Scholars and department chairs described an accelerating wave of program suspensions and cuts affecting Black‑studies units after state legislative actions and keyword‑review laws, prompting an emergency forum hosted by Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American Studies. Panelists cited actions at the University of Texas, the University of Louisville, and course‑designation removals in Florida and Kentucky—where recent bills and executive oversight have led to paused doctoral programs and eliminated graduate assistantships. Faculty warned that anticipatory compliance at some institutions is producing self‑censorship and administrative decisions to curtail programs rather than defend them in court. For deans and provosts, the developments foreground legal risk assessment, donor relations and the need for transparent faculty‑governance processes as political interventions reshape humanities and ethnic‑studies offerings.