What happened to the Black women Trump purged from the federal workforce?
Constance Franklin, a 49-year-old Black woman, was among nearly 300,000 federal employees fired in 2025, with Black women making up 33% of the cuts despite comprising only 12% of the federal labor force. The Trump administration's job cuts disproportionately affected Black women, particularly those working in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Constance Franklin worked at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 24 years before being fired on April Fools' Day 2025 due to a reduction in force. The cuts were part of Elon Musk's initiative to streamline federal agencies, known as the Department of Government Efficiency. Black women were disproportionately affected, making up 33% of the nearly 300,000 federal jobs slashed. An analysis by the National Women's Law Center found that women and people of color were the majority of employees hit by the Trump administration's job cuts. The hardest-hit agencies included housing, veterans affairs, education, and health and human services. Franklin, a recently divorced mother of three, is now struggling to find a new job with comparable pay to her former $144,000 annual salary.
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