thenation--2020-06-11--Dockworkers to Shut Down West Coast Ports in Memory of George Floyd

On June 19th , members of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union ( ILWU ) will shut down 29 ports across the West coast in solidarity with ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd .
The day of action is slated for Juneteenth , the day celebrating the heralding of the emancipation proclamation to Texan slaves more than two years after the proclamation took effect in 1863 .
Since its founding in 1937 , the ILWU has endured as one of the most radical antiracist unions in the country .
It was one of the first American unions to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the 1940s it publicly agitated against the internment of Japanese Americans .
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s the ILWU led organizing drives and even inducted Martin Luther King as an honorary union member after he spoke to members of San Francisco ’ s Local 10 in 1967 .
In recent years the union has protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with similar work stoppages and refused to unload containers from an Israeli-owned ship in protest of the killing of Palestinians at the hands of the IDF .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ILWU also shut down ports in 2010 over the police killing of Oscar Grant .
But despite the ILWU ’ s recent and historic stance on racial justice , increasingly anti-labor rulings from the National Labor Relations Board have meant that the decision to stop work is always fraught with debates over the legal repercussion of escalation .
In March , a Portland judge ruled against the ILWU for millions in damages in response to an extended slowdown campaign against terminal operator ICTSI in Portland , Oregon that began in 2012 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ damages comes to more than twice the ILWU ’ s total assets and has many worried that it could potentially bankrupt the union , especially as ICTSI seeks a new trial for even more damages .
How Dockworkers Are Fighting the Arms Trade For now , the shutdown is scheduled to overlap with a coastwide ILWU stop-work meeting , a tactic that falls within protections afforded by the union contracts .
The longshore workers intend to use their day of action to call on other unions to stand in solidarity with all those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Efforts are underway to coordinate with East coast dock workers in the International Longshoreman ’ s Association ( ILA ) in an effort to organize the first dual-coast port shutdown in American history , and ILWU members are hoping their shutdown will inspire inland unions to join forces as well .
The potential for a bicoastal shutdown goes beyond a symbolic gesture of worker solidarity against police brutality .
Estimates predict the hit to American GDP from a five-day west coast shutdown at almost $ 10 billion .
If the shutdown spread to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rise substantially .
Jack Heyman , a former longshoreman and one of the lead organizers of the shutdown protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , points out that the planned action is part of ILWU ’ s long history of standing against police violence .
Dock workers have maintained this commitment since the murder of labor activists sparked the bloody waterfront strike of 1934—a moment in American labor ’ s militant history that recalls similar scenes of police violence coming out of Seattle and the Bay Area in recent weeks .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been targeted by the police .
In fact , if you look at ILWU locals ’ bylaws , many of them explicitly ban police from membership .
That ’ s because the police have always been used as tools in the fight against the working people of this country , ” Heyman said .
Since George Floyd ’ s murder , the planned ILWU shutdown is one of the highest profile labor actions to take shape .
It follows on the heels of unionized bus drivers in Minneapolis and New York City refusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serves as a significant escalation at a time when some of the largest and most powerful unions—in addition to the AFL-CIO—are facing progressive challenges to long-entrenched moderate leadership .
At the Teamsters , the O ’ Brien/Zuckerman ticket is running to unseat the IBT dynasty now led by James Hoffa .
At the AFL-CIO , Sara Nelson , president of the Association of Flight Attendants ( AFA ) , is gearing up for a potential run against Richard Trumka , who has refused calls to disaffiliate police unions from the AFL-CIO .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ standing together to make it clear that racial injustice is directly tied to the injustices of all workers in this country .
There ’ s no more critical time than right now for labor to stand together and force change , ” Nelson said .
On Friday , the AFA passed a resolution calling for sweeping police reforms and the removal of law enforcement from the labor movement should they fail to comply .
Keith Shanklin , the first black president of ILWU local 34 in Oakland , came together with the historically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 91 to organize the Juneteenth stoppage .
“ Right now , workers have more power than a lot of people in this country understand , ” Shanklin said .
“ That ’ s why we are going to put that power on display : to raise the voices of labor , and to raise the voices of black people in this country .
To demand and return justice for George Floyd .
