thenation--2020-08-06--For Ottessa Moshfegh, Novel Writing Is a Spiritual Experience

Ottessa Moshfegh plumbs the absurd and the profane for the few moments of clarity one experiences under great duress .
Her fiction , with memorably unreliable narrators saddled with unorthodox desires , dramatizes the manifold ways that self-deception perpetuates the conditions of our own misery—and , sometimes , a descent into madness .
Moshfegh achieves all of this with pristine prose .
In this way , she hews closer to Vladimir Nabokov than she does to her contemporaries ; for both writers , language is simultaneously a puzzle box and a revelation .
Moshfegh ’ s latest novel , Death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her breakout novel Eileen , which was short-listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize , and 2018 ’ s My Year of Rest and Relaxation .
Hallucinatory at moments but always wry , the book begins as a mystery novel , with lonely old widow Vesta Gul finding an ominous note on the ground while out on a walk : “ Her name was Magda .
Nobody will ever know who killed her .
It wasn ’ t me .
Here is her body.
” But there is no body or evidence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lets herself hypothesize what might have happened to Magda , the more she finds herself turning her investigation inward , toward the sum total of her own life .
Before the book ’ s release in late June , the author and I chatted over Skype , with Moshfegh sitting in her backyard , taking puffs on a cigarette between her considered answers and an occasional whistle to her dog .
We talked about divinity , her approach to art , and getting into her characters ’ heads .
This conversation has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ o : Death in Her Hands marks a departure from your previous work in that poetry pops up here and there as plot points—W.B .
Yeats ’ s “ The Second Coming ” is incorporated into a note Vesta writes , and the last lines of William Blake ’ s “ The Voice of the Ancient Bard ” becomes almost a refrain toward the end of her investigation .
Could you tell me more about that choice ?
ttessa oshfegh : Vesta is someone who hasn ’ t really been all that authentic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she starts telling her story , it has a sense of performativeness .
The performance is one that is literary , because she is contained by language , basically , so that seemed appropriate .
There was also something naive about Vesta , how she has been in arrested development her whole life , since she ’ s never really been alone until her husband dies .
She hasn ’ t developed a side of herself that would enable her to make straight declarations and speak plainly .
She ’ s somebody who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying , because maybe she feels like no one will listen otherwise .
Or maybe she doesn ’ t really know what she ’ s saying yet .
I mean , I think a lot of the book is about her refinding her voice in her space .
RH : It ’ s interesting that Vesta ’ s performativity is instinctually literary !
The novel is a very self-referential book .
OM : I see what you mean .
It ’ s a book that writes about writing and the creative process .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ something—i.e.
, investigating a murder—the same way someone might go through writing a murder mystery novel .
So she is essentially being guided by writing principles rather than life principles .
What that allows for is this kind of solubility in the reality of her world , where things that get written can cross over from the imagination into reality , that also mimics the breakdown of what we think is her grip on her sanity or her life itself—that maybe she ’ s losing her grip on her actual life .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book .
I didn ’ t want for the novel to be a murder mystery ; I wanted it to be an exploration of character and the dissolution of a life , to see what it would be like if that dissolution was something agented by the life itself .
I guess that ’ s why I called it Death in Her Hands : because she dies .
She didn ’ t kill herself , but she ’ s experiencing her own death in a way that is also the most alive time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some sense .
RH : Religiosity suffuses the book : Vesta is living in Levant , driving to Bethsmane ( a portmanteau of Bethlehem and Gethsemane ) , listening to Pastor Jimmy on the radio , and trying to avoid a police officer she decides is named Ghod , who is hellbent on thwarting her investigation .
How does that tie in with her inherent literariness ?
OM : The Christianity in particular is just part of the fabric of her culture .
I could have written the story in any culture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the culture that I grew up close to , which was America .
She was raised in a culture that was Christian and moved to a place that is also Christian ; I just accepted that was the culture that I ’ m writing about and that someone of her age and impressionability would have internalized .
There ’ s this voice coming through the radio that isn ’ t the voice of God , but is speaking to her from some unseen place about God , that she could now question and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there ’ s potential for doubt and criticism .
I saw that element as something that she could overcome perhaps , because it had been so fundamental to her belief system .
That belief system had allowed her to live such an oppressed and repressed life so far that in retooling her spiritual paradigm according to her own imagination , she was empowering herself away from a paradigm that would have her be quiet and passive and just accept whatever the world handed to her or asked of her .
She was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Makes Room for the Messiness of Language Garth Greenwell on the Poetics of Cruising RH : How does this search for freedom relate to art and writing in particular ?
OM : Well , I guess that ’ s what I ’ m still searching for .
Art , for me , is like an attempt to… it ’ s an expression of God within ourselves .
It ’ s a transmission of our spirit .
There has to be some substance that we feel out in order to know where our boundaries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that ’ s why humans need relationships to grow , I think , and why we learned so much from struggle .
Freedom is the ability to choose what struggle you want in order to learn what you personally desire to learn .
And if you want to grow according to your own path , you can go seek out the experiences and the people that you think will help you , rather than be pummeled by external forces that you haven ’ t chosen to act upon you .
We don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about a character that just stays the same throughout the whole book .
I mean , at least I don ’ t .
Like , if the story is about that character , I am interested in how that moment changes the character through the course of the narrative .
I have to think about what that character is up against and how that conflict would lead her to new thoughts , decisions we wouldn ’ t expect , realizations about herself and her past , where she was wrong , where she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great if we could all live freely , but we haven ’ t been .
So I like it when people try to get free ; I like those stories .
Sometimes it ’ s really misguided or there ’ s been trauma , so the way that you approach your own freedom might actually be deleterious to yourself , or it might mean that you can ’ t live this life , actually , that you need to move on to the next one or something .
RH : Can art be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of getting one to live more freely ?
OM : Well , I think step one is that a story can be transportive , in that you can be in someone else ’ s life and experience and consciousness .
That expands you , to imagine that you are not you but someone else with different limitations and associations .
And if you can let go of who you are and be someone else for the course of reading , or at least be in that person ’ s mind , you might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have if you were trapped in yourself .
I don ’ t know if I think that the definition of art is transformative experience , but things that I like are things that make me feel like the human experience is larger than just my experience .
That I can feel things that I hadn ’ t felt before .
I can imagine ways of being that I ’ m not .
RH : How do you achieve that—to write about people who aren ’ t you , especially when you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : I think that it ’ s a really important question .
If you ’ re a writer who wants to write in the first person , I think partly you have to allow your character to speak from a place that is their privacy , and partly you have to be the author and guide your exploration of that character toward a story in which that character can have some kind of epiphany .
It ’ s like playing the piano ; you ’ re using both of your hands .
One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand , and the other one is directing and manipulating .
That ’ s what so much of writing is : a surrender to language and the limitations of language , the expectations of a story , what a reader needs to feel that they ’ re being handled effortlessly through a narrative , and also the magic of communication , despite all these limitations that we have .
All you have in a book is the written word .
Through whatever combination of words , however you order them , those are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ silently and hearing as a voice in their mind .
It ’ s like a virtual reality experience , in a way .
Once you get in there , you start leading .
But language alone can ’ t move someone .
Like , if I just wrote one word over and over again , it ’ s not going to have the same effect as if I sang the same note .
Like , you can sing the same note a million ways—your artistry can come through in how you do that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , letters .
I can change the font , but it ’ s still going to be the word .
So my job is to put one word next to another word to create a sentence or phrase , something evocative so that in your mind you ’ re not going to just be seeing words ; you ’ re going to be seeing what I ’ m evoking with them .
It ’ s something that emanates from the language but is not the language itself .
I mean , that ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trouble that I love : that we just have words when we ’ re writing , and we have to get them to do something , you know ?
RH : How do you write divinity , then , to express God within your characters ?
OM : Sometimes it looks like coincidence—that ’ s the most obvious way .
As vague as this sounds , the way that I experience it as a writer is when I can detach from my own voice , or the expectations that I have for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and hear something else that isn ’ t me .
Divinity is the thing that isn ’ t me ; it ’ s the thing that I ’ ve been trying to hear .
So much of my consciousness is like in this one area , and when I ’ m writing , I have to somehow access this other area where other people ’ s stories and experiences can be larger than mine .
Which isn ’ t to say that I feel like I ’ m writing about strangers—I get to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sometimes they feel friendly and sometimes they don ’ t .
McGlue [ from her debut novella McGlue ] was not a friendly narrator to me , and really , neither was the character in My Year of Rest and Relaxation .
RH : Really ?
In what way ?
OM : I mean , she hurt me a lot .
It hurt to put myself in her place .
It hurt less to be in Vesta ’ s place because she wasn ’ t so hard .
Vesta is , I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and she ’ s motivated by her curiosity in a way that ’ s empathic and appreciative of beauty .
The pain that she felt is all in the past , so it was almost like it ’ s safe now , because it ’ s over .
And yeah , she ’ s a bit alienated from society , and her judgments can be harsh and maybe unkind , but there ’ s a benevolence to her relationship to her world in general .
I wasn ’ t afraid of Vesta , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and world and story was a relief .
RH : Can hostility be generative for art ?
OM : Well , I don ’ t know .
I mean , people should be as hostile as they want in their writing .
Do it there , don ’ t do it out in the world to other people—don ’ t fucking hurt anybody , basically .
Writing requires , at times , an incredible amount of self-restraint and surrender .
Sometimes anger or some other very powerful emotion can help you be motivated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ access the bigger thing that you want this book to communicate .
I ’ m not going to write a book about how somebody cut me off ; that wouldn ’ t be a good book .
I think intense emotions can be good energy to make us want to be creative .
RH : Why are you attracted to the novel form ?
OM : The process of writing a novel , for me , feels like the most exciting thing that I do .
It ’ s starting with nothing and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I write , I feel like I put everything into them—they become my life .
In a short story , I kind of feel like my point of view is stationary and the story just comes out like so , but with a novel I ’ m moving in all these directions , and I feel freer .
What I ’ ve learned from writing each novel has been so immense and abstract , in many ways beyond the psychological .
If my mind were space the way that Vesta describes her mind-space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , changing dimensions , moving and filling and expanding in different colors… I don ’ t know , it ’ s a very spiritual experience .
It ’ s like conquering your own ego or something , which is impossible .

