For Immediate Release: July 23, 2025
Media Contact: media@colorofchange.org

COLOR OF CHANGE RESPONDS TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S AI ACTION PLAN CALLING FOR AN APPROACH TO REGULATION THAT DOES NOT FURTHER HARM BLACK COMMUNITIES

NATIONAL – Today, as the Trump administration released their AI Action Plan prioritizing government resources to expand the AI industry, Color Of Change joined over 80 organizations in demanding a People’s AI Action Plan that centers the needs of everyday Americans over Big Tech profits. The statement acknowledges that the unrestrained expansion of AI will have major implications on the lives of everyday people–driving grocery costs up, worsening pollution in the air and water, threatening data privacy, and spreading misinformation in the media. 

The Trump plan’s key pillars, dismantling regulatory oversight, accelerating industrial AI capacity, and prioritizing tech industry growth at all costs, directly threaten Black communities who already bear the brunt of technological harm. These policies would expand surveillance, harm the environment around Black communities, and discriminate against Black people without any checks and balances.

Color Of Change has been at the forefront of the fight for digital safety and tech accountability for over a decade. From our successful campaigns against discriminatory algorithms on Facebook to our work ensuring Airbnb couldn’t profit from slave plantations, we’ve consistently shown that racial justice and tech justice are inseparable. Our 2024 Black Tech Agenda: Advancing Equity and Reimagining Technology laid out a comprehensive vision for how technology must serve Black communities, not exploit them.

Portia Allen-Kyle, Interim Executive Director of Color Of Change, issued the following statement:

“For years, Color Of Change has led the fight to protect Black communities from tech exploitation. Trump’s AI Action Plan makes our work more urgent than ever. This plan accelerates every harm we’ve been fighting: algorithms that deny Black families homes and jobs, surveillance systems that criminalize our neighborhoods, and data centers that poison our children.

“This is racial justice work at its core. When facial recognition wrongfully arrests Black people at rates 5 times higher than whites, that’s a civil rights crisis. When AI lending algorithms reject 80% of qualified Black applicants, that’s digital redlining. When tech companies build polluting infrastructure in Black neighborhoods without consent, that’s environmental racism.

“Congress must pass comprehensive AI civil rights legislation that includes mandatory bias audits, community consent for tech infrastructure, and real penalties for discriminatory AI. The Trump administration wants to turn America into a playground for unregulated AI experimentation. But we’ve stopped tech giants before, and we’ll do it again. The future of AI will be decided by the people, not billionaires.”

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ABOUT COLOR OF CHANGE:

Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by millions of members, we move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.