”

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On June 19th, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will shut down 29 ports across the West coast in solidarity with ongoing protests over the murder of George Floyd. The day of action is slated for Juneteenth, the day celebrating the heralding of the emancipation proclamation to Texan slaves more than two years after the proclamation took effect in 1863.
Since its founding in 1937, the ILWU has endured as one of the most radical antiracist unions in the country. It was one of the first American unions to desegregate work gangs in the 1930s and during the 1940s it publicly agitated against the internment of Japanese Americans. During the civil rights movement of the 1960s the ILWU led organizing drives and even inducted Martin Luther King as an honorary union member after he spoke to members of San Francisco’s Local 10 in 1967.
In recent years the union has protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with similar work stoppages and refused to unload containers from an Israeli-owned ship in protest of the killing of Palestinians at the hands of the IDF. In maintaining its commitment to racial justice, the ILWU also shut down ports in 2010 over the police killing of Oscar Grant.
But despite the ILWU’s recent and historic stance on racial justice, increasingly anti-labor rulings from the National Labor Relations Board have meant that the decision to stop work is always fraught with debates over the legal repercussion of escalation. In March, a Portland judge ruled against the ILWU for millions in damages in response to an extended slowdown campaign against terminal operator ICTSI in Portland, Oregon that began in 2012. The award of $19 million in damages comes to more than twice the ILWU’s total assets and has many worried that it could potentially bankrupt the union, especially as ICTSI seeks a new trial for even more damages. 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 on the docks How Dockworkers Are Fighting the Arms Trade Katy Fox-Hodess
For now, the shutdown is scheduled to overlap with a coastwide ILWU stop-work meeting, a tactic that falls within protections afforded by the union contracts. The longshore workers intend to use their day of action to call on other unions to stand in solidarity with all those threatened by police violence and exploitation.
Efforts are underway to coordinate with East coast dock workers in the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in an effort to organize the first dual-coast port shutdown in American history, and ILWU members are hoping their shutdown will inspire inland unions to join forces as well.
The potential for a bicoastal shutdown goes beyond a symbolic gesture of worker solidarity against police brutality. Estimates predict the hit to American GDP from a five-day west coast shutdown at almost $10 billion. If the shutdown spread to the East Coast, that number could rise substantially. Current Issue View our current issue
Jack Heyman, a former longshore worker and one of the lead organizers of the shutdown protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, points out that the planned action is part of ILWU’s long history of standing against police violence. Dock workers have maintained this commitment since the murder of labor activists sparked the bloody waterfront strike of 1934—a moment in American labor’s militant history that recalls similar scenes of police violence coming out of Seattle and the Bay Area in recent weeks.
“Black and brown union lives have always been targeted by the police. In fact, if you look at ILWU locals’ bylaws, many of them explicitly ban police from membership. That’s because the police have always been used as tools in the fight against the working people of this country,” Heyman said.
Since George Floyd’s murder, the planned ILWU shutdown is one of the highest profile labor actions to take shape. It follows on the heels of unionized bus drivers in Minneapolis and New York City refusing to transport arrested protesters, and also serves as a significant escalation at a time when some of the largest and most powerful unions—in addition to the AFL-CIO—are facing progressive challenges to long-entrenched moderate leadership.
At the Teamsters, the O’Brien/Zuckerman ticket is running to unseat the IBT dynasty now led by James Hoffa. At the AFL-CIO, Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), is gearing up for a potential run against Richard Trumka, who has refused calls to disaffiliate police unions from the AFL-CIO.
“It’s fantastic that longshoremen are standing together to make it clear that racial injustice is directly tied to the injustices of all workers in this country. There’s no more critical time than right now for labor to stand together and force change,” Nelson said. On Friday, the AFA passed a resolution calling for sweeping police reforms and the removal of law enforcement from the labor movement should they fail to comply.
Keith Shanklin, the first black president of ILWU local 34 in Oakland, came together with the historically militant locals 10, 75, and 91 to organize the Juneteenth stoppage. “Right now, workers have more power than a lot of people in this country understand,” Shanklin said. “That’s why we are going to put that power on display: to raise the voices of labor, and to raise the voices of black people in this country. To demand and return justice for George Floyd.”


thenation--2020-06-11--The Perfect Storm Approaches

The Perfect Storm Approaches

This hurricane season , which runs from June 1 through November 30 , will be “ one of the most active ” on record , some of the country ’ s top weather forecasters are predicting .
