Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together. The Trump Regime's Racist Agenda From a burgeoning police state and deportations, to rejecting DEI and denying slavery's horrors, Trump's assault on Americans and our shared history demands we speak the truth Steven Beschloss Aug 22 (Photos by Tom WIlliams (left) and Bill Pugliano (right) via Getty Images) When Donald Trump and his regime relentlessly attack Americans and all the hard-earned progress of liberal government, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by their multitude of targets. But one theme that connects many of these actions is the methodical effort to minimize or deny America’s history of slavery, reject the continuing fact of systemic racism and push strategies to prioritize the interests of white nationalist elites. It’s not enough to just document and diagnose the problem. The only way we can confront this regime and find solutions is if we are not overwhelmed by the daily degradations; this requires recognizing the interconnections of their destructive actions. Let’s detail some of the ways Trump and his sycophantic enablers are pursuing this agenda: D.E.I.: From day one, the regime has worked to end programs and initiatives seeking to address societal inequalities and turn the acronym itself into a dirty word. Even as they have succeeded in convincing businesses, government agencies, schools and the military to strip away these efforts, let’s remember that diversity is the lifeblood of American society and culture, equity is the goal of a just society, and inclusion means increasing belonging not isolating and undermining people who are different. Woke: The continuing attack on this word also represents the regime’s hateful opposition to empathy for vulnerable populations and commitment to racial and social justice and the pursuit of equality. “Employing ‘woke’ as a target of hate,” I noted several years ago before Trump was reelected, “is the inevitable outcome of a party and a leader convinced that cruelty, violence and white supremacy can form a winning strategy. They were and are determined to dehumanize and demonize their perceived enemies, demagogically exploiting and fueling the fear in some Americans that demographic shifts will replace the dwindling white majority and minimize their power to dominate and control.” Mass Deportation: We have seen how Trump’s claim that his administration would target violent criminals has quickly morphed into all-out and lawless assaults on people of color and the terrorizing of minority communities. The arrogant disregard for due process and a Republican-led Congress handing the regime $75 billion for enforcement and detention makes clear that they support a police state if it ensures control by white elites. Military Deployment: First the deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles and now the military occupation of the District of Columbia—including military checkpoints and hovering over Union Station—make clear that the goal is not to stem violent protestors or fight crime. (Vice President JD Vance ridiculously claimed Wednesday the troops were needed at Union Station to deal with vagrancy.) Trump’s fantasy of an emergency is merely a pretext to provoke predominately Democratic and minority communities. His assertion that he’s looking to expand this military deployment in Democratic-led cities with significant Black populations—including Chicago, New York, Baltimore and Oakland—underscores his desire to create a climate of terror and to silence dissent. Public Education and Federal Employment: Black Americans depend on public education and federal employment to advance economically. Federal service was among the first workforces to integrate at a time when racial segregation dominated America, which helps explain why Blacks are over-represented in the federal workforce (including about 19 percent from a population that represents about 14 percent of the nation). This, like public education, has provided critical opportunities to join the middle class. Is it any surprise that both are under attack by a regime that yearns to break minority power and produce a more ill-informed and uniform citizenry? Black History and Slavery: Trump’s executive order in March titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” with a goal to “remove divisive or partisan narratives” is now being acted on with efforts to eradicate unwanted truths in Smithsonian museums. This week Trump complained that the Smithsonian was “out of control” and focused too much on “how bad slavery was.” This is arguably the most egregious of the regime’s racist agenda because it threatens to deny generations of Americans— and particularly the young—from knowing the truth of our history. Positive change depends on understanding what ails us. Yes, all this can be dispiriting, but I want to share with you two sources to help remind us that what we are facing now is part of a centuries-old experience in America, in which the horrors of our history have been minimized or ignored in order to maintain white supremacy. One is Bryan Stevenson, who is the executive director of the Economic Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama, where several important museums exist to document our country’s racial history. One focuses on the history of slavery (The Legacy Museum), another documents the history of lynching in America (The National Memorial for Peace and Justice). I’d urge you to check out the website if you can’t visit in person. Listen to how Stevenson narrates the opening of a powerful video that introduces the Legacy Museum and the need to understand and confront our shared history: We believe there’s important work that has to be done in this country to fully overcome the history and legacy of slavery. It’s important that we begin to commit to an era of truth and justice, that we tell the truth about our history, that we find the words necessary to understand all of the pain, all of the suffering that was created by 400 years of