The Revolution Continues blog is news, views, opinion and other expressions of hope from a leftist point-of-view. (We are not affiliated with any candidate, political party or organization. All are welcome.)
The anniversaries of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6 and August 9, 1945) pass by most Westerners’ consciousness without notice. The dates aren’t printed on any calendars I have like “Memorial Day” or “Presidents’ Day” are, labeled in big, bright capital letters. The week the first atom bombs were dropped on civilians is not a bank holiday anywhere as far as I know.
The anniversary is mostly remembered by the children of the survivors and a handful of international peace organizations. The one event that should have motivated humankind to turn around and go in a better direction is the one event we seem to care the least about. We neither care to remember it and learn from it nor honor it and promise ourselves we’ll never do it again.
I have to admit that if GPAX, the Green Party Peace Action Committee, hadn’t presented “Never Again!” a very informative webinar on August 6, I’d probably would have forgotten about humanity’s fall from innocence, too. Yes, humankind is guilty of the sin of unleashing the power of the atom, the genie that cannot be put back inside the bottle once it has escaped. All life on Earth will never be the same again.
No one born since those early August days in 1945 has ever lived in a world without manmade nuclear radiation effecting them, either directly through an nuclear warhead detonation, or from being shot with depleted uranium coated bullets, or from the fallout leaking from a nuclear power plant that has suffered a “mishap” like Fukushima, or even from a simple rain shower. Manmade radiation has become a permanent part of our ecosystem for the worse, not better.
No one born since then has ever known a world where life as we know it could be wiped out in a matter of minutes if one or more nuclear powers decide to launch their nuclear weapons. This knowledge should keep us awake nights, but the majority of us seem okay living day-to-day in such a terrifying world.
Could it be we really don’t want peace? Could it be that we’d rather live with the threat of imminent Mutually Assured Destruction than to give up our creature comforts and affordable lifestyles in the West? Could it be Americans enjoy the hegemony we’ve gained through the threat of dropping H-bombs on your country if it doesn’t “cooperate” and give us what we want? (This means you, Venezuela and Iran. Hand over your oil or else!)
Or could it be I’m over-exaggerating the threat of our potential demise? Could I be minimizing the numbers of activists who are actively fighting to shut the war machine down? I don’t think so...
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About once a year, I feel compelled to write a post about the dangers and pitfalls of lesser evil voting in the US. So here it is, for better or worse.
If you add a letter “d” to the front of the word “evil”, you’ll get the personification of evil, that is, the “devil.” However lesser evil voting is being discussed, the end result is the same: The voter is being asked to make a deal with the devil or evil.
What is often left out of this old saying are what consequences you incur when you make a deal with the devil. Here’s the complete saying: “When you make a deal with the devil, be careful you don’t get burned.”
Dealing with the devil can get you burned. Lesser evil voting burns voters. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a closer look.
The Devil is in the Details
First, a definition of lesser evil voting is needed. In the lesser evil voting scenario, voters are informed that there are only two candidates running for each office. We’ll call them candidates “A” and “B”. Voters are told they have no other options, and they have been convinced of this fact. They feel compelled to vote for either A or B or stay home and not vote. That’s it.
But what if voters don’t care for either candidate A or B? What if they strongly detest and/or despise both A and B? Can they vote for candidate C, D, E, or F instead? In most states in the United States there are other candidates’ names printed on their ballots for each office. However, many voters have been programmed (brainwashed) into thinking those options simply do not exist for them, so they’re stuck with choosing between A and B or not voting at all.
But what happens when a voter decides to vote for C, D, E, or F, and their treachery to vote outside the box is discovered? Woe to that voter! The voter will be vote shamed and pressured to change their mind. The most common vote shaming method is to tell renegade voters that they have cast a wasted vote because they refused to vote for either A or B. They are informed by supporters of A and B that all voters who dare to vote for C, D, E, or F are stupid and foolish.
Other forms of coercion exercised by supporters for A and B can include ostracizing these rebel voters socially in-person and/or online, threatening the rebel voters’ careers or job positions, and sometimes even threatening or committing physical violence against the rebel voters or their property.
All of these forms of lesser evil voting coercion tactics have been documented widely (and some of them experienced by yours truly). These are only but a few of the ways voters can get burned when making a deal with the devil called lesser evil voting. I’m sure there are supporters/past-supporters of A and B out there whose ears are burning about right now as I expose their crimes. But I’ve found that lesser evil aficionados often are proud of their vote shaming tactics. They rarely get caught or charged with any criminal activity since fellow A or B supporters will cover for them, so I doubt they’ll ever stop the dirty tricks.
