Project 2025, the draconian plan supported by conservative groups to dismantle the government if Donald Trump is elected in November, was the talk of the Black Entertainment Television Awards on Sunday.
The plan, which includes everything from rolling back civil rights legislation to restricting contraception and abortion access, would effectively place the United States under authoritarian Christian nationalist rule and purge people from the government if they’re seen as disloyal to Trump. And despite all its horrors, recent reports suggest many people still don’t know about the plan.
So it was noteworthy that Project 2025 and its role in the conservative movement’s plans to unravel civil rights protections received ample attention Sunday.
Host Taraji P. Henson made multiple references to it. One came at the show's end when she encouraged viewers to research it, and another came during a midshow public service announcement.
She said:
Show up and show out when it’s time to vote, because it’s not just about the presidential election, you guys. It’s time for us to play chess, not checkers. It’s about making decisions that will affect us as human beings. Our careers, our next generations to come. Did you know that it is now a crime to be homeless? Pay attention. It’s not a secret: Look it up. They are attacking our most vulnerable citizens. The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up!
Henson went on to reference Project 2025's proposals to require mandatory national service, which could include compulsory military service and has many people concerned about the reinstitution of the draft. She also talked about the potential for the next president to seat three Supreme Court justices.
"We need those seats, or we have no protection," she warned.
During the show, she appeared in an ad with Vice President Kamala Harris, in which the two Howard University alums discussed the election and the civil rights at stake. The ad didn't explicitly mention Project 2025, but it did address the democratic principles — like bodily autonomy and voting rights — threatened by it. These kinds of messages struck me as significant.
I’ve written at length about celebrities and pop culture figures using their platforms to promote Trump and his fascistic MAGA movement. It was promising to see the BET Awards effectively used to do the opposite — at least when Henson was onstage.
Henson's messaging — and more like it — may go a long way in closing the existing information gap for many voters and Project 2025. Her words rang especially true Monday, when the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Trump's federal election interference case deeming presidents partially immune from prosecution over a wide range of actions. If Trump is elected and Project 2025 is put into action under these terms, Americans will all be living under an imperial presidency — authoritarian rule with no guaranteed end.