Ottessa Moshfegh plumbs the absurd and the profane for the few moments of clarity one experiences under great duress. Her fiction, with memorably unreliable narrators saddled with unorthodox desires, dramatizes the manifold ways that self-deception perpetuates the conditions of our own misery—and, sometimes, a descent into madness. Moshfegh achieves all of this with pristine prose. In this way, she hews closer to Vladimir Nabokov than she does to her contemporaries; for both writers, language is simultaneously a puzzle box and a revelation.
Moshfegh’s latest novel, Death in Her Hands, was drafted between her breakout novel Eileen, which was short-listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize, and 2018’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Hallucinatory at moments but always wry, the book begins as a mystery novel, with lonely old widow Vesta Gul finding an ominous note on the ground while out on a walk: “Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her body.” But there is no body or evidence of any crime, and the more Vesta lets herself hypothesize what might have happened to Magda, the more she finds herself turning her investigation inward, toward the sum total of her own life.
Before the book’s release in late June, the author and I chatted over Skype, with Moshfegh sitting in her backyard, taking puffs on a cigarette between her considered answers and an occasional whistle to her dog. We talked about divinity, her approach to art, and getting into her characters’ heads.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
—Rosemarie Ho
R osemarie H o: Death in Her Hands marks a departure from your previous work in that poetry pops up here and there as plot points—W.B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming” is incorporated into a note Vesta writes, and the last lines of William Blake’s “The Voice of the Ancient Bard” becomes almost a refrain toward the end of her investigation. Could you tell me more about that choice?
O ttessa M oshfegh: Vesta is someone who hasn’t really been all that authentic to herself in life, so when she starts telling her story, it has a sense of performativeness. The performance is one that is literary, because she is contained by language, basically, so that seemed appropriate. There was also something naive about Vesta, how she has been in arrested development her whole life, since she’s never really been alone until her husband dies. She hasn’t developed a side of herself that would enable her to make straight declarations and speak plainly. She’s somebody who needs to decorate what she’s saying, because maybe she feels like no one will listen otherwise. Or maybe she doesn’t really know what she’s saying yet. I mean, I think a lot of the book is about her refinding her voice in her space. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
RH: It’s interesting that Vesta’s performativity is instinctually literary! The novel is a very self-referential book.
OM: I see what you mean. It’s a book that writes about writing and the creative process. It’s a character going through something—i.e., investigating a murder—the same way someone might go through writing a murder mystery novel. So she is essentially being guided by writing principles rather than life principles. What that allows for is this kind of solubility in the reality of her world, where things that get written can cross over from the imagination into reality, that also mimics the breakdown of what we think is her grip on her sanity or her life itself—that maybe she’s losing her grip on her actual life. That was an effect I wanted for the book. I didn’t want for the novel to be a murder mystery; I wanted it to be an exploration of character and the dissolution of a life, to see what it would be like if that dissolution was something agented by the life itself. I guess that’s why I called it Death in Her Hands: because she dies. She didn’t kill herself, but she’s experiencing her own death in a way that is also the most alive time of her life so far, in some sense.
RH: Religiosity suffuses the book: Vesta is living in Levant, driving to Bethsmane (a portmanteau of Bethlehem and Gethsemane), listening to Pastor Jimmy on the radio, and trying to avoid a police officer she decides is named Ghod, who is hellbent on thwarting her investigation. How does that tie in with her inherent literariness?
OM: The Christianity in particular is just part of the fabric of her culture. I could have written the story in any culture, but I chose to write it in the culture that I grew up close to, which was America. She was raised in a culture that was Christian and moved to a place that is also Christian; I just accepted that was the culture that I’m writing about and that someone of her age and impressionability would have internalized. There’s this voice coming through the radio that isn’t the voice of God, but is speaking to her from some unseen place about God, that she could now question and be critical of. In its intangibility, there’s potential for doubt and criticism. I saw that element as something that she could overcome perhaps, because it had been so fundamental to her belief system. That belief system had allowed her to live such an oppressed and repressed life so far that in retooling her spiritual paradigm according to her own imagination, she was empowering herself away from a paradigm that would have her be quiet and passive and just accept whatever the world handed to her or asked of her. She was taking her life back. More From Rosemarie Ho Black Refuge and the Novel of Ideas: A Conversation With Maya Binyam August 3, 2023 Hua Hsu’s Lesson in Friendship September 27, 2022 An Intimate History of Hong Kong May 4, 2022
RH: How does this search for freedom relate to art and writing in particular?
OM: Well, I guess that’s what I’m still searching for. Art, for me, is like an attempt to… it’s an expression of God within ourselves. It’s a transmission of our spirit. There has to be some substance that we feel out in order to know where our boundaries are and what our consistency is. And that’s why humans need relationships to grow, I think, and why we learned so much from struggle. Freedom is the ability to choose what struggle you want in order to learn what you personally desire to learn. And if you want to grow according to your own path, you can go seek out the experiences and the people that you think will help you, rather than be pummeled by external forces that you haven’t chosen to act upon you.
We don’t want to read a story about a character that just stays the same throughout the whole book. I mean, at least I don’t. Like, if the story is about that character, I am interested in how that moment changes the character through the course of the narrative. I have to think about what that character is up against and how that conflict would lead her to new thoughts, decisions we wouldn’t expect, realizations about herself and her past, where she was wrong, where she had been deceived. It would be great if we could all live freely, but we haven’t been. So I like it when people try to get free; I like those stories. Sometimes it’s really misguided or there’s been trauma, so the way that you approach your own freedom might actually be deleterious to yourself, or it might mean that you can’t live this life, actually, that you need to move on to the next one or something.
RH: Can art be transformative, then, in that sense of getting one to live more freely?
OM: Well, I think step one is that a story can be transportive, in that you can be in someone else’s life and experience and consciousness. That expands you, to imagine that you are not you but someone else with different limitations and associations. And if you can let go of who you are and be someone else for the course of reading, or at least be in that person’s mind, you might have an experience that you couldn’t have if you were trapped in yourself.
I don’t know if I think that the definition of art is transformative experience, but things that I like are things that make me feel like the human experience is larger than just my experience. That I can feel things that I hadn’t felt before. I can imagine ways of being that I’m not.
RH: How do you achieve that—to write about people who aren’t you, especially when you’re a meticulously interior writer?
OM: I think that it’s a really important question. If you’re a writer who wants to write in the first person, I think partly you have to allow your character to speak from a place that is their privacy, and partly you have to be the author and guide your exploration of that character toward a story in which that character can have some kind of epiphany. It’s like playing the piano; you’re using both of your hands. One of them is feeling and seeking to understand, and the other one is directing and manipulating.
That’s what so much of writing is: a surrender to language and the limitations of language, the expectations of a story, what a reader needs to feel that they’re being handled effortlessly through a narrative, and also the magic of communication, despite all these limitations that we have. All you have in a book is the written word. Through whatever combination of words, however you order them, those are the words that the reader is internalizing silently and hearing as a voice in their mind. It’s like a virtual reality experience, in a way. Once you get in there, you start leading.
But language alone can’t move someone. Like, if I just wrote one word over and over again, it’s not going to have the same effect as if I sang the same note. Like, you can sing the same note a million ways—your artistry can come through in how you do that. But I can only write words, letters. I can change the font, but it’s still going to be the word. So my job is to put one word next to another word to create a sentence or phrase, something evocative so that in your mind you’re not going to just be seeing words; you’re going to be seeing what I’m evoking with them. It’s something that emanates from the language but is not the language itself. I mean, that’s the trouble, that’s the trouble that I love: that we just have words when we’re writing, and we have to get them to do something, you know?
RH: How do you write divinity, then, to express God within your characters?
OM: Sometimes it looks like coincidence—that’s the most obvious way. As vague as this sounds, the way that I experience it as a writer is when I can detach from my own voice, or the expectations that I have for a character or a narrative voice, and hear something else that isn’t me. Divinity is the thing that isn’t me; it’s the thing that I’ve been trying to hear. So much of my consciousness is like in this one area, and when I’m writing, I have to somehow access this other area where other people’s stories and experiences can be larger than mine. Which isn’t to say that I feel like I’m writing about strangers—I get to know my characters very intimately, and sometimes they feel friendly and sometimes they don’t. McGlue [from her debut novella McGlue] was not a friendly narrator to me, and really, neither was the character in My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
RH: Really? In what way?
OM: I mean, she hurt me a lot. It hurt to put myself in her place. It hurt less to be in Vesta’s place because she wasn’t so hard. Vesta is, I think, by nature a caring person, and she’s motivated by her curiosity in a way that’s empathic and appreciative of beauty. The pain that she felt is all in the past, so it was almost like it’s safe now, because it’s over. And yeah, she’s a bit alienated from society, and her judgments can be harsh and maybe unkind, but there’s a benevolence to her relationship to her world in general. I wasn’t afraid of Vesta, and actually having to enter her mind and world and story was a relief.
RH: Can hostility be generative for art?
OM: Well, I don’t know. I mean, people should be as hostile as they want in their writing. Do it there, don’t do it out in the world to other people—don’t fucking hurt anybody, basically. Writing requires, at times, an incredible amount of self-restraint and surrender. Sometimes anger or some other very powerful emotion can help you be motivated to get past your own shit and access the bigger thing that you want this book to communicate. I’m not going to write a book about how somebody cut me off; that wouldn’t be a good book. I think intense emotions can be good energy to make us want to be creative.
RH: Why are you attracted to the novel form?
OM:The process of writing a novel, for me, feels like the most exciting thing that I do. It’s starting with nothing and creating everything. And the novels that I write, I feel like I put everything into them—they become my life. In a short story, I kind of feel like my point of view is stationary and the story just comes out like so, but with a novel I’m moving in all these directions, and I feel freer. What I’ve learned from writing each novel has been so immense and abstract, in many ways beyond the psychological. If my mind were space the way that Vesta describes her mind-space, I can feel that space shifting, changing dimensions, moving and filling and expanding in different colors… I don’t know, it’s a very spiritual experience. It’s like conquering your own ego or something, which is impossible.


