet access.
• Social Media Policy: While federal social media policy has remained largely unchanged, the most significant developments in the online information ecosystem have come from platform-driven policy changes where social media platforms have pulled back on fact-checking and censorship.
• Artificial Intelligence: President Trump, through his executive order, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, shifted away from precautionary regulation toward a more deregulatory, innovation-driven posture. The rescission marks a sharp departure from the prior focus on civil rights, transparency, and safety in federal AI policy.