With that sort of pressure placed upon voters to consider voting for only A or B, what do you think happens to candidates C, D, E, and F? Do you think they receive as much attention in the mainstream media as A and B do? Lesser evil voting supporters for A or B cannot afford to allow voters to learn about other candidates and their platforms, so mainstream media spokespersons are generally kept in line and told to exclude all mention of other candidates as much as possible.
Can you see how this practical censorship would prevent C, D, E, and F from effectively advertising or fundraising? Without sufficient funds to campaign, what would you say are the chances of these alternative candidates being able to compete against the well-funded and well-promoted campaigns of A and B? Did you say zero to none?
It should be obvious by now that lesser evil voting isn’t really a strategy to help American voters choose a candidate who represents their values, needs, wants, or desires. Lesser evil voting is simply a method to get rid of A’s and B’s competition.
Think about it: It’s much cheaper and easier for corporate lobbyists, wealthy individuals, and political action committees (PACs/Super PACs) to bribe two candidates to do as they command than a multitude of candidates who may or may not be open to taking corporate lobbyist cash. This legal bribery of politicians in the US is allowed under the 2010 Citizens United ruling. Money talks, and it talks much louder than average voters' voices, obviously.
How fair is lesser evil voting? Not fair at all unless you absolutely adore A and/or B. But it’s completely legal and acceptable by the parties of A and B who rather you didn't know you have more choices. Here’s an example of how it’s manifesting itself in this year’s presidential election.
The Devil You Know...
Americans worship stability and sameness. Life just seems safer that way. Even if their present lives are miserable or downright unbearable, Americans’ philosophy of life can be summed up thusly: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”
Note once again how the letter “d” can be subtracted from “devil” leaving the word that describes the devil’s best known quality of “evil”. Americans rather put up with a known evil than radically change their lives by making a different choice, possibly for the better, because what if their choice proves worse than the one they’ve been told to make by supporters of A or B? Many American voters seem paralyzed by indecision. They seek guidance and are looking for someone else to make the decision for them.
If only Americans believed they needn’t be cornered into corner A or B! Think of all the possibilities for a brighter future voters might have by choosing C, D, E, or F. How can we break through such a lack of imagination and encourage American voters to invite change and consider non-duopoly (non-A or -B) candidates?
Let’s say you’re an American voter who wants the genocide in Gaza to end as soon as possible and all the war criminals punished. You’re sick and tired of the bloated US military budget and long for more funding for programs such as Medicare For All, free university tuition, student loan debt forgiveness, and programs to tackle the climate crisis. What are your choices for president who speak to your conscience?
Here in a nutshell are the options of the upcoming presidential election:
A – a current known evil who supports the genocide in Gaza and takes money from AIPAC and many corporations/PACs
B – a past known evil who supports the genocide in Gaza and takes money from AIPAC and many corporations/PACs
C – another candidate (with a famous last name) who accepts corporate cash and loudly supports the genocide in Gaza and takes money from AIPAC/PACs
D – a candidate who doesn’t accept corporate/PAC cash and doesn’t support the genocide in Gaza, supports Medicare For All and climate crisis actions, and will probably be on all 50 state ballots and the District of Columbia
E – a candidate who doesn’t accept corporate/PAC cash and doesn’t support the genocide in Gaza but probably won’t be on very many state ballots
F- a candidate who doesn’t accept corporate/PAC cash and doesn’t support the genocide in Gaza but probably won’t be on very many state ballots
(G, H, I candidates – some accept corporate/PAC cash, some don’t support the genocide or war, but most probably won’t be on very many state ballots)
Looking at the above chart, you’ll see that your personal choices do not include the A or B candidates that lesser evil voting strategists are going try to shame you into voting for. Your best bet to change the leadership the White House to a person who represents you is to vote for candidate D or possibly E or F or one of the other lesser known candidates if they're on your ballot. By voting for a candidate like D, you’ll feel proud of yourself that you aren’t perpetuating the genocide in Gaza and are helping to make the US a better place for all its people.
Sounds like a sound voting choice that reflects your values and speaks to your conscience, right? If only it was that easy in the USA!
The political parties of A and B will do all that they can to block your preferred candidate’s name from being on as many states' ballots as they possibly can. With huge war chests of campaign donations from military-industrial complex corporations and money from PACs such as AIPAC, these parties will use every legal and extra-legal trick in the book they can to prevent any competition from challenging them. Supporters of A and B who own the mainstream media outlets will block all mention of the other candidates and pass along the propaganda that teams A and B dream up to slander/libel their competition.