By the end of May , before the season had begun , there had already been two named tropical storms .
And a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study released in May indicates that climate change has been intensifying the strength of hurricanes by about 8 percent per decade over the past 40 years .
At the same time , infections and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the summer and into the fall , according to the Centers for Disease Control , the World Health Organization , and others .
The question now is how well vulnerable localities and the nation as a whole will adjust to this convergence of storms and disease .
True to form , the Trump administration promises it ’ s ready to “ respond and recover from future disasters that may arise during this pandemic.
” But hurricane disaster professionals from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) to officials in Florida , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they do this year will be slowed down by the continuing spread of Covid-19 .
“ Every approach we take will have to be looked at through the lens of the Covid crisis , ” says Shari Lipner , emergency management administrator for the City of Miami Beach , Fla. , which first began tracking the disease in January .
“ Can hurricane winds carry virus or do something we haven ’ t predicted ?
We ’ re 100 percent in a storm surge evacuation zone , ” Lipner said .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public safety professionals , drivers , and shelter operators who will have to have PPE [ personal protective equipment ] .
[ We tell the public ] , ‘ Have a plan , build a kit , stay informed , ’ only this year hurricane kits will include masks , gloves , and sanitizer.
” Just Like Covid-19 , Racial Justice Is a Climate Story More in this series “ We ’ re good at surging forces , ” says Coast Guard Capt .
Mark Gordon , chief of operations for the USCG @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it took 72 hours to pre-position materials behind a storm , maybe it will be 92 hours now.
” How to evacuate high-risk populations—from nursing homes , for example—and ensure that responders are fully equipped with the necessary PPE are questions they ’ re preparing to answer .
Extreme weather events that force evacuations and make social distancing difficult if not impossible could become super-spreading events .
Having to evacuate Covid patients who are not in storm-hardened locations , such as the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans , will be one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shelter for the sick or infected , supplementing or replacing traditional disaster shelters with hotel and dorm lodgings for infection control , and supplying everyone with PPE will stress over-extended state and local government resources .
Casey Tingles , deputy director of the Louisiana Governor ’ s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness , worries about public attitudes during the pandemic and resulting economic crisis .
“ We ’ re trying to determine if the public may respond differently because of unemployment and loss of income .
Will they need [ local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they less likely to want to evacuate ?
” Tingles said .
In the event of a superstorm , they ’ d normally plan to evacuate people by air , but with the question of whether people will be willing to get on planes , they ’ re now looking at total in-state evacuations .
With resources already strapped , “ we can ’ t sustain this [ pace of disaster response ] , ” says Lipner , of Miami Beach .
“ We have to operate with the expectation FEMA will reimburse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re spending now.
” The first round of emergency funding to address the coronavirus pandemic injected an additional $ 45 billion into FEMA ’ s Disaster Relief Fund , bringing the total to almost $ 80 billion .
But even this extra infusion could get used up by the pandemic , multiple hurricanes , and other extreme weather events .
And there ’ s an even larger funding issue looming .
Because of the pandemic and resulting economic collapse , states and cities are running out of money to pay school teachers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public health workers , and disaster response professionals who are now preparing for the 2020 hurricane season .
Local governments across the country have already had to lay off over 1.5 million state and municipal workers .
Meanwhile , the White House and the Senate Republican leadership have indicated strong opposition to another financial relief package that would enable state and local governments to continue operating until the economy recovers .

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This hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30, will be “one of the most active” on record, some of the country’s top weather forecasters are predicting. By the end of May, before the season had begun, there had already been two named tropical storms. And a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study released in May indicates that climate change has been intensifying the strength of hurricanes by about 8 percent per decade over the past 40 years. At the same time, infections and deaths from Covid-19 are projected to last through the summer and into the fall, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and others.
The question now is how well vulnerable localities and the nation as a whole will adjust to this convergence of storms and disease.
True to form, the Trump administration promises it’s ready to “respond and recover from future disasters that may arise during this pandemic.” But hurricane disaster professionals from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to officials in Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana warn that everything they do this year will be slowed down by the continuing spread of Covid-19.
