Earlier this year, the Trump administration pulled billions of dollars of federal funding from Democratic states, risking affordability for essential services such as affordable food and healthcare.

Here in San Diego, County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe saw the impact trickle down to the community she represents.

District 4 contains unincorporated areas, which are parts of the county that do not have their own mayor. The City Council is solely responsible for its funding and upkeep. 

Montgomery Steppe knows what it would mean for those areas and their residents if proper funding was taken away.

“We are looking at losing $300-400 billion from the federal government to feed people, and for quality and different (options for) healthcare,” Montgomery Steppe said. “So what are we going to do within our community to help our community members?”

Montgomery Steppe and San Diego City Councilmember Henry Foster III were among the speakers addressing attendees at the fourth annual Black Educators Networking Event at San Diego City College on Feb. 27, shedding light on the struggles the Black community is facing in employment and higher education.

The event marked the end of the campus’ Black History Month Celebration, inviting members of the Black community at City College to connect and celebrate their heritage.

DEI rollbacks have become a significant issue for Black people seeking jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since Trump’s inauguration there has been a sharp decrease in employment opportunities for marginalized groups, being especially brutal on Black women. 

By December 2025, the unemployment rate for Black women soared to 7.5%, the second-highest rate in the previous four years. Only November 2025 was higher at 8.2%.

Some at the event, like Montgomery Steppe, the first Black woman to be elected to her position in San Diego, emphasized the importance of diversity in the workforce and the hardships following the funding cuts.

Others like Lashawna Patterson, a human resources specialist for San Diego County, are holding onto hope for the future.

“You’re seeing more and more of the Democratic vote coming through, more minorities, more younger people are participating in politics now and making their voices known,” Patterson said. “And a lot of them aren’t going to stand for what’s going on, so I think we’re seeing the beginning of it starting to overturn itself already.”

This story was edited by Tresean Osgood.