thenation--2020-08-06--Why We’re Demanding No Cops for Veep

Why We’re Demanding No Cops for Veep

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is getting a lot of advice right now on his vice-presidential selection , and he ’ s considering a lot of factors : geography , chemistry , and preparedness .
But there ’ s another factor that , as the codirector of an organization representing Black and brown communities in 35 states , Puerto Rico , and Washington , D.C. , I ’ m calling on Biden to carefully consider .
After months of protests , with millions in the streets demanding a real transformation in our criminal justice system , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in history demands that Biden not pick a former cop or prosecutor to be his running mate .
Since its inception , our policing system has been used to terrorize , subjugate , and , when necessary , kill Black people .
The recent murders of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor , and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of the police have forced the rest of the country to face this uncomfortable truth .
Finally , space is opening up for real , substantive change to systemic racism and policing in America .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the country , including our own members at the Center for Popular Democracy , have taken to the streets demanding radical transformation of our policing and criminal justice system , making Black Lives Matter not only the biggest movement in our nation ’ s history but also a defining issue in the upcoming presidential election .
Former vice president Biden must stand with this movement , composed of the Black women who propelled him to the Democratic nomination , and make clear through policy and his VP choice that he is on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put in place policies that protect Black people .
This means he can not have someone who has been a top cop , or in the pocket of the police , on the ticket , because doing so would not only signal that Biden is not committed to protecting Black lives but might also discourage the voters he needs to defeat Trump .
It is heartening and inspiring that Biden has committed to selecting a woman as his running mate—and it ’ s long overdue—but it ’ s not sufficient .
He must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who has a history of perpetuating a violent criminal justice system that targets and destroys Black lives .
Consider Senator Amy Klobuchar , once a top choice until her disastrous prosecutorial history rightly took her out of contention .
Picking Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer , a former prosecutor , could be another potential unforced error .
Each of the former DAs and police chiefs currently in the running have question marks on their record that make them a risk to real change .
In her time as a prosecutor in California , Senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that had been secured through official misconduct , including evidence tampering , false testimony , and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors .
She also backed policies that disproportionately harmed Black families , such as truancy laws and marijuana criminalization .
In her career as police chief in Orlando , Fla. , Representative Val Demings consistently sided with and defended police in police misconduct and abuse-of-power cases .
This is not to say that either can not make amends for their pasts , but this repentance must happen not only through words @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will take time , more time than Biden has before naming a running mate .
This is not an attack on individuals ; it is about where the country is .
We can not satisfy the demand for justice inside millions of protesters with a Democratic ticket that carries both the principal author of the 1994 crime bill and a prosecutor who helped uphold those discriminatory laws .
Biden , Just Say Yes on Medicare for All !
There Will Be No Return to Normality The Democratic Party Is Setting the Stage for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has leaned on Black voters to power through the primary season , and now he needs to take their demands seriously .
Data for Progress polled voters about their beliefs on police , police violence , the recent protests , and proposed reforms and found high levels of support , especially among Black voters , for an overhaul of the existing system of policing in the United States .
Further analysis shows that the top issue for Black women , a key demographic , is criminal justice and police reform , followed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BlackPAC showed that Black women are demanding that candidates run on addressing systemic racism , including criminal justice and policing reform ( 48 percent ) .
Addressing systemic racism , mass incarceration , and police violence is possible , and there are candidates on the VP short list who are committed to doing that .
Senator Elizabeth Warren , Representative Barbara Lee , Representative Karen Bass , and Stacey Abrams each have recognized the urgency of the moment .
Warren topped the list of veep prospects that Democratic voters want Biden to consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll .
Representatives Lee and Bass are both top choices of progressive voters in recent polls , and in her race for governor of Georgia in 2018 , Stacey Abrams broke Democratic turnout records in nearly every demographic from Latinx voters to young voters .
Black women have indicated that vice presidential candidates ’ policy positions matter most , and all of these women work to further the policies supported by the most loyal constituency the Democratic Party has .
Additionally , through his VP choice , Biden can address some of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his political career , he has designed and endorsed policies that have significantly exacerbated the problems progressive voters oppose .
As a US senator , he not only supported but also in many cases authored and championed laws that expanded mass incarceration , increased police powers , and exacerbated racial disparities in surveillance and sentencing .
These laws broke apart Black communities and robbed many young Black people of a future .
They are a part of the history that has led us to this moment , and their ongoing fallout has contributed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are seeing today .
Biden recently addressed cries to “ defund the police ” by calling for additional police reform ( and additional funding to the troubling COPS grant ) rather than reallocation of police funding .
This is in stark contrast to what activists are actively demanding around the country .
New data from the Center for Popular Democracy shows why activists are right : The police continue to receive an astronomical percentage of discretionary funds compared to resources that actually keep communities safe .
For Biden to make amends for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first step , but it is no longer enough .
In order to rise to this occasion , he must make a credible commitment to addressing systemic racism by choosing a VP who herself embodies that commitment , and by putting forward a transformative and comprehensive policing and criminal justice platform that shifts how we approach public safety and allows Black communities in particular to thrive .
Yes , we need Biden to get Trump out of office and defeat Trumpism .
But that ’ s not enough .
The demands of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reform to true transformation .
We have a new vision of public safety that shifts from one of policing , incarceration , and surveillance to one of care , restoration , and community investment .
We want leaders we believe share this vision and truly stand beside us in this fight .
That means no prosecutors or police as America ’ s # 2 .