“Every approach we take will have to be looked at through the lens of the Covid crisis,” says Shari Lipner, emergency management administrator for the City of Miami Beach, Fla., which first began tracking the disease in January. “Can hurricane winds carry virus or do something we haven’t predicted? We’re 100 percent in a storm surge evacuation zone,” Lipner said. “We will have to separate our evacuees from public safety professionals, drivers, and shelter operators who will have to have PPE [personal protective equipment]. [We tell the public], ‘Have a plan, build a kit, stay informed,’ only this year hurricane kits will include masks, gloves, and sanitizer.” Covering Climate Now How to Stop the Spread of Climate Disinformation Erika Seiber and Michael Khoo A Soundtrack for the Climate Emergency Mark Hertsgaard Can Gen Z Save the Midterms for Democrats? Mark Hertsgaard
“We’re good at surging forces,” says Coast Guard Capt. Mark Gordon, chief of operations for the USCG Atlantic Area. “Before, if it took 72 hours to pre-position materials behind a storm, maybe it will be 92 hours now.” How to evacuate high-risk populations—from nursing homes, for example—and ensure that responders are fully equipped with the necessary PPE are questions they’re preparing to answer.
Extreme weather events that force evacuations and make social distancing difficult if not impossible could become super-spreading events. Having to evacuate Covid patients who are not in storm-hardened locations, such as the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans, will be one of many challenges. Providing transportation and long-term shelter for the sick or infected, supplementing or replacing traditional disaster shelters with hotel and dorm lodgings for infection control, and supplying everyone with PPE will stress over-extended state and local government resources.
Casey Tingles, deputy director of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, worries about public attitudes during the pandemic and resulting economic crisis. “We’re trying to determine if the public may respond differently because of unemployment and loss of income. Will they need [local evacuation] services more, or are they less likely to want to evacuate?” Tingles said. In the event of a superstorm, they’d normally plan to evacuate people by air, but with the question of whether people will be willing to get on planes, they’re now looking at total in-state evacuations. Current Issue View our current issue
With resources already strapped, “we can’t sustain this [pace of disaster response],” says Lipner, of Miami Beach. “We have to operate with the expectation FEMA will reimburse us later for the money we’re spending now.”
The first round of emergency funding to address the coronavirus pandemic injected an additional $45 billion into FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, bringing the total to almost $80 billion. But even this extra infusion could get used up by the pandemic, multiple hurricanes, and other extreme weather events.
And there’s an even larger funding issue looming. Because of the pandemic and resulting economic collapse, states and cities are running out of money to pay school teachers, sanitation workers, police, firefighters, public health workers, and disaster response professionals who are now preparing for the 2020 hurricane season. Local governments across the country have already had to lay off over 1.5 million state and municipal workers. Meanwhile, the White House and the Senate Republican leadership have indicated strong opposition to another financial relief package that would enable state and local governments to continue operating until the economy recovers.
The perfect storm approaches.


thenation--2020-06-11--The Rev. Jesse Jackson: ‘Every City Has Its George Floyd’

The Nation interviewed the Rev .
Jesse Jackson on the night he returned from the Minneapolis funeral service honoring George Floyd , who was killed on May 25 while in police custody .
Demonstrations were building in cities across the nation , and across much of Europe and Australia .
Although the overwhelming majority were nonviolent , some were scarred by vandalism and violence .
Cameras captured some police officers standing with the demonstrators , taking a knee with them , and others brutally dispersing them .
Police violence has already taken more lives since the demonstrations began .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism in the United States has been the knee on the neck of black Americans for centuries .
The following are excerpts of my conversation with the Reverend Jackson .
esse ackson : The outrage at the murder of George Floyd breaks open doors that have been locked for decades and opens new possibility .
The justified rage , the expression of despair , opens the possibility of hope .
The context for the rage is clear .
The pandemic—with African Americans disproportionately both its front line , “ indispensable ” workers , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the glaring , institutionalized racial gaps in America .
The economic collapse—with African Americans more likely to lose their jobs , to not have health insurance , to suffer hunger , to have children without the ability to learn online , to face eviction and foreclosure—once more exposes the structural racism of this society .
This economic violence is also lethal .
Then add to this the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman , photographed by a terrified and courageous 17-year-old girl .
That made it impossible to ignore the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The murder shocked people across the world , but police violence is an everyday reality for African Americans , particularly African American men .
Every city has its George Floyd .
It is Eric Garner in New York : “ I can ’ t breathe.