Many American voters, never knowing there are actually candidates who closely represent their own values because of the practical censorship, might choose to stay home and not vote. Voter apathy in the US is sky high, and with such a screwed up system, is it any wonder?
This is lesser evil voting strategy at its worse. These devils you’ve known for years are anti-democratic and bullies. And you will be forced to put your conscience to sleep and vote for A or B because you’re told these are your only options.
You’ll be told that C, D, E, or F have no chance of winning, not realizing that in poll after poll the largest percentage of American voters consider themselves as independent. These voters don’t support the parties of either A or B and stay home more often than not if they don't have another option. If that large percentage of voters followed their conscience and voted for other than A or B, another candidate might actually win. The math speaks for itself.
Vote shaming can be intense, but it can be dealt with rationally as the above meme demonstrates. A candidate must earn your vote and stand for your values. Follow a litmus test like I do to pick your candidate, and you'll never suffer from a guilty conscience. You won't be tempted to sell your soul to the devils and their corporate masters. You'll help others to avoid getting burned as well.
The great Eugene Debs gave us this sage advice that voters should always follow:
"I'd rather vote for something I want and not get it than to vote for something I don't want and get it."
Don’t be tempted to make a deal with the devil (d-evil). Don’t get burned. Stay away from lesser evil voting. Always vote your conscience, and encourage others to do the same. And may the best candidate win.
If you say this is a genocide and then you support the people who are
backing this genocide, it means either (A) you’re fine with genocide or
(B) you only called it a genocide to score progressive political points
and don’t actually believe what you said.
* * *
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More nominees for "The Aarons"
Here are a few more names that were nominated for A Human With A Conscience Award (read about it here) this past week. These folks and organizations can post the above meme on their social media sites if they choose. Keep your nominations coming!
Banksy (Best Graffiti Artist with a Conscience)
Laura K from Normal Island News (Best Satirist with a Conscience)
Randy Credico (Best Podcaster/Indie journalist with a Conscience)
Neil Oliver (Best Podcaster/Journalist with a Conscience)
Toledo Area Activists with a Conscience: Jomana Al, Walaa Kanan, Mike Ferner, Jasmin Nada Hummos, Yousef Baddar, Susan Kuehn, Terry Lodge, Omar Aysha, and Ahmed Amrou.
EMCEE: Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the midterms election year Blame Game, a game where Democratic Party operatives come up with excuses for why their candidates are doing poorly in the polls and why they never quite do as they promise.
The crowd of party faithful goes wild with clapping and cheering.
EMCEE: Thank you, thank you. (He pulls out a long list from his blue-sequinned jacket pocket.)Our first contestant is Mrs. Shirley U. Jest, one of our largest contributors to the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign, outside of Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics.
A
well-dressed, middle-aged suburbanite energetically jumps up out of her
seat and knocks her Blue MAGA cap off in the confusion.
SHIRLEY: Did he say me? Me? Oh, yippee! I've always wanted to play.
EMCEE: Come on down, Shirley! It's time to spin the wheel and play the Blame Game!
Jumping up and down, Shirley approaches the Emcee and the large rotating wheel on stage.
EMCEE: You certainly seem happy to be here, Shirley. Tell us a little about yourself.
SHIRLEY: I'm a lifelong Democrat and currently live in Arizona. I vote blue no matter who no matter what other people say. I even voted for Kyrsten Sinema! I don't care to think for myself.
The crowd cheers and whistles their approval.
EMCEE: Perfect, just perfect. Well, the blame we need to assign this week is for our very own Commander-in-Chief, President Joe Biden. (Audience cheers.) It seems Joe has dropped in the polls from about 33% to a mere 29% approval rating. Who will loyal Democrats blame for this fiasco? This is where the lovely Shirley comes in. Are you ready?
SHIRLEY: (Screwing up her face and quivering with excitement.) Yes! Yes!
EMCEE: Alrighty then. Come over here and spin the Blame Shifting Wheel.
Shirley pulls down hard on the large roulette wheel. She then steps back as it spins around and around.
EMCEE: Will it be Russia? That's a party favorite. Our friend Rachel at MSNBC can always drum up plenty of reasons why Russia is at the root of Mr. Biden dropping in the polls.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Russia! Russia!
EMCEE: (Chuckling.) And China could be blamed for V.P. Harris' fall from grace, especially if we end up in war with them and our dollar stores' shelves wind up empty.