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is getting a lot of advice right now on his vice presidential selection, and he’s considering a lot of factors: geography, chemistry, and preparedness. But there’s another factor that—as a codirector of an organization representing Black and brown communities in 35 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.—I’m calling on him to carefully consider.
After months of protests, with millions of people in the streets demanding a real transformation in our criminal justice system, it’s become clearer to me that this moment in history demands that Biden not pick a former cop or prosecutor to be his running mate.
Since its inception, our policing system has been used to terrorize, subjugate, and, when necessary, kill Black people. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of the police have forced the rest of the country to face this uncomfortable truth. Finally, space is opening up for real, substantive change to systemic racism and policing in America.
Over the past few months, people across the country, including our members at the Center for Popular Democracy, have taken to the streets demanding radical transformation of our policing and criminal justice system, making Black Lives Matter not only the biggest movement in our nation’s history but also a defining issue in the upcoming presidential election. Former vice president Biden must stand with this movement, including the Black women who propelled him to the Democratic nomination, and make clear through policy and his VP choice that he is on the right side of justice and will put in place policies that protect Black people. This means he cannot have someone who has been a top cop or in the pocket of the police on the ticket, because doing so would not only signal that he is not committed to protecting Black lives but also might discourage the voters he needs to defeat Donald Trump. Current Issue View our current issue
It is heartening and inspiring that Biden has committed to selecting a woman as his running mate—and it’s long overdue—but it’s not sufficient. He must consider the dangers of choosing a candidate who has a history of perpetuating a violent criminal justice system that targets and destroys Black lives. Consider Senator Amy Klobuchar, once a top choice until her disastrous prosecutorial history rightly took her out of contention. Picking Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a former prosecutor, could be another unforced error.
Each of the former DAs and police chiefs in the running have question marks on their record that make them a risk to real change. In her time as a prosecutor in California, Senator Kamala Harris fought to uphold wrongful convictions that were secured through official misconduct, including evidence tampering, false testimony, and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors. She also backed policies that disproportionately harmed Black families, such as truancy laws and marijuana criminalization. In her career as police chief in Orlando, Fla., Representative Val Demings consistently sided with and defended police in police misconduct and abuse-of-power cases. This is not to say that either cannot make amends for their pasts, but this repentance must happen not only through words but also through actions, and that will take time, more time than Biden has before naming a running mate. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
This is not an attack on individuals; it is about where the country is. We cannot satisfy the demand for justice by millions of protesters with a Democratic ticket that carries both the principal author of the 1994 crime bill and a prosecutor who helped uphold those discriminatory laws. Joe Biden “Bidenomics” vs. “Reaganomics” Mike Konczal On Israel and Palestine, US Electeds Are Out of Touch With Their Own Voters Phyllis Bennis Cluster Bombs Are “War-Crime” Weapons John Nichols
Biden has leaned on Black voters to power through the primary season, and now he needs to take their demands seriously. Data for Progress polled voters about their beliefs on police, police violence, the recent protests, and proposed reforms and found high levels of support, especially among Black voters, for an overhaul of the existing system of policing in the United States. Further analysis shows that the top issue for Black women, a key demographic, is criminal justice and police reform, followed by affordable health care. A poll from BlackPAC showed that Black women insist that candidates run on addressing systemic racism, including criminal justice and policing reform (48 percent).
Addressing systemic racism, mass incarceration, and police violence is possible, and there are candidates on the VP short list who are committed to doing that. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Barbara Lee, Representative Karen Bass, and Stacey Abrams have recognized the urgency of the moment. Warren topped the list of veep prospects Democratic voters want Biden to consider, according to a recent CBS News poll. Lee and Bass are top choices of progressive voters in recent polls, and in her race for governor of Georgia in 2018, Abrams broke Democratic turnout records in nearly every demographic, from Latinx voters to young voters. Black women have indicated that vice presidential candidates’ policy positions matter most, and all of these women work to further the policies supported by the most loyal constituency the Democratic Party has.
Additionally, through his VP choice, Biden can address some of his shortcomings on criminal justice.
Over his political career, he has designed and endorsed policies that have significantly exacerbated the problems progressive voters oppose. As a senator, he not only supported but also in many cases authored and championed laws that expanded mass incarceration, increased police powers, and exacerbated racial disparities in surveillance and sentencing. These laws broke apart Black communities and robbed many young Black people of a future. They are a part of the history that has led us to this moment, and their ongoing fallout has contributed to the outpourings of grief and anger we are seeing today.
Biden recently addressed cries to defund the police by calling for additional police reform (and more money for the troubling Community Oriented Policing Services grant program) rather than reallocation of police funding. This is in stark contrast to what activists are demanding around the country. New data from the Center for Popular Democracy shows why activists are right: The police continue to receive an astronomical percentage of discretionary funds compared with resources that actually keep communities safe. For Biden to make amends for the harm he helped cause would an important first step, but it would no longer be enough. In order to rise to this occasion, he must make a credible commitment to addressing systemic racism by choosing a VP who embodies that commitment and by putting forward a transformative and comprehensive policing and criminal justice platform that would shift how we approach public safety and allow Black communities in particular to thrive.
Yes, we need Biden to get Trump out of office and defeat Trumpism. But that’s not enough. The demands of the criminal justice movement have finally moved past reform to true transformation. We have a new vision of public safety that shifted from one of policing, incarceration, and surveillance to one of care, restoration, and community investment. We want leaders we believe share this vision and truly stand beside us in this fight. That means no prosecutors or police as America’s No. 2.