enslavement, lynching, segregation and injustice. It begins in Africa where millions of people were kidnapped, abducted, taken from their homes, taken from their families, chained, forced onto ships where they were displaced forever. Without understanding that legacy, we don’t appreciate the harm, the damage, the tragedy that surrounded the founding of this country. We still live in a country where there is this problem of racial inequality, racial injustice—and the narrative that created that problem of racial difference continues to haunt us today. I asked Stevenson whether these museums have been under attack by the Trump regime since January. His response heartened me: “We made the decision many years ago not to accept state or federal funding in the creation or maintenance of our sites. So we have not been directly impacted by the current Administration or any of their efforts to limit content.” I also reached out to my friend and former colleague Calvin Schermerhorn, a historian of slavery in the United States, who you may recall authored The Plunder of Black America, excerpted in May in these pages. I asked him to share with me brief thoughts on the long history of minimizing the horrors of slavery and prioritizing the interests of white Americans at the expense of Black Americans. Here is part of what he wrote: Since the Civil War ended 160 years ago this spring, Americans have downplayed slavery and its horrors in the way they remembered the conflict and the history that preceded it. Ex-Confederates took the lead with a Lost Cause ideology that stressed the Civil War was about local democracy against a distant federal tyranny, which whitewashed the stated intentions of seceding states in 1860 and 1861 to preserve and perpetuate Black chattel slavery. The victorious North joined in that historical whitewashing towards the end of the nineteenth century. Historian David Blight and others have argued that the drive to reconcile the nation included a script in which the war was a conflict of brother against brother or a national contest of manhood. The script dropped the reason for the fratricidal conflict: the arrogant Slave Power that tried to hijack representative government in the service of enslavers and their demand for slavery’s unlimited spread. In both the Lost Cause and Reconciliation script, the Civil War was about competing visions of America that left out slavery. It’s not hard to see how Donald Trump is attempting to reject the history of slavery and racism anew, and to deny Americans today from grappling with the questions our history raises. His own public bigotry dates back at least to the early 1970s when he and his father were sued for discriminating against African Americans who sought to rent apartments in one of their buildings. A decade later Trump was calling for the execution of the Central Park Five in a full-page ad in The New York Times—that was five young Black men who were later exonerated of any crime. It’s not hard to connect the dots from that racism to his desire to resurrect fallen statues of Confederate heroes and rename military bases again with these leaders of the Lost Cause. The effort of Trump and his enablers (particularly Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller) to dishonor the memory of accomplished Black Americans and oppose the upward mobility of non-white Americans makes clear the challenge that faces all of us who seek justice and the common good. Hear again from Bryan Stevenson in two final questions I asked him. I suspect his responses will encourage you like they encourage me. Beschloss: Will there be any changes to the various ways you provide knowledge and understanding about our shared history for visitors? Stevenson: We absolutely will not curtail or restrict the presentation of information about our nation's history of slavery, racial terror lynchings, Jim Crow or racial injustice. This history has been overlooked, avoided and left out of history books for generations. The silence surrounding slavery and difficult parts of our history has to end for us to get to a place where we are less burdened and constrained by our past. It's ironic that 10 years ago, there was no African American History museum as part of the Smithsonian, and there were no Legacy Sites. We've only recently created an opportunity for learning, and now is not the time to retreat. Beschloss: How worried or how hopeful are you that we’ll find our way through this dark period? Stevenson: Hopefulness is a requirement. It is the garment we must wear. Living in Montgomery, Alabama, walking in the footprints of the people who came before me who did so much more with so much less, I have to be hopeful that we will absolutely overcome the ignorance and misguided notion that we can hide from history, suppress the truth or avoid the lessons of our past. Trump’s ability to trigger the racist impulses of millions of Republicans and rally white nationalists to his cause is no sign of special political skill. Rather, it’s a reminder of how deep these impulses go in the national psyche and how easily a racist demagogue can incite them. As historian Schermerhorn reminded me, “Until the Civil Rights era, histories and textbooks written for popular and school audiences tended to downplay, excuse or even celebrate slavery and enslavers. To many, it was a closed chapter; the sin of slavery was expunged by the blood of Union soldiers,” he said. And even today, “Gen X schoolchildren grew up on stories of Confederate heroism and slavery as a sideline or footnote to American history rather than as prologue to nearly a century of Jim Crow and enduring racial discrimination.” Yes, we have a job to do. Trump and his regime are trying their damnedest to reject the past, glorify the enemies of democracy and basic human decency, and shove their white supremacist agenda down our throats. They may slow down the march of progress, but we must continue to speak out with the knowledge that one day the truth can free us all from our troubled history.