” It is Laquan McDonald in Chicago , a murder caught on video that was covered up .
It is Michael Brown in Ferguson , Missouri : “ Hands up , don ’ t shoot.
” It ’ s Breonna Taylor and now David McAtee in Louisville @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are seldom indictments for these murders or for the routine police brutality .
And in the rare cases of indictments , there are even fewer convictions .
And in the rare instance of a conviction , the guilty spend less time in prison than Michael Vick did for mistreating dogs .
In Minneapolis , 92 percent of the police live in the suburbs .
They are not neighbors ; they are occupiers .
The Code Blue shields them from accountability .
The arrest and indictment of Derek Chauvin is the first time ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for murdering a black man in Minneapolis .
Even in one of the most liberal cities in America , the police are cushioned , protected from accountability .
Every major riot in our cities has been triggered by police violence .
Newark , Detroit , Los Angeles .
Structural racism—poverty , unemployment , hunger , homelessness—provides the kindling .
Police violence , again and again , lights the match .
obert orosage : Police violence has been caught on camera before , followed by demonstrations and protests .
Yet nothing changes .
Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
JJ : These demonstrations are different—in ways both good and bad .
These demonstrations are multiracial , multicultural , and multigenerational , young and old , black , white , brown , and yellow .
We ’ ve never before witnessed so many white people marching to protest a black man being lynched .
These are the largest multiracial protests in the history of America .
They are saying that they will not put up with this violence .
For all the attention given to the vandalism and sporadic violence , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are outraged .
They are sick and tired .
But they have been remarkably disciplined even in the face of provocations .
Instead of being scared off the streets by the violence or vandalism , or frightened by the police violence and Trump ’ s bluster , more and more have been coming out in nonviolent protests .
And demonstrations are taking place across the world .
We really haven ’ t seen anything like this since the anti-slavery movement in Europe in the 1800s , and those gatherings were not nearly as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man being murdered in real time has triggered outrage wide and far .
The other thing that is new is more dangerous .
We ’ ve seen evidence of the alt-right groups purposefully seeking to sabotage these demonstrations , causing vandalism , provoking violence .
Whites from outside looking to spark riots either out of a hatred of authority or out of political calculation to discredit the cause or to start a race war .
That reality makes the nonviolence of most of these demonstrators even more impressive .
RB : In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used law-and-order campaigns to feed the backlash against anti-war demonstrations and urban riots .
Clearly , Trump is trying to do that now .
What can be done about that ?
JJ : Violence is destructive and ineffective .
Violence is diversionary ; it always distracts from the message and undermines the change agenda .
The vandalism becomes the issue , not the institutionalized violence against black people .
Police brutality gets justified as a needed response , “ law and order , ” which only spreads lawlessness and disorder .
Trump wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear and to justify a crackdown by the police and the military .
But to date , he isn ’ t succeeding .
People are less ready to buy that argument .
Trump is misreading the times .
The video of the murder is too stark .
The nonviolence of most of the demonstrations is too apparent .
The pent-up anger at Trump ’ s callous carelessness in the face of the pandemic is growing .
His efforts to divide us by spreading fear—against immigrants , against Muslims , denouncing demonstrators as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Remarkably , Trump ’ s stunt in front of the White House—forcibly ejecting peaceful demonstrators for a photo op—was censured not only by civil rights leaders .
The Episcopal bishop denounced his use of the church and the Bible as a prop .
The most respected retired military leaders—including retired Marine General James N. Mattis , Trump ’ s former DOD chief—issued sharp criticisms .
Instead of representing law and order , Trump was exposed as a threat to the law and the Constitution .
Trump forgets that in 1968 , Nixon was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incumbent president who couldn ’ t control America ’ s streets .
In 2020 , Trump is the insider who can ’ t control America ’ s streets .
He looks weak as well as desperate .
RB : You marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , and were part of the great reforms of the 1960s .
Now , more than half a century later , the police brutality , the structural racial disparities , the de facto segregation of our schools and neighborhoods , the obscene inequality seems as bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have any hope that change might come ?
JJ : I remain hopeful .
We need a broader analysis .
Police violence is real today .
But remember , segregation was once the law of the land , embraced by the Supreme Court .
The knees on our necks in all aspects of life were legalized .