Audience boos. The wheel continues to spin.
EMCEE: Is there any particular blameworthy subject on the wheel you like, Shirley?
SHIRLEY: Oo, I'm sort of partial to blaming Susan Sarandon. (Audience hisses.) She can cast a spell on just about anyone through her Tweets. She talked my sister into voting for that witch Jill Stein back in 2016. She made the Green Party sound so reasonable with their people,planet and peace over profits slogan. Can you imagine putting the welfare of the planet over the welfare of our bank accounts?
The Emcee and crowd all laugh derisively. The wheel begins to slow but continues to spin.
EMCEE: You really put some juice into that spin, Shirley! Do you have a second favorite excuse on the wheel?
SHIRLEY: Hmm… Those Leftist types. They're pretty shifty. Always claiming that we're not doing enough for the working people or people of color and crying about not having health care and being in debt for simply going to college. As if! Everybody loves their private health insurance and everybody knows their parents will pay their college tuition. Duh!
The audience hoots and hollers, mimicking her condescending gestures.
SHIRLEY: They're always saying that we Dems are only acting in the best interests of the idle rich. I don't see it that way at all.
EMCEE: Yeah, it is a confusing position. By the way, what are you and your friends planning to do after the show today?
SHIRLEY: Why, go to brunch, of course! Then we're attending a kickboxing class with Jen Psaki and having Margaritas afterwards. We're never idle.
EMCEE: (Chuckling.) No one would ever accuse you of idleness, Shirley. And it looks like the wheel is starting to slow… Yes, it's slowing… It's stopping… Oh, dear.
SHIRLEY: (Frowning.) It's stuck in between two slots. What does that mean?
EMCEE: It means we'll have to ask the DNC party leadership for their learned advice on how to proceed. (He leans into his earpiece to listen.) Yes, yes, I got that. Thank you.
SHIRLEY: What did they say?
EMCEE: (Clearing his throat.) The party leadership says the blame for our beloved Joe Biden dropping in the polls is because of "bad followers." You, the party faithful, have not lived up to your potential. You've let Mr. Biden and the party down.
The audience is shocked into silence. Then a low booing and moaning ensues. Bits of wadded paper and disposable plastic bottles are tossed onto the stage.
SHIRLEY: Hey, what's this about us not being good followers? We're here, aren't we? We donate time and money to the party constantly. We troll online and put the lefties and Greens in their place. We've even paid to place child porn images on the Berners' Facebook pages during the 2016 New York primary to get them in trouble. Surely that's going beyond the call of duty. Every Democrat here is a definition of a good follower.
VARIOUS AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Hear, hear!We believed Joe's campaign promises! Why didn't he forgive student loan debt like he said he would? Why didn't they give us $2,000 stimulus checks like they said? He's causing his own poll numbers to drop!
EMCEE: What can I say? The leadership says it's not about them or their decisions--the blame falls squarely on you guys' shoulders. It's all your fault.
SHIRLEY: But… but… Don't we get a say so in the matter? Can't we take a vote on this?
EMCEE: A vote? Why would we do a thing like that? A federal judge actually said in 2017 that Democratic Party is a private organization and could rig their primaries any way they like. Why would leadership ever listen to you guys, the bad followers?
SHIRLEY: Hey, I paid good money to be here and I--
EMCEE: (Interrupting her.) That's all we have time for today. Enjoy your Margaritas and brunch, folks, and until next time--trust the leadership to tell you what's good for you and remember--don't think for yourself. Good-bye everybody!
The emcee barely escapes the auditorium before the audience members can tar and feather him. Shirley sniffs and shuffles off stage.
SHIRLEY: (Mumbling to self.) Maybe my sister was right about voting Green Party after all.
If you don't understand the why and how Dem voters are being labeled "bad followers," view the following video discussion between Jordan Chariton (Status Coup) and Steve Grumbine (Real Progressives). https://youtu.be/zAdf10-GTW4
Caught a clip of mainstream bile being puked out where a Dem operative says something like "Democrats don't have a leader problem they have a follower problem". I thought that was perfect. "We don't serve you. You serve us."
We are alarmed by the increasing tensions between the nuclear-armed
governments
of the U.S. (and its NATO allies) and Russia and are extremely concerned
about what seems to
be the increasing likelihood of war.
We must raise our voices. Add your name and
comments to this petition. Share it with others to sign. Then help us
forward it to your elected officials.
To:
The Governments of NATO Nations
No War in Ukraine!
