AMATEUR HOUR AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Chaos in the Market, Catastrophe in the Community: How Trump’s Tariff Tantrums Wreck the Black Economy in Inner Cities.

AMATEUR HOUR AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Chaos in the Market, Catastrophe in the Community: How Trump’s Tariff Tantrums Wreck the Black Economy in Inner Cities. By Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr. | https://youtu.be/Oq5VTBgKjcY?si=IUp7HPIBntHQoMn3

As a pastor, civil rights leader, and community organizer, I’ve stood at the intersection of policy and poverty long enough to know that reckless economic decisions made in Washington don’t just rattle stock markets—they shatter real lives.

Donald Trump’s self-serving, shortsighted tariff war may have played well on cable news, but in our communities, it played out like an eviction notice. His trade tantrums—unleashed without consultation, compassion, or concern—pushed fragile Black inner-city economies to the brink. And years later, we’re still paying the price.

Let me be clear: Trump’s trade policies weren’t just amateur. They were abusive. They weren’t about national security or sound economic strategy. They were political theater—designed to divide, distract, and deliver red meat to a base unconcerned with who got trampled in the process. And too often, it was us.

The Black Economy Is Real—and Under Attack

Contrary to how Washington behaves, Black economies do exist. And they matter. They thrive in barbershops, beauty salons, corner stores, Black farms, coffee houses, and churches. They are born from ingenuity, built on struggle, and sustained through community.

But they are also vulnerable—starved of capital, bypassed by big banks, and buried under a mountain of structural racism. So when tariffs triggered spikes in supply chain costs, Black-owned businesses—especially those in underserved urban areas—were the first to feel the heat.

Imports like coffee beans, hair care products, produce, and construction materials became unaffordable. Operating costs skyrocketed. Loans dried up. Margins vanished. Projects stalled. And in too many cases, doors closed for good.

Meanwhile, corporations got bailouts. Billionaires got tax cuts. But Black entrepreneurs got buried beneath bureaucracy, bad faith, and broken promises.

A Community in Crisis, a Market in Chaos

In our inner cities, the damage is still unfolding. Food prices are up. Rents are soaring. Wages are stagnant. And public-private partnerships once promised as lifelines have all but disappeared. Black-owned businesses, already undercapitalized, now face rising costs and declining foot traffic.

What’s worse, many of the companies that pledged inclusion during the racial reckoning of 2020 have quietly scaled back their commitments. Diversity teams have been dissolved. Equity initiatives have been de-funded. The few gains we made are being rolled back—and the silence from Washington is deafening.

This is what Trump’s economic legacy looks like in Black America. Not job growth. Not manufacturing miracles. But stagnation, abandonment, and survival mode.

Capitulation in Disguise

Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day,” when he claimed victory over his self-made trade war, was no celebration in our community. It was a cruel joke. Because liberation without repair is just capitulation wrapped in propaganda.

He started a fire, then handed us a bucket of ashes.

And once again, Black communities were excluded from both the decision-making table and the rescue package. Once again, policies were crafted without us, but paid for by us. Once again, power was exercised irresponsibly—and we bore the cost.

Time for a Liberation Economy

This is bigger than politics. This is about economic justice. It’s about building a liberation economy—one that invests directly in Black communities, incubates our entrepreneurs, and restores what predatory policy has stolen.

We need trade policies that don’t just benefit boardrooms in Manhattan, but storefronts in Stop Six. We need small business grants that don’t require a Ph.D. to access. We need infrastructure projects that hire local workers and build lasting wealth.

We need Washington to stop seeing our neighborhoods as charity cases and start recognizing them as innovation hubs.

Final Word

Amateur hour at the White House may be over, but the damage remains. And while Donald Trump moves on to his next rally or courtroom, we’re still here—fighting to hold our communities together with duct tape and prayer.

We can’t afford another presidency powered by ego and ignorance. Our future requires vision, strategy, and moral courage. Because if we don’t build a new economy—one by us, for us, and through us—then the next crisis will come, and once again, we’ll be left to clean up the mess.

Enough is enough. It’s time to end the experiments. It’s time to fund the future.

⸻

Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.

President, Ministers Justice Coalition of Texas

Pastor, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church

Founder, Coffeeaires and the Inner-City Coffee Exchange