The Klan and the wave of lynching in the early 20th century literally drove African Americans out of the South .
The trail of tears was a trail of blood and bloodhounds .
Even today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chicago than there are blacks in Mississippi .
The civil rights movement transformed the Constitution .
Segregation was outlawed .
The Voting Rights Act gave blacks the right to vote .
Yes , Nixon and Reagan led a reaction .
The War on Poverty was lost in the jungles of Vietnam , but we can forge change .
Why NASCAR ’ s New Ban on the Confederate Flag Is Such a Big Deal Dockworkers to Shut Down West Coast Ports in Memory of George Floyd You Don ’ t Have to Publish Both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this series Now , a new generation is rising , with new energy and new hope .
The Blue Code that has protected the police is exposed—in part because cameras literally record the reality and expose the cover-ups .
People—white and black , young people particularly—are outraged—and demanding change .
There are deeper currents in politics , currents that can drive things in a very different direction .
I believe we are at that turning point now .
The pandemic , the mass unemployment , the extreme inequality , the police brutality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ugly misrule—more and more people are intent on political change .
Now demonstrations must lead to action .
Dr. King always taught that our protests must lead to policy changes , and to power .
That ’ s why the right to vote was so important to him .
This year , we have the Census—a count as accurate as possible is vital .
We have the elections , where not just the presidency but the US Senate and over 4,000 seats in state legislatures are up for grabs with redistricting at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows we need major economic initiatives if we are not to sink into a depression .
Demonstrations should turn to pushing concrete policy changes .
Pass anti-lynching laws at the federal and state level .
Require changes in how policing is funded and done .
Demilitarize our police forces .
Revoke police immunity protections and set up independent review boards and prosecutors to prosecute brutality .
And of course , it isn ’ t just police reform , but structural reforms needed to make this economy work for working people once more .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ just elected the first black mayor of Ferguson , Missouri .
Representative Steve King , the racist Republican from Iowa , was shunned and defeated in the Republican primary .
Liberal Democrats in Minneapolis may have failed us for years , but Keith Ellison , the progressive African American leader elected as the state ’ s attorney general , stepped in to indict and jail Chauvin and his accomplices for murdering George Floyd , the first time a white policeman had ever spent a night in jail for brutalizing a black man in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : ‘ We Need a Vision That Says There ’ s Going to Be Accountability ’ The protests can lead to policy changes and political changes .
The elections this fall offer a chance not only to throw out Donald Trump and the Republican Senate , but to elect more change agents at every level of government , and to change the attitudes of those who have previously stood in the way .
Reality—the pandemic , mass unemployment , extreme inequality , institutionalized racism , climate change—can ’ t be addressed without fundamental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ousted , the rout of the right could open an era of reform that is likely to far exceed the limits of our current debate .
A rising generation of new leaders—like the young progressive legislators in the House , the progressive attorney generals across the country , the new generation of black and Latino mayors in major cities—will be able to use the currents of change to drive significant reforms .
Voting is important—that ’ s why Republicans spend so much energy trying to suppress the vote of African Americans and Latinos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But voting is not enough .
Those marching today must continue to demand change and to hold accountable officials who fail to deliver it .
Protests like these can set the stage for change .
Elections can put new people in office .
But it will still require citizen mobilization and pressure to overcome the resistance to change—and to counter the reaction that surely will follow .

The Nation interviewed the Rev. Jesse Jackson on the night he returned from the Minneapolis funeral service honoring George Floyd, who was killed on May 25 while in police custody. Demonstrations were building in cities across the nation, and across much of Europe and Australia. Although the overwhelming majority were nonviolent, some were scarred by vandalism and violence. Cameras captured some police officers standing with the demonstrators, taking a knee with them, and others brutally dispersing them. Police violence has already taken more lives since the demonstrations began.
The reverend talked about how systemic and institutionalized racism in the United States has been the knee on the neck of black Americans for centuries. The following are excerpts of my conversation with the Reverend Jackson.
—Robert L. Borosage
J esse J ackson: The outrage at the murder of George Floyd breaks open doors that have been locked for decades and opens new possibility. The justified rage, the expression of despair, opens the possibility of hope.