Nothing is worth risking war, much less nuclear war. No side wants war
in Ukraine, and certainly not the people of Ukraine. Someone must find
the courage to push back against the momentum toward war, and lead the
way toward cooperation and disarmament.
In a near-future dystopian world, hope blossoms where mutual aid and democracy begins...
Zonta’s
world is turned upside down when Jake arrives at the commune to
investigate the disappearance of agents of the Authority. Can she
persuade him to switch sides before the Protectors (antifascist
fighters) take action?
The white man will try to satisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and real justice. -- Malcolm X
I was not particularly excited
to hear that Biden had signed a proclamation making Juneteenth into a federal
holiday recently. I read somewhere that Juneteenth is already a holiday in 47
states, so it comes across as too little, too late in regards to turning it into
a federal holiday. But Biden's timing on making it a holiday really
begs the question, "Why now?"
If you get your news
headlines from independent news sources, the answer to that question is fairly
obvious. Not everyone is so enlightened, so here is a short explanation to make
things clear:
Black Lives Matter protesters
in Minneapolis, who are trying to maintain the memorials erected to George Floyd,
are being pepper-sprayed, tear-gassed, and shot at by police with rubber
bullets. Cops across the country are still getting away with the murders of and assaults
on people of color.Violence against non-white Americans hasn't gone away just because Trump isn't in the White House.
Upwards
of 11 million
Americans--many of them people of color--face homelessness when the
moratorium
on evictions ends on June 30th. Twenty-six states are kicking 3.6
million people off the dole during a pandemic, ending the $300 extra
weekly unemployment
benefits. The pandemic has ended many jobs in
the service sector once and for all, which affects many black and brown
workers.
And we're still without Medicare For All, a universal health care plan
that
would cover Americans no matter their work or health status.
Of course, racism is still
rampant in the US, reparations for slavery have never been made, restitution
for the burning down and massacre of black residents of the Greenwood neighborhood
of Tulsa, Oklahoma (among others), has never been made, and the differential in
wealth between white and black families has never been higher. The average net
wealth gap between white and black households is $800,000 according to a survey
taken in 2016. According to the Brookings Institute, if black households held a
share of the national wealth in proportion to their share of the total US
population, it would amount to $12.68 trillion in household wealth, rather than
the actual sum of $2.54 trillion.
The actual racial wealth gap
in the US is $10.14 trillion. That's a lot of reparations to be made, isn't it?
Can you imagine the billionaire
capitalists--who have made the majority of theirwealth from the poorly-paid labor of people
of color--paying their fair share of taxes and returning that stolen wealth to
African American communities? Our tax code is not blind, and people of color find
themselves being penalized more often than upper-class whites.
So, why now? Why make
Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021? Because politicians will do anything to
distract the public from considering how little they actually care about
what is happening--or what will
happen--to any of us.
To quote Emma Goldman: "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." Some politicians might want to make voting more difficult for people of color, but it's not illegal yet. That's only because it does serve a purpose--it distracts many into thinking that the current governmental system actually works in their favor as they're forced to vote for the "lesser of two evils."
So, pardon me if I label June
19th as a "Nothing Will Fundamentally Change" federal holiday
because nothing has been set in motion by the federal government to demonstrate that things will
change for the better for African Americans and for other non-white Americans. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I
have the sad feeling I won't be.
We should keep celebrating
and remembering what Juneteenth signifies, but we shouldn't forget that there's still much to be done to make things
right for every American. Celebrate but don't forget. It's what they want us to do, so let's not give them the confidence that they've thrown the wool over our eyes by creating another bank holiday that most poor people of color will be forced to work. Let's keep fighting for justice. Let's keep fighting for fundamental change.
To honor Juneteenth, 2 facts: 1) US capitalism profited from slavery before Civil War ended it. 2) US capitalism profited from and reproduced racism directed against African-Americans ever since.
History suggests that getting beyond capitalism will help us get beyond racism.
I’m happy folk are happy but this is also very precarious. Mainstreaming Juneteenth means there’s now massive amt of inaccurate messaging—“it marks end of slavery”—and its very clear its being used to push a false idea of “progress” instead of a call to dismantle white supremacy
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.
It said that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be freed as of January 1, 1863.
But it was not until over two years later that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865.
And
it was another two months before Union troops informed the last
remaining slaves (in Texas) that they were free — on June 19, 1865.
Since then, Juneteenth (that’s June plus nineteenth)
has been a day to reflect on not just the history of slavery but also
its ongoing effects and the work we still have to do together to bring
about racial justice.