thenation--2020-08-06--A Lethal Traffic Stop in Georgia

A Lethal Traffic Stop in Georgia

Images of Black death have become inescapable , yet footage of Momodou Lamin Sisay ’ s death remains elusive .
Sisay was killed in Georgia on May 29 in an altercation with officers from the Snellville and Gwinnett County police departments.1 Here is the story , according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation : A Snellville police officer attempted to stop Sisay ’ s car on Skyland Drive for a vehicle tag violation .
Sisay reportedly did not stop .
A chase ensued .
Officers eventually forced his car off Temple Johnson Road .
They approached the car , giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comply .
As they prepared to enter the car , he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officers .
They fired and took cover behind their cars .
Sisay started his engine .
A SWAT team was called in .
He shot at the officers .
An unnamed officer shot back .
Sisay was found dead .
“ A handgun was located at the scene , ” says the police report.2 Sisay was Gambian , like me .
A common refrain of the Black Lives Matter movement is to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police victims .
Saying Sisay ’ s name , I thought of its similarity to mine .
Variations of the Prophet Muhammad ’ s name are common in Gambia ; mine is Muhammad Lamin , and my mother ’ s maiden name is Ceesay .
I imagine that most Black people , upon hearing news of state-sanctioned Black death , think , “ That could ’ ve been me.
” For me , those words have never rung truer .
In saying Sisay ’ s name , I ’ m almost saying mine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the news from the local outlets that first covered it , one of which referred to the killing as an “ officer-related shooting , ” this utterance would have been impossible.3 A sometimes painful aspect of diaspora existence is that grief , too often , is disrupted by distance .
Being from a country unfamiliar to most neighbors but with citizens around the world means getting the news by word of mouth .
Sisay was identified publicly in a Facebook post by Gambian human rights activist Banka Manneh , who is based in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing by Habib Mbye , a family friend of Sisay ’ s .
In a May 30 Facebook post , Manneh said the Gambian community “ is still holding out hope that some passerby recorded the proceedings just like that of George Floyd in Minnesota.
” No such person has come forward.4 From Manneh , I learned that Sisay was raised in Georgia .
He was better known as Boy Sisay , according to a eulogy on Facebook posted by Aji Amber Barry .
He was Muslim and “ known to always be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his siblings after his mother died .
Lare Sisay , Momodou Sisay ’ s father , described him as someone who “ abhors violence.
” The family has opened its own investigation into his death .
“ We ’ re not going to let it go , ” Lare Sisay told The Fatu Network , a Gambian news outlet.5 For a few days , it seemed that Momodou Sisay ’ s killing was the only thing Gambians talked about , particularly in Georgia ’ s tight-knit Gambian community .
A family member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be footage of the confrontation , but it turned out to be one that took place in New York last year .
There is no shortage of footage like this .
Traditional and online petitions demanding the release of body camera footage have circulated .
The Gambian government has gotten involved , calling for a federal investigation.6 Nelly Miles , a spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation , told The New York Times that the officers ’ body cameras were recording during the altercation , implying that the police have video of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made public.7 I asked some friends if they knew anyone with a Georgia address , and one of them put me in touch with a local activist .
I contacted the Sisay family ’ s civil attorney , the pro bono victims ’ advocate Abdoukadir Jaiteh , who told the Times that the footage was not made available to him because of the ongoing investigation.8 Throughout the process , I asked myself why I sought this video , which in a way I wish did not exist .
As Kia Gregory wrote in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ linked fate ” can make watching these videos a traumatizing experience .
“ When black people watch a video of police violence against another black person , they see themselves or their loved ones in that person ’ s place , knowing that the same fateful encounter could very well happen to them , ” she said .
At the same time , we live in an age when everything can be documented—and often is .
It then becomes a question of whose interests these documents serve .
In the case of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like police violence , a video image can function not only as evidence but also as vindication.9 The 1992 riots in Los Angeles , sparked by the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten Rodney King , might not have taken place if footage of the episode had not circulated nationwide for a year .
Though I was born two years after the riots , the video , recorded by a bystander , has been embedded in my memory ever since I first saw it as a child in Saudi Arabia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I was struck by the relentlessness of King ’ s attackers and saddened by the inaction of the other officers present , who did nothing to stop their colleagues.10 Ferguson , Mo.
, still burns in recent memory through an audio recording of Michael Brown being shot to death .
Eric Garner ’ s last words , “ I can ’ t breathe , ” captured on video after an officer from the New York Police Department put him in a choke hold , have become a rallying cry at demonstrations against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video surfaced of Walter Scott ’ s killing by a North Charleston , S.C. , police officer that directly contradicted the police version of events .
The killer claimed that Scott was reaching for the officer ’ s stun gun .
The video showed Scott running away when he was shot .
After these widely publicized killings—and the outrage in response—pressure mounted on police departments to implement the use of body cameras .
This year the visceral and widely seen video of George Floyd ’ s death in Minneapolis has brought us to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their reach .
The national consciousness has been seared with Floyd ’ s echo of Garner , his strained repetition of “ I can ’ t breathe.
” We watched a man dying for more than eight minutes ; the duration itself has taken on symbolic meaning .
It was a murder , caught on camera , to which we all became witnesses.11 The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was the first agency to respond to a request from my contact for information about Sisay ’ s death .
Brad Parks , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s office of privacy and compliance , sent a form letter stating that the requested documents were “ not subject to dissemination until the investigation is concluded , which may also include prosecutorial actions and the appeals process.
” The same response was used for previous requests .
Georgia law allows but does not require authorities to withhold any documents pertinent to an ongoing investigation .
A Snellville PD records coordinator and a customer service associate for Gwinnett County stated that most of my contact ’ s requests could not be met @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clause in Georgia law .
They did release the nearly empty initial police reports , about as blank as those filed for Breonna Taylor ’ s police killing in Louisville , Ky.12 My contact ’ s letter asked for the “ names and badge numbers of all police officers involved in Momodou Lamin Sisay ’ s death.
” Gwinnett County proceeded to provide my contact with an Excel spreadsheet titled “ List of Responding Officers , ” comprising 116 names .
Whether or not the intention was to bury a civilian request in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which officers actually took part in the fatal encounter .
Although the request was filed on June 22 , Gwinnett County said it would make an initial response by July 14—well past the three-day limit mandated by the Georgia Open Records Act .
The county did not provide a description of the records when it notified my contact of the delay , as required by the public records code .
Yet its report revealed a piece of information undisclosed anywhere else : the involvement , in an unspecified capacity , of the Atlanta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police reports and statements to the press have created a fog of uncertainty .
One inconsistency between the GBI ’ s preliminary press release and recorded interviews with officers who were at the scene was noted by The New York Times : The bureau claims that Sisay discharged his weapon after the SWAT team ’ s arrival , while Detective Jeff Manley of the Snellville PD told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that Sisay fired his weapon before the team arrived.14 According to Manley , “ The subject produced a handgun and began firing at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says that although Sisay pointed a gun at the Snellville officers , he was not the first to shoot .
Michele Pihera , a public information officer for the Gwinnett County PD , told the Journal-Constitution that “ the patrol officer assigned to Gwinnett County decided this situation would be a SWAT activation , ” but the GBI reports that it was Snellville police , not Gwinnett County police , who requested assistance from the county SWAT team .
Pihera also claimed that Sisay , after a single round from the team , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his vehicle.
” She said that , using a SWAT vehicle , officers “ were able to get up close and determine that he was , in fact , injured.
” In contrast , the GBI website says that “ GCPD SWAT approached the vehicle and found the driver unresponsive.
” 15 How to Make Defunding the Police a Reality There are more discrepancies between the statement about the case published on the GBI ’ s website and a video of on-the-scene interviews with Manley and Pihera conducted by the Journal-Constitution ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Snellville PD officers “ were preparing to use a non-lethal device to enter the vehicle when the driver pointed a handgun at the officers.
” In Spink ’ s video , on the other hand , Manley says that they went through with the use of the less-lethal device , but it “ did not have the effect that we wanted.
” The circumstances may well be different , but it is hard not to be reminded of Scott , who was accused of aggression and shot in the back.16 When Sisay died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killers ; they were the only witnesses .
The public might see the video evidence only after the GBI completes its investigation .
Even then , some information may remain redacted , as the law allows for the exemption clause to be applied to any subsequent prosecution process as well .
Yet my conversation with Manneh reminded me of what local authorities had been clear about from the start .
He wondered why , with the resources available to the Snellville and Gwinnett County police departments , more effort wasn ’ t made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Use of deadly force is meant to be restricted to cases of extreme necessity— circumstances unlikely to arise after a stop for a vehicle tag violation without some cause of escalation .
Jaiteh pointed out that Sisay did not present a threat to the community at the time of the chase , as there was little to no traffic .
In his opinion , the police “ should have called off the chase.
” 17 I reached out to the Snellville PD and the city manager for comment .
Police Chief Roy Whitehead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the GBI ’ s statement .
Sisay ’ s car was run off the road by way of two pit maneuvers because of a tag violation .
Sisay at no point responded to police commands , including offers of medical aid .
Whitehead told me that the Atlanta PD “ only assisted in trying to find out who owned the car.
” Although I didn ’ t ask , the Snellville PD also told me officers “ recovered a gun , fraudulent ID , and a felony amount of marijuana and packaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Sisay was “ a convicted felon ” and “ prohibited from possessing a firearm.
” Through my subsequent investigation , I learned that Sisay had a marijuana possession charge from 2011 and a previous vehicle tag violation .
Whitehead , with more direct access to the same information , chose to leave his description at “ convicted felon.
” 18 The Snellville PD maintains that Sisay shot first , finally acknowledging the existence of video as proof .
A particular detail from my exchange with Whitehead haunts me .
He said Sisay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it toward the officers , but they did not fire.
” Even in Whitehead ’ s version of events , Snellville PD officers pointed their guns at Sisay after he pointed his phone at them .
I was reminded of the police killing of Stephon Clark in Sacramento , after officers confused his cell phone for a gun.19 Sisay was not committing a violent crime when Snellville police began chasing his vehicle .
After he was run off the road , his vehicle was stuck .
Whitehead verified that , during the short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the vicinity .
According to all the relevant police authorities , a SWAT team—with armored vehicles—was called in to deal with one man with a single handgun .
No police officers were injured as a result of the altercation .
At the very least , this case appears to be one in which a miniature army was dispatched to deal with one man over missing paperwork.20 According to The New York Times , Butch Sanders , the Snellville city manager , claimed Sisay discharged his weapon five times .
But Sanders told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a specific number of shots.
” He stopped responding to my e-mails after I asked him to clarify whether he maintains that the Times misrepresented the details of its reporter ’ s conversation with him .
Whitehead , however , said that Sisay was in possession of a five-chamber revolver and that all its shots had been discharged .
A photo of the car , after it was taken in for evidence , shows white stickers placed next to every bullet hole .
There are dozens .
If Sisay did shoot five times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by law enforcement .
Was all this necessary for one man who was not presenting a danger to the public ?
21 While I conducted my investigation into the killing of Sisay , a 27-year-old Black man named Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police officers .
They claimed to have received a call from a local Wendy ’ s , where Brooks had fallen asleep in his car in the drive-through line .
Video of the killing , recorded by a bystander , was widely seen .
In response , the Atlanta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing , even though the case is under investigation by the GBI .
Under Georgia law , the choice is the police department ’ s alone.22

