Journalist, author, Lewis W. Diuguid: White Is the New Black: Racism, Trump, and America’s Reckoning

Journalist and author Lewis W. Diuguid makes a bold argument: the same systemic racism that once united white colonists against British rule may again serve as a catalyst — not through solidarity, but through shared suffering. In this episode, we explore how deep-rooted racial biases helped pave the way for Donald Trump’s second term, including America’s resistance to a Black woman ascending to the presidency. But more urgently, we ask: what happens when white Americans begin to feel the sting of the very injustices long endured by black and brown communities? Drawing inspiration from the 1619 Project and the tragic legacy of Dr. Charles Drew — denied proper care in a segregated system he helped improve — Diuguid proposes a shocking reversal: White Americans are now facing a form of racialized treatment once reserved for the marginalized. From overpriced, low-quality healthcare to food deserts and job scarcity, we explore whether this erosion of privilege might finally awaken a broader movement for change. Could recognizing this shared oppression be the unlikely way out of the Trump-era malaise? Lewis W. Diuguid is a multimedia consultant, lecturer, freelance writer and editor, certified diversity facilitator. He is a former columnist, editorial board member, op-ed page editor, and letters editor at The Kansas City Star, as well as a published author. He is a St. Louis native and worked more than 39 years as a journalist with The Kansas City Star, rising to vice president of community resources responsible for the newspaper’s philanthropic and outreach efforts in the community. He wrote an award-winning column for The Kansas City Star for 30 years and served on the editorial board from 1999 to 2016. He is the recipient of many awards, including the 2000 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and the 2017 Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from Harvard University. Diuguid is a member of the National Association Black Journalists, Kansas City Association of  Black Journalists (president 1986, secretary 1987, vice president 1993, treasurer since 1994), National Society Newspaper Columnists, Monroe Trotter Group of Black Voices in Commentary. He serves as chair of the Political Action Committee for the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), which honored him with the Carter G. Woodson Service Award in 2014. Books by Lewis W. Diuguid: • Exploring Cuba: Erasing Fears through Multicultural Education [with Bette Tate-Beaver] • Our Fathers: Making Black Men • Discovering the Real America: Toward a More Perfect Union • A Teacher’s Cry: Expose the Truth about Education Today Lewis' current reading list: Jim Hightower   Thieves in High Places: They've Stolen Our Country and It's Time to Take It Back Malcolm Gladwell   Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About People We Don't Know Derrick A. Bell   Faces at the Bottom of the Well:  The Permanence of Racism   Host/producer/engineer:  Donna Morrow Wolfe