Rev. Al Sharpton, Central Park Five full speech at 2024 DNC (Aug. 22, 2024)

 

THIS DEFINES tRUMP'S HATE, RACISM, MORAL BANKRUPTCY!

RAYMOND SANTANA,KEVIN RICHARDSON,YOSUF SALAAM,COREY WEISS

ENTERTAINMENT

Who are the Central Park 5? Learn more about the case after DNC appearance

COURIER JOURNAL

WFAA

1.83M subscribers

Rev. Al Sharpton and the Central Park Five delivered a full speech on day four of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. WATCH LIVE:    • Democratic National Convention 2024: ...  

 

ACLU Warns Trump Win Would Herald 'New Era of Mass Incarceration'

The rights group put out a memo detailing how a second Trump administration would "exacerbate inequalities" in the criminal justice system, "harm communities," and "infringe upon our rights and humanity."

The ACLU on Friday issued a memo warning that a second term for former President Donald Trump would "exacerbate inequalities" in the criminal justice system and laying out plans to push against a potential Republican administration's efforts to do so.

The 14-page memo argues that Trump's agenda would be to expand incarceration, abusive policing practices, and the use of the death penalty, all of which the ACLU, a nonprofit human rights organization, opposes.

"We know from this country's history that these extreme and immoral policies harm communities and infringe upon our rights and humanity," Yasmin Cader, director of the ACLU's Trone Center for Justice and Equality, said in a statement that accompanied the release of the memo. "The ACLU is prepared to meet the Trump administration with the same fierce response as we did during his last term in office should he be reelected."

Most of the U.S. criminal legal system is run at the state or local level. More than 1.6 million people are incarcerated in state and local jails or prisons, compared to just over 200,000 in the federal system.

However, a second Trump administration would set the "tone" and create a "ripple effect across the country," threatening a "new era of mass incarceration," the ACLU said. The memo warns that Trump would do so in the following ways:

• Escalating punitive, draconian sentencing and incarceration approaches;
• Incentivizing dramatically worse conditions for the nation's 1.9 million incarcerated people;
• Reincarcerating nearly 3,000 people released to federal home confinement during the pandemic; and
• Undermining recent reforms, including the First Step Act.

The memo also argues that Trump encourages police abuses and has made an "open endorsement of authoritarian and violent policing." Trump's first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had the Department of Justice "pull back" on investigations of police abuse, the memo notes.

The ACLU also drew attention to Trump's extreme position on the death penalty. More people were executed by the federal government during his four-year term than had been in any in over a century, and his administration went on what ProPublicacalled a "last-minute killing spree" before his term ended.

Trump's pro-death penalty position dates back decades. In 1989, he took out full-page advertisements in The New York Times and several other city newspapers calling for a reinstitution of the death penalty in New York state following the rape and assault of a jogger in Central Park. Five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of the crime.

"Bring back the death penalty and bring back our police!" the advertisement said in all caps.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. 

(Photo: Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

COMMON DREAMS

Fed-up MSNBC host Exposes Trump Church SCAM with MUST-SEE Takedown

 

THANK YOU RACHEL MADDOW!

BLACK CHURCH FILLED WITH WHITE PEOPLE??? HUH? 

EMPTY SEATS?  KELLY DING BAT CLAIMS how many? 

TOO MUCH BLATANT RACISM!

And the Little Racist Nit Wit CHARLIE KIRK? 

What's the matter with these WHITE PEOPLE?

WE need to be reminded of the YOUNG BLACK MEN who were 

falsely accused & tRump called for the DEATH PENALTY!

Remember the CENTRAL PARK JOGGER? 

STEREOTYPES 

MeidasTouch

2.48M subscribers

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow exposes Donald Trump’s appearance at a black church in Detroit, in which very few Black Americans actually attended. Francis Maxwell reacts. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Support the MeidasTouch Network: https://patreon.com/meidastouch Add the MeidasTouch Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Buy MeidasTouch Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Follow MeidasTouch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on Facebook: https://facebook.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@meidastouch

'Exonerated Central Park Five' member wishes fair justice for Trump but recognizes 'karma'

 

Yusef Salaam, who was among five teens wrongfully convicted of a brutal rape attack for which Donald Trump purchased a full page newspaper ad calling for their execution, is now exonerated and watching Donald Trump facing accusations of rape and other crimes and has purchased a full page newspaper ad of his own.

