We’ve seen this playbook before.
In the late-1940s through the 1950s, McCarthyism weaponized fear, suspicion, and state power to crush movements for social and economic justice. Under the guise of fighting communism, the U.S. government and its allies monitored, blacklisted, defunded, interrogated, and dismantled organizations that fought for racial and economic equity.
Today, history is repeating itself, but this time the target is anything federal-to-local administrations associate with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). Across the country, DEIA programs are being systematically defunded, racial justice leaders are being blacklisted, and entire institutions are retreating out of fear. The stated goal is to make equity work so politically and financially dangerous that organizations abandon it before the fight even begins.
Equity-Responsive Leaders (ERLs) must see this moment for what it is and act accordingly.
The SCEF Playbook: What Happened Then
The Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF) was founded in 1942 to fight white supremacy in the South. Led by James Dombrowski, Anne Braden, and other racial justice advocates, SCEF provided resources, legal support, and training to activists challenging segregation, including student activists in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). That made it a prime target.
During the McCarthy era, SCEF was accused of being a communist front as a tool to undermine its stated mission of racial justice. The pattern was clear:
- Surveillance & Secret Files: The FBI monitored SCEF, intercepted communications, and built secret files on its leaders and funders.
- Blacklisting: Right-wing groups and media outlets published lists of suspected communists, making SCEF leaders unemployable. Supporters faced quiet pressure to resign or cut ties.
- Government Raids: The FBI raided SCEF’s offices, seizing records and subjecting its leaders to relentless scrutiny.
- Defunding: Major donors and institutions, fearing their own reputations, withdrew funding. Without resources, SCEF eventually closed in 1981.
This was never about communism. It was—and is—about silencing movements for racial equity and economic justice. And today, the same strategy is being used to gut DEIA before it can become an American norm.
Other Black-Led Organizations Caught in the Crosshairs
SCEF’s story wasn’t unique. Throughout the mid-20th century, Black-led organizations across the country faced the same combination of government surveillance, media slander, and financial strangulation:
- Sojourners for Truth and Justice: A short-lived but influential Black women’s organization whose members were placed under intense surveillance, curtailing their activism.
- Civil Rights Congress (CRC): Its legal advocacy for victims of racially charged violence drew heavy FBI scrutiny and accusations of communist collusion.
- Council on African Affairs (CAA): Co-founded by Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois, the CAA openly connected anti-colonial struggles abroad with civil rights at home, making it a prime target for federal investigations.
- National Negro Congress (NNC): An umbrella group bringing together labor rights and civil rights, the NNC’s leadership found themselves blacklisted, forcing many to leave the movement.
Just like SCEF, these Black-led groups were portrayed as threats to “American values” simply for demanding racial equity. Brand them subversive, choke off their funding, and marginalize their leaders—that was the McCarthy-era blueprint for stifling Black-led movements at both federal and local levels.
Mary Helen Washington and the Racialized Legacy of McCarthyism
This pattern of targeting and silencing Black voices during the Red Scare has been meticulously documented by scholars like Mary Helen Washington. In her groundbreaking book, The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural Left of the 1950s, Washington examines how Black writers, artists, and activists were particularly vulnerable to McCarthy-era repression. Washington’s research indicates that for African American writers and intellectuals, being labeled ‘Red’ was often inseparable from being labeled ‘Black.’
In effect, the fearmongering around communism became a pretext for law enforcement and the media to target anyone challenging white supremacy. Washington’s work underscores that the assault on racial equity and economic justice organizations like SCEF was part of a larger agenda to derail these movements. By conflating these movements with communism, the government could discredit them in the public eye and justify the crackdown.
The Anti-DEIA Movement: The Same Tactics, A Different Name
Just as McCarthyism used the fear of communism to justify political purges, today’s anti-DEIA movement uses the fear of “wokeness” to erase hard-won racial equity progress. Florida and Texas have passed legislation severely restricting DEIA programs at public universities, threatening accreditation or funding for non-compliance. Nonprofits that center racial equity are losing funding as major donors both quietly and overtly back away from 2020 commitments. Legislation is criminalizing DEIA training, putting individuals and institutions in a position where continuing this work carries financial and legal consequences.
Blacklisting Equity Leaders & Professionals
The anti-DEIA movement has also expanded its reach beyond programs—it is going after the people who drive them. The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) published a list of Black federal employees working in health equity, exposing them to harassment and threats. DEIA consultants, educators, and HR leaders are being pushed out as companies quietly eliminate diversity roles to avoid public scrutiny. School districts are firing Black and Brown educators for teaching “divisive” topics, a direct echo of the McCarthy-era Red Scare.
Controlling the Narrative Through Fear
The greatest success of McCarthyism wasn’t only purging people from government jobs; it was also conditioning people to silence themselves. Today’s anti-DEIA movement is designed to make institutions too afraid to engage in equity work at all.
- Erasing DEIA Language: Corporations and nonprofits are quietly removing equity-focused language from mission statements to sidestep scrutiny.
- Self-Censorship: Leaders are avoiding the words “racial justice” in meetings, worried they’ll land in political crosshairs.
- Surveillance & Retaliation: Educators and activists proceed with caution, knowing their words could be twisted into a “woke” accusation.
A Strategic Call to Action for Equity-Responsive Leaders
McCarthyism thrived because institutions caved under pressure. We cannot allow the same to happen now.
- Refuse Anticipatory Compliance (a) Expose Quiet Rollbacks: Force institutions to own their retreat from DEIA commitments loudly and publicly. (b) Reject Self-Censorship: Silence is exactly what the opposition wants.
- Build Alternative Funding & Infrastructure (a) Partner with Long-Term Racial Justice Funders and Orgs: Find donors committed to sustained equity work. (b) Community-Led Financial Models: Grassroots resources can help ensure continuity without reliance on wavering institutions.
- Strengthen Networks & Collective (a) Protection Legal Defense Funds: Protect DEIA professionals from punitive measures and lawsuits. (b) Amplify Each Other’s Voices: A community approach prevents targeted individuals from being easily isolated or removed.
- Subvert the Narrative & Preserve the Truth (a) Document Rollbacks: Archive and publicly track DEIA suppression efforts for posterity. (b) Train New Leaders: Equip the next generation with historical context and movement survival strategies. (c) Own the Story: If we don’t record and share our experiences, our opponents will rewrite them.
Why Mary Helen Washington’s Work Gives Us A Path Forward
In The Other Blacklist, Mary Helen Washington reveals how McCarthy-era repression disproportionately hindered Black intellectuals and activists. By tracing the links between racial and political targeting, she shows us that these tactics have long been used to paint Black-led or Black-focused struggles as “un-American.”
Understanding this history equips us with the language and framework to recognize similar attacks on DEIA initiatives today. As we witness bans on “woke” curricula, blacklisting of diversity leaders, and legislative threats against equity programs, Washington’s scholarship reminds us that this is not a new cycle, it’s a continuation of a long-standing strategy aimed at denying Black and Brown communities’ equitable power and resources.
Conclusion
McCarthyism wasn’t merely an attack on individuals; it was a well-coordinated effort to destroy entire movements. The same tactics are being used now to dismantle DEIA because it has begun to take root and transform institutions from within.
The question for Equity-Responsive Leaders is simple: Are we going to let history repeat itself? Or are we going to fight back with clarity, strategy, and collective power?
Because this time, we know the playbook. And, thanks to scholars like Mary Helen Washington and the lessons of SCEF and its sister organizations, this time, we’re ready.
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