Black Mayors Push Back on Trump’s Crime Rhetoric — What It Means for Communities Here at Home

Black Mayors Push Back on Trump’s Crime Rhetoric — What It Means for Communities Here at Home

By lwilliams@semourbanvoices.com - August 27, 2025

When Donald Trump dispatched National Guard troops into Washington, D.C. branding  it a “crime-ridden wasteland” and sending in 800 National Guard troops, it wasn’t just the nation’s capital under scrutiny. Trump’s remarks and threats of similar actions in other cities—naming Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland—carry a striking pattern: every one of those cities is led by a Black mayor.

“It gives us an opportunity to say we need to amplify our voices to confront the rhetoric that crime is just running rampant around major U.S. cities. It’s just not true,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, president of the African American Mayors Association. “It’s not supported by any evidence or statistics whatsoever.”

To many across the Midwest and South, including right here in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, the message was clear: the federal government is targeting Black-led cities with a narrative of failure, despite clear evidence that violent crime is actually dropping.

“It gives us an opportunity to say we need to amplify our voices to confront the rhetoric that crime is just running rampant around major U.S. cities. It’s just not true,” said Savannah, Georgia, Mayor Van Johnson, president of the African American Mayors Association.

The statistics tell a different story Crime Is Falling, Not Rising

Contrary to Trump’s claims, violent crime is falling across several major cities.

• Washington, D.C.: Metropolitan Police data shows violent crime has dropped since peaking in 2023.
• Chicago: Mayor Brandon Johnson highlighted “historic progress,” with homicides down more than 30% and shootings nearly 40% lower in the past year.
• Los Angeles: Homicides fell 14% between 2023 and 2024. Mayor Karen Bass called Trump’s intervention “a performative power grab.”
• Baltimore: Homicides and shootings have been declining steadily since 2022. In 2023, carjackings fell 20%, while most other major crimes decreased in 2024.
• Oakland: Midyear reports for 2025 show a 21% drop in homicides and nearly a 30% reduction in overall violent crime.

Mayors credit youth engagement programs, gun buybacks, community partnerships, and treating violence as a public health crisis — not just a law enforcement problem.

“These results show that we’re on the right track,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said. “We’re going to keep building on this progress.”

What It Means for Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois

While Trump hasn’t targeted smaller communities like Cape Girardeau, Sikeston, Carbondale, or Cairo, his rhetoric matters. Federal policy decisions often trickle down, shaping funding, policing priorities, and the national perception of Black communities everywhere.

In Baltimore and Oakland, local officials credit much of their progress to community-based organizations that build trust and tackle the roots of violence. Here in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, grassroots groups and churches have been doing similar work — providing mentorship for youth, food distribution in neighborhoods lacking grocery stores, and violence prevention through outreach.

The concern is that if federal interventions in larger, Black-led cities favor militarized policing over community-driven solutions, those same strategies could be pushed into smaller majority-Black towns like Cairo, Illinois, which has long struggled with disinvestment and negative portrayals.

“Trump is exploiting crime as a wedge issue and a dog whistle,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said. “He has actively undermined efforts that are making a difference saving lives in cities across the country in favor of militarized policing of Black communities.”

A Dangerous Precedent

The Trump actions set a dangerous precedent — one that paints Black leadership as synonymous with failure, no matter what the facts show. It’s a narrative that could also discourage investment in smaller, predominantly Black communities across the Midwest and South.

Nicole Lee, who leads Oakland’s Urban Peace Movement, put it simply: “The things we are doing are working. But bringing in military forces creates fear, not safety.”

That fear isn’t limited to Oakland or Baltimore. Many already worry that heavy-handed approaches to policing will fall hardest on Black youth and families, rather than addressing poverty, unemployment, or lack of healthcare access.

Watching What Happens Next

For now, Black mayors across the nation are standing with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has filed suit against the federal takeover. Leaders here at home are watching closely.

“Black mayors are resilient. We are intrinsically children of struggle,” said Savannah’s Mayor Johnson. “We learn to adapt quickly, and I believe that we will, and we are.”

For Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, the lesson is clear: solutions that work — from youth programs to community partnerships — must not be erased or overshadowed by politics. What happens in big cities today could shape the options for smaller communities tomorrow.

Local Spotlight: Community Safety Efforts in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois

While Trump paints a picture of “crime-ridden” cities, communities across Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois are quietly proving that grassroots solutions can reduce violence, strengthen neighborhoods, and offer hope.

A few local examples that mirror strategies credited with success in larger cities:

Cape Girardeau

• South Side Farms: Food access, this project serves as a hub for health, wellness, and youth programs — addressing the root causes of violence by fighting hunger and poverty.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Missouri: Recently expanding with a permanent facility, the club provides after-school programming, mentorship, and safe spaces for young people, reducing risks of involvement in crime.

Sikeston

• Return to Sunset Celebration: This annual cultural event isn’t just about music and food — it’s about reclaiming public space, building pride, and strengthening community bonds, which research shows helps curb violence.
• Local Church Outreach: Lincoln University Extension and Sikeston’s Black churches remain key partners in keeping young people engaged, whether through sports leagues, scholarships, or counseling programs.

Cairo, Illinois

• Grassroots Mentorship Programs: Many former residents who relocated still return to mentor youth and support community organizations, ensuring young people see positive examples.
• Rise Community Market More: than a grocery store working to address the food dessert. Once revised it will provide healthy food access and serve as a hub for wellness, youth programs, and community pride.
• Oral History and Cultural Preservation: Ongoing projects to document Cairo’s Black history give residents — especially youth — a sense of ownership in their city, building resilience against negative stereotypes.

Why It Matters

Local organizations are showing that community safety grows from opportunity, culture, and connections, not from federal crackdowns or military patrols.

For communities like Cape, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff the Bootheel and Cairo, that means solutions tailored to local needs from food access to cultural pride —