Dear Criminal Defendant #4913961R:

 

Beautiful letter from Michael Moore to Donald Trump to explain to Mr. Trump why exactly we are coming for him via every available legal means possible:

Dear Criminal Defendant #4913961R:

Thank you for showing up without incident yesterday for your arrest and arraignment. You appeared somewhat bewildered as to why you were there. As this is only the first of a number of criminal charges and arraignments for you that will follow from other prosecutors, I think it’s only fair that I give you the lay of the land as to what’s ahead and why this is happening.

First — and I don’t know why no one has told you this — but your assessment is correct: We ARE out to get you and bring you to Justice. You tried to illegally overturn the election and overthrow the government. You were refusing to give up your seat in the Oval Office and decided to stage a coup. It’s that simple. And now the vast majority of the country wants a legal way to stop you from causing any further destruction. And truthfully, we don’t really care how we get there. As long as it’s honest and legal, we the people are going to throw whatever available book we have at you. Somebody should tell you this. I just did.

Have you read the 34 felony count indictment and its “Statement of Facts” against you? I have. Wow — I mean, it’s stunning in its brilliance and construction. It puts you in a real chokehold and yet allows the prosecution even more room in the coming months to crush you even further. I’m thinking you must have some sense of this and your impending doom.

The prosecutor you’re up against, Alvin Bragg — the one you call “an animal” and “a criminal” — he’s been a prosecutor for nearly 20 years. He’s helped put hundreds of criminals like you away. I know, I know — he’s Black. Just like those five innocent teenagers in Central Park that you tried to get a jury to send to the electric chair. Just like the thousands of families you and your father refused to rent your apartments to for decades until the federal government stopped you. Yes, that kind of Black! Yes, karma does suck! Yes, that was your father in the KKK parade way back in the day. Now you’ve got three Black prosecutors — the Manhattan D.A., the New York State Attorney General and the Fulton County, GA, prosecutor — all coming after you. Revenge for sins against them and all who look like them? I hope so! But, seriously, Black America has never really made us truly pay for their suffering, either the cruelty meted out to their ancestors by our ancestors, or the hand they themselves have been dealt by a society that still seems comfortable with the average white family in 2023 having a net worth 8 times that of the average Black family.

No, Defendant #4913961R, these Black prosecutors, whom you hurl racist insults at — including the one where you, New York’s leading racist, called them “racists(!)” — they are serious professionals who are just doing the job the majority of voters sent them to do. One of those jobs is to send you finally to prison.

All 34 charges against you are felonies. You conspired with others to silence people who had information the voters might possibly like to know before they cast their vote. You only won because of the 77,000 votes you got in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. How many would have changed their minds if they knew certain things about you? Your hush money payments went to at least three individuals, all with the intent of keeping the public in the dark in order to throw the election your way. And to cover it up, you told your lawyer, Michael Cohen, to take out a “home equity loan” for himself to pay off these individuals so it wouldn’t look like you had anything to do with it! What an idiot!

So, Defendant #4913961R, do you now understand why this is happening to you? And why we don’t care whatever the reason is they’ll be sending you to Sing Sing soon?

You attempted to blow up our democracy.

You led a violent uprising in which people died.

You tried to overthrow a presidential election, an election that you brutally lost.

You are on tape privately bullying the Georgia Secretary of State to illegally stuff the ballot box with 11,780 votes for you that did not exist.

Then You got 147 Republican members in Congress to vote to steal the election for you! Is there a greater act of treason in a Democracy than the outright theft of an election and thus the overthrow of the elected government?

You hate this country and what it stands for.

And the vast majority of us know it. That’s why we tossed you to the curb in 2020 and then put you on a garbage barge to Florida. You are correct to assume we and the prosecutors we elect will charge you and arrest you for ANY legal reason we can find.

Last night, in your continuing crusade to incite violence, you and your son posted a photo of the Judge’s daughter online. It was your way of threatening him with violence. You know it will take only one of your psychopathic supporters to commit a heinous act. Do you have any idea what tens of millions of American parents would do to you if you did anything to threaten their child’s life?

You’re upset because you think we’re prosecuting you because of a porn star? HAHAHA!

Look, we’d arrest you for anything we legally could — littering, parking tickets, jaywalking, you name it.

Anything to stop you from staging another coup. Anything that would stop you from endangering the life of that Judge’s daughter. Anything we can legally do to stop you, we will. You remember Al Capone. They could never get him on the murderous crime organization he ran. So they got him for lying on his income taxes. Nobody cared. The public wanted him put away by any legal means necessary. We’re Al Caponing you, Don.

Your crime spree, which began in 1973, is coming to an end.

Deal with it. Pack a toothbrush.

Vote Out Racism

 

Trump must be stopped and his history of racism and current racist policies must be exposed. It's time to vote out racism