This article appears in the August 24/31, 2020 issue.
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Images of Black death have become inescapable, yet footage of Momodou Lamin Sisay’s death remains elusive. Sisay was killed in Georgia on May 29 in an altercation with officers from the Snellville and Gwinnett County police departments.1
Here is the story, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation: A Snellville police officer attempted to stop Sisay’s car on Skyland Drive for a vehicle tag violation. Sisay reportedly did not stop. A chase ensued. Officers eventually forced his car off Temple Johnson Road. They approached the car, giving “verbal commands.” Sisay did not comply. As they prepared to enter the car, he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officers. They fired and took cover behind their cars. Sisay started his engine. A SWAT team was called in. He shot at the officers. An unnamed officer shot back. Sisay was found dead. “A handgun was located at the scene,” says the police report.2
Sisay was Gambian, like me. A common refrain of the Black Lives Matter movement is to say, out loud, the names of police victims. Saying Sisay’s name, I thought of its similarity to mine. Variations of the Prophet Muhammad’s name are common in Gambia; mine is Muhammad Lamin, and my mother’s maiden name is Ceesay. I imagine that most Black people, upon hearing news of state-sanctioned Black death, think, “That could’ve been me.” For me, those words have never rung truer. In saying Sisay’s name, I’m almost saying mine. But if I had come across the news from the local outlets that first covered it, one of which referred to the killing as an “officer-related shooting,” this utterance would have been impossible.3
A sometimes painful aspect of diaspora existence is that grief, too often, is disrupted by distance. Being from a country unfamiliar to most neighbors but with citizens around the world means getting the news by word of mouth. Sisay was identified publicly in a Facebook post by Gambian human rights activist Banka Manneh, who is based in Atlanta. He was notified of the killing by Habib Mbye, a family friend of Sisay’s. In a May 30 Facebook post, Manneh said the Gambian community “is still holding out hope that some passerby recorded the proceedings just like that of George Floyd in Minnesota.” No such person has come forward.4
From Manneh, I learned that Sisay was raised in Georgia. He was better known as Boy Sisay, according to a eulogy on Facebook posted by Aji Amber Barry. He was Muslim and “known to always be at the mosque.” He took care of his siblings after his mother died. Lare Sisay, Momodou Sisay’s father, described him as someone who “abhors violence.” The family has opened its own investigation into his death. “We’re not going to let it go,” Lare Sisay told The Fatu Network, a Gambian news outlet.5 Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
For a few days, it seemed that Momodou Sisay’s killing was the only thing Gambians talked about, particularly in Georgia’s tight-knit Gambian community. A family member sent me a Facebook video purporting to be footage of the confrontation, but it turned out to be one that took place in New York last year. There is no shortage of footage like this. Traditional and online petitions demanding the release of body camera footage have circulated. The Gambian government has gotten involved, calling for a federal investigation.6
Nelly Miles, a spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told The New York Times that the officers’ body cameras were recording during the altercation, implying that the police have video of it. No such video has been made public.7 Current Issue View our current issue
I asked some friends if they knew anyone with a Georgia address, and one of them put me in touch with a local activist. I contacted the Sisay family’s civil attorney, the pro bono victims’ advocate Abdoukadir Jaiteh, who told the Times that the footage was not made available to him because of the ongoing investigation.8
Throughout the process, I asked myself why I sought this video, which in a way I wish did not exist. As Kia Gregory wrote in The New Republic, the phenomenon of “linked fate” can make watching these videos a traumatizing experience. “When black people watch a video of police violence against another black person, they see themselves or their loved ones in that person’s place, knowing that the same fateful encounter could very well happen to them,” she said. At the same time, we live in an age when everything can be documented—and often is. It then becomes a question of whose interests these documents serve. In the case of experiences that run counter to official narratives, like police violence, a video image can function not only as evidence but also as vindication.9
The 1992 riots in Los Angeles, sparked by the acquittal of four police officers who had beaten Rodney King, might not have taken place if footage of the episode had not circulated nationwide for a year. Though I was born two years after the riots, the video, recorded by a bystander, has been embedded in my memory ever since I first saw it as a child in Saudi Arabia. Before I ever experienced American policing, I was struck by the relentlessness of King’s attackers and saddened by the inaction of the other officers present, who did nothing to stop their colleagues.10
Ferguson, Mo., still burns in recent memory through an audio recording of Michael Brown being shot to death. Eric Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” captured on video after an officer from the New York Police Department put him in a choke hold, have become a rallying cry at demonstrations against police killings. Protests ensued after bystander video surfaced of Walter Scott’s killing by a North Charleston, S.C., police officer that directly contradicted the police version of events. The killer claimed that Scott was reaching for the officer’s stun gun. The video showed Scott running away when he was shot. After these widely publicized killings—and the outrage in response—pressure mounted on police departments to implement the use of body cameras. This year the visceral and widely seen video of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis has brought us to a breaking point, inspiring protests unprecedented in their reach. The national consciousness has been seared with Floyd’s echo of Garner, his strained repetition of “I can’t breathe.” We watched a man dying for more than eight minutes; the duration itself has taken on symbolic meaning. It was a murder, caught on camera, to which we all became witnesses.11
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was the first agency to respond to a request from my contact for information about Sisay’s death. Brad Parks, the special agent in charge of the GBI’s office of privacy and compliance, sent a form letter stating that the requested documents were “not subject to dissemination until the investigation is concluded, which may also include prosecutorial actions and the appeals process.” The same response was used for previous requests. Georgia law allows but does not require authorities to withhold any documents pertinent to an ongoing investigation. A Snellville PD records coordinator and a customer service associate for Gwinnett County stated that most of my contact’s requests could not be met at the time, citing the exemption clause in Georgia law. They did release the nearly empty initial police reports, about as blank as those filed for Breonna Taylor’s police killing in Louisville, Ky.12
My contact’s letter asked for the “names and badge numbers of all police officers involved in Momodou Lamin Sisay’s death.” Gwinnett County proceeded to provide my contact with an Excel spreadsheet titled “List of Responding Officers,” comprising 116 names. Whether or not the intention was to bury a civilian request in paperwork, it was impossible to determine which officers actually took part in the fatal encounter. Although the request was filed on June 22, Gwinnett County said it would make an initial response by July 14—well past the three-day limit mandated by the Georgia Open Records Act. The county did not provide a description of the records when it notified my contact of the delay, as required by the public records code. Yet its report revealed a piece of information undisclosed anywhere else: the involvement, in an unspecified capacity, of the Atlanta Police Department.13
Rayshard Brooks, who was killed by Atlanta Police in June. (@KristenClarkeJD / Twitter)
The Snellville and Gwinnett County police reports and statements to the press have created a fog of uncertainty. One inconsistency between the GBI’s preliminary press release and recorded interviews with officers who were at the scene was noted by The New York Times: The bureau claims that Sisay discharged his weapon after the SWAT team’s arrival, while Detective Jeff Manley of the Snellville PD told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that Sisay fired his weapon before the team arrived.14
According to Manley, “The subject produced a handgun and began firing at the officers.” But the GBI report says that although Sisay pointed a gun at the Snellville officers, he was not the first to shoot. Michele Pihera, a public information officer for the Gwinnett County PD, told the Journal-Constitution that “the patrol officer assigned to Gwinnett County decided this situation would be a SWAT activation,” but the GBI reports that it was Snellville police, not Gwinnett County police, who requested assistance from the county SWAT team. Pihera also claimed that Sisay, after a single round from the team, “still continued to move around inside his vehicle.” She said that, using a SWAT vehicle, officers “were able to get up close and determine that he was, in fact, injured.” In contrast, the GBI website says that “GCPD SWAT approached the vehicle and found the driver unresponsive.”15 Killer cops How to Make Defunding the Police a Reality Bryce Covert
There are more discrepancies between the statement about the case published on the GBI’s website and a video of on-the-scene interviews with Manley and Pihera conducted by the Journal-Constitution’s John Spink. The website says that Snellville PD officers “were preparing to use a non-lethal device to enter the vehicle when the driver pointed a handgun at the officers.” In Spink’s video, on the other hand, Manley says that they went through with the use of the less-lethal device, but it “did not have the effect that we wanted.” The circumstances may well be different, but it is hard not to be reminded of Scott, who was accused of aggression and shot in the back.16
When Sisay died, not only were the police his killers; they were the only witnesses. The public might see the video evidence only after the GBI completes its investigation. Even then, some information may remain redacted, as the law allows for the exemption clause to be applied to any subsequent prosecution process as well. Yet my conversation with Manneh reminded me of what local authorities had been clear about from the start. He wondered why, with the resources available to the Snellville and Gwinnett County police departments, more effort wasn’t made to obtain Sisay’s surrender. Use of deadly force is meant to be restricted to cases of extreme necessity— circumstances unlikely to arise after a stop for a vehicle tag violation without some cause of escalation. Jaiteh pointed out that Sisay did not present a threat to the community at the time of the chase, as there was little to no traffic. In his opinion, the police “should have called off the chase.”17
I reached out to the Snellville PD and the city manager for comment. Police Chief Roy Whitehead’s version of events mostly aligned with the GBI’s statement. Sisay’s car was run off the road by way of two pit maneuvers because of a tag violation. Sisay at no point responded to police commands, including offers of medical aid. Whitehead told me that the Atlanta PD “only assisted in trying to find out who owned the car.” Although I didn’t ask, the Snellville PD also told me officers “recovered a gun, fraudulent ID, and a felony amount of marijuana and packaging material.” Whitehead concluded with the revelation that Sisay was “a convicted felon” and “prohibited from possessing a firearm.” Through my subsequent investigation, I learned that Sisay had a marijuana possession charge from 2011 and a previous vehicle tag violation. Whitehead, with more direct access to the same information, chose to leave his description at “convicted felon.”18
The Snellville PD maintains that Sisay shot first, finally acknowledging the existence of video as proof. A particular detail from my exchange with Whitehead haunts me. He said Sisay “raised a cell phone, pointing it toward the officers, but they did not fire.” Even in Whitehead’s version of events, Snellville PD officers pointed their guns at Sisay after he pointed his phone at them. I was reminded of the police killing of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, after officers confused his cell phone for a gun.19
Sisay was not committing a violent crime when Snellville police began chasing his vehicle. After he was run off the road, his vehicle was stuck. Whitehead verified that, during the short chase, only one other vehicle was in the vicinity. According to all the relevant police authorities, a SWAT team—with armored vehicles—was called in to deal with one man with a single handgun. No police officers were injured as a result of the altercation. At the very least, this case appears to be one in which a miniature army was dispatched to deal with one man over missing paperwork.20
According to The New York Times, Butch Sanders, the Snellville city manager, claimed Sisay discharged his weapon five times. But Sanders told me that he “did not mention a specific number of shots.” He stopped responding to my e-mails after I asked him to clarify whether he maintains that the Times misrepresented the details of its reporter’s conversation with him. Whitehead, however, said that Sisay was in possession of a five-chamber revolver and that all its shots had been discharged. A photo of the car, after it was taken in for evidence, shows white stickers placed next to every bullet hole. There are dozens. If Sisay did shoot five times, the rest must have been fired by law enforcement. Was all this necessary for one man who was not presenting a danger to the public?21
While I conducted my investigation into the killing of Sisay, a 27-year-old Black man named Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police officers. They claimed to have received a call from a local Wendy’s, where Brooks had fallen asleep in his car in the drive-through line. Video of the killing, recorded by a bystander, was widely seen. In response, the Atlanta PD released body camera footage of the killing, even though the case is under investigation by the GBI. Under Georgia law, the choice is the police department’s alone.22


