Tell-It Report: Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Could Have Long-Term Impact on Black Children, Advocates Say

Nearly 60% of Black youth in the U.S. rely on Medicaid, according to a recent NAACP report.

(Envato/ContrabancCamp)

In Gullah Geechee communities, a "tell-it" was a designated lookout, community warning system and the most trusted source for news and information. The Tell-It Report is ContrabandCamp’s weekly roundup of the Black stories that deserve more attention — from politics to entertainment.

The Trump administration’s looming Medicaid cuts will more than likely impact Black kids and teens, 60% of whom rely on the program.

Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver is fighting to keep control of her Tennessee distillery.

Black salons and hair care businesses are facing major blows due to tariffs imposed on imports from China and Vietnam.

Read the full stories below:

Medicaid cuts could hurt Black children, advocates warn

President Donald Trump’s cuts will disproportionately harm the Black children who rely on Medicaid, advocates have warned.

According to a recent NAACP report, nearly 60% of Black children in the U.S. are on Medicaid. Politico reports that experts say the cuts “could limit resources in high poverty schools, exacerbate maternal mortality rates and leave Black families without critical care.”

Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP, told Politico, “It is unconscionable that Congress would leave American children, which are the future of the country, without the supports that they need and the interventions that they need to contribute meaningfully to develop to their fullest potential.”

She said that these cuts could have negative effects that follow them throughout the rest of their lives. Willoughby also noted cuts to high-poverty schools, of which 37% of Black students attend. A March report found that Medicaid cuts could force schools to reduce the number of nurses and limit resources for early intervention programs and special education programs.

“Schools can often be the first points of contact to identify a health problem with a lower-income child that is affecting their schoolwork, and then make the appropriate referrals,” Willoughby said.

In April, the Economic Policy Institute published a report stating that Medicaid “provides free or low-cost coverage to a larger universe of children (under the age of 19) in families that can’t afford private health insurance for routine check-ups, dental visits, and a wide range of other essential services.” With potential cuts, more than six million Black children and teens’ benefits will be affected.

Medicaid also covers about 65% of birthing Black people, a population already at a high risk, according to the National Institute of Health.

“Having these cuts is something that’s going to limit that access for a lot of Black women out there, and that’s something that will have a ripple effect on maternal mortality and morbidity,” Rolonda Donelson of National Partnership for Women & Families told Politico. Black women die at nearly 3.5 times the rate of white women during childbirth.

Campaign Zero co-founder Brittany Packnett told Politico that her firstborn was in the NICU for 100 days. The hospital where she gave birth had “a state-of-the-art NICU that could serve anybody because of Medicaid payments.

“Those Medicaid payments kept the doors open for children like mine, kept research flowing, kept new machinery coming in,” she said. “Those Medicaid payments made a difference for my child, even though we’re not recipients of Medicaid.”

After Uncle Nearest defaults on $100 million in loans, judge orders distillery to be placed in receivership

Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver is fighting to hold onto her Tennessee distillery. In an ongoing legal battle, a judge ordered the company to be placed under a receivership after it defaulted on $108 million in loans.

On Friday, the judge rejected Weaver’s attempt to avert receivership, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.

In July, Kentucky lender Farm Credit Mid-America PCA sued the company over breach of contract, Forbes reports. The receivership, which U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. ordered Aug. 14, would give an independent party the legal power over the business to ensure the lender gets paid. This could look like a company restructuring or selling assets. Both sides are giving Atchley recommendations to consider who to appoint.

Weaver, who has acted as the face of the brand, shared in an Instagram video saying reports that she no longer owns and runs Uncle Nearest are false.

“Our team remains unshaken and unmoved,” she said. “If that ever changes, you’ll hear it directly from me, and I know you will respond accordingly.”

Weaver founded the company, which is eight years old, to honor Nearest Green, the formerly enslaved Black man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. Weaver’s plans were to bequeath the business to Green’s descendants. Now, this lawsuit presents challenges for the company.

In the lawsuit, Farm Credit Mid-America also alleges that funds from the loans were inappropriately used to purchase a property in Martha’s Vineyard. Weaver and her husband filed a response, alleging that a former executive incorrectly reported Uncle Nearest’s barrel inventory, which they were unaware of.

“Given the circumstances, the drastic and extraordinary remedy of receivership is both unwarranted and inappropriate,” the Weavers told The Nashville Post.

On social media, Weaver has implored customers to “keep clearing the shelves.” She said, “Every bottle you move tells our distributors and partners the same thing: We’ve built one of the strongest and most resilient brands in American history.”

Trump's tariffs are dealing a major blow to Black beauty businesses

Black beauty salons and wholesalers are getting hit hard in the aftermath of Trump’s tariffs on China and Vietnam, where most Black beauty products are made.

Specifically, the prices of hair extensions and glues used to make wigs and weaves have skyrocketed, Reuters reports.

Though Trump vowed that foreign countries would foot the bill for tariffs, U.S. businesses are eating the costs. And Black-owned businesses, already plagued by an ever-growing wealth gap, are being disproportionately impacted.

Dajiah Blackshear-Calloway, a hairstylist based outside of Atlanta, told Reuters that at her local beauty supply store, a package of hair imported from Vietnam has risen from $190 to $290, and glue imported from China has gone up from $8 to $14.99. She’s also had difficulty getting products as her wholesaler is delaying shipments.

“We’re being impacted at every level,” she said. “I’m either having to eat that cost or pass that expense along to my clients, which affects their budgets and their pockets as well.”

She’s begun asking customers to provide their own weaves to avoid raising prices.

Braiding hair company owner Diann Valentine said she faced a $300,000 bill to get 26,000 units of braiding hair when the initial 145% tariff was imposed on China. She said, "To lose that kind of money at this stage has been devastating.”

Sina Golara, assistant professor of supply chain and operations management at Georgia State University, told Reuters that the tariffs are like an additional tax on business owners.

“In some cases, it could be borne by the foreign manufacturer, but in most cases, it will also have quite a substantial impact on the domestic buyers and consumers," Golara said.

Because of that, business owners like Valentine have had to increase their prices. And many Black women, who spend six times more on hair care than women of other ethnicities, have had to reduce their salon visits and cut haircare spending. According to market.us, the global Black hair care industry was worth about $3.2 billion in 2023. That number is projected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2033.

ICYMI

• Organizers and residents united on U Street to protest Trump’s federal takeover at last week’s “Defend D.C.” rally..

• A fan followed Audra McDonald home after one of the final “Gypsy” performances on Broadway because she felt like she deserved an autograph.

• Ed Martin, who heads the Trump administration’s “weaponization working group,” was caught stalking New York Attorney General Letitia James outside of her house in an “Inspector Gadget-style” outfit amid a Justice Department probe.

• Stephanie Donegan, a Black GOP candidate running for Georgia State Senate, shared a clip denying the trans-Atlantic slave trade; the clip falsely claimed “most of the slaves in this country were actually white, not Black.”

• TikTok star Malik Taylor died in a car accident on Friday at age 28.

• Howard University President Ben Vinson III is stepping down, with former President Wayne A.I. Frederick taking over in the interim on Sept. 1.