Yesterday — with legislation passed
by Congress and signed into law by President Biden just last week — the
United States officially observed Juneteenth as a federal holiday for
the first time.
The historic legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday was introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Today
is Juneteenth, the anniversary of the day the last American slaves
learned they were free. As we celebrate it is important to remember that theabuse, dehumanization, and invisibility that characterized domestic work during the time of slavery persists today. In fact, Black domestic workers are some of the most invisible, essential, and unprotected workers in our country.
For these reasons and many more, we believe that our organizing must be led by and center the lives of Black women. Through our We Dream in Black (WeDiB) program and its Unbossed Agenda,
we are committed to shaping the future in a way that lifts up the Black
domestic workforce and brings value and respect to our labor and
history of our struggle.
Black domestic workers are essential — to our economy, democracy, and
society. They care for our children, our homes, our elderly family
members, and our loved ones with disabilities.
Yet, for centuries, the systems that built and fueled America
and its wealth thrived on a disregard for, and subjugation of Black
women — and domestic workers are inseparable from this history.
It’s why racist leaders excluded Black domestic workers from many of the basic labor protections afforded other workers.
It’s why, before the coronavirus pandemic, Black families were one
emergency away from a crisis, having been carved out of a social safety
net generations ago.
And it’s why, when the COVID-19 virus hit, domestic workers were the
first to lose income and the last to receive support, if at all.
And it’s also why every industry, including the care industry, must
stand up and confront the reality that today — more than 150 years after
the last of the enslaved Americans learned they had been emancipated — Black people in this country are still not truly free.
We have a vision for a better future — one where everyone is able to
live and work safely and with dignity. And that vision pulls on the
strength and power of Black domestic workers, past and present.
From enslaved women’s daily forms of resistance to the coordinated
strikes of washer women in the late 19th-century to organizing
initiatives pioneered by 20th-century domestic workers, there is a long and powerful tradition of Black domestic workers organizing to secure justice and dignity – in the workplace and in the broader society.
We honor these legacies by centering the voices and leadership of Black women...because Black women are who the domestic care industry was built to exploit. The Unbossed Agenda is WeDiB’s organizing directive to give power back to the visions of Black domestic workers and to root out the legacy of slavery from the domestic work industry, improving the lives of millions of domestic workers across the nation.
Because, If we can solve for Black domestic workers, we can create an economy and society that works for everyone.
A better future is possible, one in which Black people experience abundant joy, safety, and well-being. And we all have a role to play in building the future everyone deserves. Get started by learning more about our Unbossed Agenda and by investing in Black domestic workers.
Allison Julien
New York Chapter We Dream in Black Co-Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
***
Juneteenth became an official national holiday, and it’s a
time for gratitude. It’s also a moment to recognize we still have a long
way to go. As you are well aware, the scars left on this nation by
America’s original sins — the enslavement of Black People and the
genocide of Indigenous Peoples — aren’t going away anytime soon. We must
keep working to combat the institutionalized legacy of political,
legal, and economic oppression in this country. A national holiday
commemorating the freedom of this nation’s last slaves (two years after
slavery was legally abolished) is a great step, and it also isn’t
enough.
Racism is alive and well in the USA. Right now, in fact, rightwing
lawmakers are having a field day attacking educators who want to teach
the real history of this country. I encourage you to read my blog post
about the necessity of teaching Critical Race Theory in our schools.
From there, please sign our petition to lawmakers asking them to support
the teaching of America’s true past to our children.
I also encourage you to watch yesterday’s episode of my vlog, “Cut to the Chase.”
I was fortunate to have an incredible conversation with Kimberly Jones,
the African American author and activist who went viral last year with
her powerful video decrying the violence inflicted upon America’s Black
people — historically and today — by institutions set up to protect
white supremacy.
As Kimberly points out, the propagation of repressive voter
suppression laws is meant to keep voices of color out of the national
conversation and out of the ballot box. More than a year after George
Floyd’s murder — and 156 years after the Thirteenth Amendment — we must
continue to have the hard conversations about what brought us here, and
we should keep taking aggressive action to make good on America’s
promise of justice.
I know that’s a lot of heavy stuff! But it’s part of our growth
together, our journey toward true allyship and equity. We must stand
beside one another, understand the anger and the pain, and help however
we can. Only by actively teaching and learning about our past can we
create the future we want for our next seven generations.
Wopila tanka — my hearty thanks for your passionate allyship with all oppressed peoples.
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director & Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
Do We Really Want Peace?