thenation--2020-08-06--Biden, Just Say Yes on Medicare for All!

Many of us are committed to preventing four more years of Donald Trump by any means necessary : mailing ballots , voting early , or braving in-person polls in November if we have to .
As John Lewis recently reminded us , “ Democracy is not a state .
It is an act , and each generation must do its part.
” While Joe Biden ’ s basement campaign may have given him a lead in the opinion polls , it has done nothing to inspire young progressives to embrace a compromising—and deeply compromised—candidate whose reflexive bias toward the center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the current moment .
Their frustration would have been all too familiar to the 23-year-old Lewis , the revolutionary firebrand who at the 1963 March on Washington was prevented by the organizers from asking , “ Which side is the federal government on ?
” Without Medicare for All , This Isn ’ t ‘ the Boldest Democratic Platform in American History ’ The question remains all too pertinent .
Yet it also suggests the single thing Biden could do to genuinely excite young Bernie Sanders supporters and to wake up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whatever the reasons for Biden ’ s previous resistance , the pandemic gives him more than enough cover to change his mind .
From personal protective equipment and testing shortages to vaccine access to track and trace , the private sector just isn ’ t up to the job .
Recognizing that reality would be a sign of strength .
It could also electrify and transform US politics .
As John Nichols recently noted , Alvan Earle Bovay , who called the meeting that founded the Republican Party in 1854 , previously campaigned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ farm.
” Give Americans the chance to vote ourselves guaranteed health care in November , and Trump and Trumpism will be buried under the landslide .

This article appears in the August 24/31, 2020 issue.
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Many of us are committed to preventing four more years of Donald Trump by any means necessary: mailing ballots, voting early, or braving in-person polls in November if we have to. As John Lewis recently reminded us, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.”
While Joe Biden’s basement campaign may have given him a lead in the opinion polls, it has done nothing to inspire young progressives to embrace a compromising—and deeply compromised—candidate whose reflexive bias toward the center misses both the urgency and the desperation of the current moment. Their frustration would have been all too familiar to the 23-year-old Lewis, the revolutionary firebrand who at the 1963 March on Washington was prevented by the organizers from asking, “Which side is the federal government on?” Related Article Without Medicare for All, This Isn’t ‘the Boldest Democratic Platform in American History’ John Nichols
The question remains all too pertinent. Yet it also suggests the single thing Biden could do to genuinely excite young Bernie Sanders supporters and to wake up the electorate: Endorse Medicare for All. Whatever the reasons for Biden’s previous resistance, the pandemic gives him more than enough cover to change his mind. From personal protective equipment and testing shortages to vaccine access to track and trace, the private sector just isn’t up to the job.
Recognizing that reality would be a sign of strength. It could also electrify and transform US politics. As John Nichols recently noted, Alvan Earle Bovay, who called the meeting that founded the Republican Party in 1854, previously campaigned on the slogan “Vote yourself a farm.” Give Americans the chance to vote ourselves guaranteed health care in November, and Trump and Trumpism will be buried under the landslide.


thenation--2020-08-06--2020 Is a Great Year for #SquadPolitics. Just Ask Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib.

Representative Rashida Tlaib celebrated her landslide win in what was supposed to be a close Michigan primary Tuesday by explaining that—no matter what the doubters say—the insurgency seeking to transform the Democratic Party and America is real .
And it ’ s not going away .
“ Headlines said I was the most vulnerable member of the Squad , ” she announced .
“ My community responded last night and said our Squad is big .
It includes all who believe we must show up for each other and prioritize people over profits .
It ’ s here to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bigger.
” There was no hyperbole in that statement .
The members of “ the Squad , ” young progressive women who shook up politics in 2018 , are posting victories in their 2020 reelection runs .
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , who upset Representative Joe Crowley two years ago , won her June primary in New York with almost 73 percent of the vote .
Tlaib , who narrowly prevailed in her 2018 primary and who media reports suggested was in a tight race this year , was winning 66 percent .
Representative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week in Minnesota but looks to be running strong .
And Representative Ayanna Pressley , who beat a Democratic incumbent in her 2018 Massachusetts primary , is by all accounts coasting to reelection this year .
Noting the size of Tlaib ’ s win , Ocasio-Cortez explained , “ She didn ’ t ‘ survive ’ —she *overwhelmed* at the polls .
Throughout our first term , we ’ ve been told our advocacy is ‘ too much ’ to be re-elected.
” Instead , voters supported Tlaib , the House member who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , by a 2-1 margin .
It didn ’ t stop with Tlaib .
Activist supporters of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal—proposals that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has shied away from and that Democratic platform drafters left out of their 2020 document—weren ’ t just reelecting members of the Squad .
They were nominating new members .
The President ’ s Damned Lies Are Killing Us Tuesday ’ s results confirmed that 2020 is shaping up as an even bigger year than 2018 for insurgent progressives who argue that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic , social , and racial justice , saving the planet , and promoting peace .
In Missouri , Cori Bush won a rematch primary with 20-year incumbent Representative William Lacy Clay , who has held the safely Democratic St. Louis–area seat since his father , Bill Clay , retired in 2001 .
Backed by Justice Democrats and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , Bush campaigned as a nurse and a leader in the racial justice movements that emerged in Ferguson after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They called me just the protester .
They called me—I ’ m just the protester , I ’ m just the activist with no name , no title and no real money .
That ’ s all they said that I was .
But St. Louis showed up today , ” Bush declared when the results came in .
“ It is historic that this year , of all the years , we are sending a Black , working-class , single mother , who ’ s been fighting for Black lives since Ferguson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Congress.
” Even as Election Day approached , Bush , who was hospitalized during the campaign as she battled Covid-19 , was counted out by many pundits as they watched Clay secure endorsements from party leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Senator Kamala Harris , as well as groups such as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Sierra Club Independent Action .
When Bush prevailed by around 4,500 votes—as Missouri voters approved a plan to expand Medicaid , and as a pair of progressive reformers , St. Louis Circuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tishaura Jones , easily won their primaries—Nomiki Konst , a veteran activist who ’ s on the board of the group Matriarch .
Bush helped organize Matriarch , a national group that seeks to help working-class progressive women get elected , and Konst described the Missourian as a tireless candidate who overcame enormous odds to secure a win with national implications .
Bush ’ s victory follows progressives successes earlier this year for Marie Newman , who beat socially conservative Democratic Representative William Lipinski in a March Illinois primary .
And for Jamaal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee chair , Eliot Engel , in a June New York primary that also yielded victories for young progressives such as 33-year-old Mondaire Jones and 32-year-old Ritchie Torres in contests for the open seats of retiring House veterans .
And for Kara Eastman in Nebraska , who swept her primary in May .
And , perhaps , for others such as Holyoke , Mass.
, Mayor Alex Morse , who is taking on House Committee on Ways and Means Committee chair Richard Neal in a September 1 Democratic primary .
“ It looks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of something , ” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison , a former cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus .
“ There ’ s a lot of ways to look at it , but I think it ’ s proof that Bernie was right .
He may not have won , but his movement ’ s winning .
And it ’ s going to keep on winning.
” Bush acknowledged the Sanders connection in her victory speech , telling the crowd , “ Let me also thank somebody who stood with me that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I got ta call out Senator Bernie Sanders.
” Sanders , who planned to host a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday night with Bush , Bowman , and Tlaib , hailed Bush ’ s “ incredible upset win in Missouri.
” “ So what do these victories say about the current moment ?
” asked the former 2020 Democratic presidential contender .
“ Don ’ t let anyone fool you .
The truth is , despite the opposition of powerful special interests , we are transforming American politics .
The political revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bush and Tlaib ’ s wins also highlighted the work of Justice Democrats , the group that has endorsed and organized on behalf of insurgents who challenge Democrats with corporate ties .
“ This is a huge upset and another groundbreaking win for our movement against a corporate-backed political dynasty , ” Alexandra Rojas , the executive director of Justice Democrats , said of the win by Bush , who she noted had “ organized a movement through pepper spray and rioting police in the streets of Ferguson .
Her tenacity and unbreakable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress today.
” That movement energy is not to be underestimated .
At a time when Democrats in D.C. still wrestle with the question of how bold the party should be , Cori Bush offers an answer : “ Tonight , Missouri ’ s 1st has decided that an incremental approach isn ’ t going to work any longer , ” she declared at a victory party where she saluted movement politics by raising a clenched fist of solidarity in the air .
“ We decided that we the people have the answers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front lines .
”

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Representative Rashida Tlaib celebrated her landslide win in what was supposed to be a close Michigan primary Tuesday by declaring that—no matter what the doubters say—the insurgency seeking to transform the Democratic Party and America is real. And it’s not going away.
“Headlines said I was the most vulnerable member of the Squad,” she announced. “My community responded last night and said our Squad is big. It includes all who believe we must show up for each other and prioritize people over profits. It’s here to stay, and it’s only getting bigger.”
There was no hyperbole in that statement. The members of “the Squad,” young progressive women who shook up politics in 2018, are posting victories in their 2020 reelection runs. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who upset Representative Joe Crowley two years ago, won her June primary in New York with almost 73 percent of the vote. Tlaib, who narrowly prevailed in her 2018 primary and who media reports suggested was in a tight race this year, was winning 66 percent. Representative Ilhan Omar faces a primary challenge next week in Minnesota but looks to be running strong. And Representative Ayanna Pressley, who beat a Democratic incumbent in her 2018 Massachusetts primary, is by all accounts coasting to reelection this year.
Noting the size of Tlaib’s win, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “She didn’t ‘survive’—she *overwhelmed* at the polls. Throughout our first term, we’ve been told our advocacy is ‘too much’ to be re-elected.” Instead, voters supported Tlaib, who led the charge for impeaching President Trump, two to one. It didn’t stop with Tlaib. Activist supporters of Medicare for All and a Green New Deal—proposals that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has shied away from and that Democratic platform drafters left out of their 2020 document—weren’t just reelecting members of the Squad. They were nominating new members. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Tuesday’s results confirmed that 2020 is shaping up as an even bigger year than 2018 for insurgent progressives who argue that the party must extend its commitment to economic, social, and racial justice; saving the planet; and promoting peace. In Missouri, Cori Bush won a rematch primary with 20-year incumbent Representative William Lacy Clay, who has held the safely Democratic St. Louis–area seat since his father, Bill Clay, retired in 2001. Backed by Justice Democrats and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Bush campaigned as a nurse and a leader in the racial justice movements that emerged in Ferguson after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in 2014. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life A Grim Chronicle of Trump’s Corrupt Public Life Chris Lehmann
“They counted us out. They called me just the protester. They called me—I’m just the protester, I’m just the activist with no name, no title and no real money. That’s all they said that I was. But St. Louis showed up today,” Bush declared after the results came in. “It is historic that this year, of all the years, we are sending a Black working-class single mother who’s been fighting for Black lives since Ferguson all the way to the halls of Congress.”
As the primary election approached, Bush, who was hospitalized during the campaign as she battled Covid-19, was counted out by many pundits, with Clay securing endorsements from party leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Senator Kamala Harris, as well as groups such as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Sierra Club Independent Action. Yet Bush prevailed by around 4,500 votes on a day when Missouri voters also approved a plan to expand Medicaid and renominated a pair of progressive reformers, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones. Nomiki Konst, a veteran activist who’s on the board of Matriarch—a national group Bush helped organize that assists working-class progressive women in getting elected—says Bush overcame enormous odds to secure a win with national implications. Current Issue View our current issue
Her victory follows progressive successes this year for Marie Newman, who beat socially conservative Democratic Representative Dan Lipinski in a March Illinois primary. And for Jamaal Bowman, who beat House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Eliot Engel in June in New York; those primaries also yielded victories for young progressives such as 33-year-old Mondaire Jones and 32-year-old Ritchie Torres in contests for retiring House veterans’ open seats. And for Kara Eastman in Nebraska, who took her primary in May. And, perhaps, for others such as Holyoke, Mass., Mayor Alex Morse, who is taking on House Committee on Ways and Means chair Richard Neal in a September 1 Democratic primary.
“It looks like we’re in the middle of something,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a former cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “There’s a lot of ways to look at it, but I think it’s proof that Bernie was right. He may not have won, but his movement’s winning. And it’s going to keep on winning.”
Bush acknowledged the Sanders connection in her victory speech, telling the crowd, “Let me also thank somebody who stood with me that did not have to stand with me…. I gotta call out Senator Bernie Sanders.”
Sanders, who planned to host a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday night with Bush, Bowman, and Tlaib, hailed Bush’s “incredible upset win in Missouri.”
“So what do these victories say about the current moment?” asked the former 2020 Democratic presidential contender. “Don’t let anyone fool you. The truth is, despite the opposition of powerful special interests, we are transforming American politics. The political revolution is gaining more and more support.”
Bush’s and Tlaib’s wins also highlighted the work of Justice Democrats, a group that has endorsed and organized on behalf of insurgents who challenge Democrats with corporate ties. “This is a huge upset and another groundbreaking win for our movement against a corporate-backed political dynasty,” said its executive director, Alexandra Rojas, of the win by Bush, who had “organized a movement through pepper spray and rioting police in the streets of Ferguson. Her tenacity and unbreakable pursuit of justice is desperately needed in Congress today.”
That movement energy is not to be underestimated. At a time when Democrats in D.C. still wrestle with the question of how bold the party should be, Bush offers an answer. “Tonight, Missouri’s First [Congressional District] has decided that an incremental approach isn’t going to work any longer,” she declared at a victory party where she saluted movement politics by raising a clenched fist of solidarity in the air. “We decided that we the people have the answers and we will lead from the front lines.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the Illinois Democratic congressman who lost to Marie Newman in a primary race earlier this year. He is Dan Lipinski, not William Lipinski.