The context for the rage is clear. The pandemic—with African Americans disproportionately both its front line, “indispensable” workers, and its biggest victims—once more laid bare the glaring, institutionalized racial gaps in America. The economic collapse—with African Americans more likely to lose their jobs, to not have health insurance, to suffer hunger, to have children without the ability to learn online, to face eviction and foreclosure—once more exposes the structural racism of this society. This economic violence is also lethal.
Then add to this the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman, photographed by a terrified and courageous 17-year-old girl. That made it impossible to ignore the reality of police violence against black people. The murder shocked people across the world, but police violence is an everyday reality for African Americans, particularly African American men.
Every city has its George Floyd. It is Eric Garner in New York: “I can’t breathe.” It is Laquan McDonald in Chicago, a murder caught on video that was covered up. It is Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri: “Hands up, don’t shoot.” It’s Breonna Taylor and now David McAtee in Louisville.
In city after city, there are seldom indictments for these murders or for the routine police brutality. And in the rare cases of indictments, there are even fewer convictions. And in the rare instance of a conviction, the guilty spend less time in prison than Michael Vick did for mistreating dogs.
In Minneapolis, 92 percent of the police live in the suburbs. They are not neighbors; they are occupiers. The Code Blue shields them from accountability. The arrest and indictment of Derek Chauvin is the first time ever a policeman has been charged and arrested for murdering a black man in Minneapolis. Even in one of the most liberal cities in America, the police are cushioned, protected from accountability. 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
Every major riot in our cities has been triggered by police violence. Newark, Detroit, Los Angeles. Structural racism—poverty, unemployment, hunger, homelessness—provides the kindling. Police violence, again and again, lights the match.
R obert B orosage: Police violence has been caught on camera before, followed by demonstrations and protests. Yet nothing changes. Do you think this will be any different?
JJ: These demonstrations are different—in ways both good and bad. These demonstrations are multiracial, multicultural, and multigenerational, young and old, black, white, brown, and yellow. We’ve never before witnessed so many white people marching to protest a black man being lynched. These are the largest multiracial protests in the history of America. They are saying that they will not put up with this violence.
For all the attention given to the vandalism and sporadic violence, the demonstrations are overwhelmingly nonviolent protests. People are outraged. They are sick and tired. But they have been remarkably disciplined even in the face of provocations. Instead of being scared off the streets by the violence or vandalism, or frightened by the police violence and Trump’s bluster, more and more have been coming out in nonviolent protests.
And demonstrations are taking place across the world. We really haven’t seen anything like this since the anti-slavery movement in Europe in the 1800s, and those gatherings were not nearly as large. The visible sight of a man being murdered in real time has triggered outrage wide and far.
The other thing that is new is more dangerous. We’ve seen evidence of the alt-right groups purposefully seeking to sabotage these demonstrations, causing vandalism, provoking violence. Whites from outside looking to spark riots either out of a hatred of authority or out of political calculation to discredit the cause or to start a race war. That reality makes the nonviolence of most of these demonstrators even more impressive.
RB: In the 1970s and 1980s, Nixon and Reagan used law-and-order campaigns to feed the backlash against anti-war demonstrations and urban riots. Clearly, Trump is trying to do that now. What can be done about that?
JJ: Violence is destructive and ineffective. Violence is diversionary; it always distracts from the message and undermines the change agenda. The vandalism becomes the issue, not the institutionalized violence against black people. Police brutality gets justified as a needed response, “law and order,” which only spreads lawlessness and disorder.
Trump wants to point to the violence to spread fear and to justify a crackdown by the police and the military. But to date, he isn’t succeeding. People are less ready to buy that argument. Trump is misreading the times. The video of the murder is too stark. The nonviolence of most of the demonstrations is too apparent. The pent-up anger at Trump’s callous carelessness in the face of the pandemic is growing. His efforts to divide us by spreading fear—against immigrants, against Muslims, denouncing demonstrators as “thugs”—are losing their force. Remarkably, Trump’s stunt in front of the White House—forcibly ejecting peaceful demonstrators for a photo op—was censured not only by civil rights leaders. The Episcopal bishop denounced his use of the church and the Bible as a prop. The most respected retired military leaders—including retired Marine General James N. Mattis, Trump’s former DOD chief—issued sharp criticisms. Instead of representing law and order, Trump was exposed as a threat to the law and the Constitution.
Trump forgets that in 1968, Nixon was the outsider protesting Lyndon Johnson, the incumbent president who couldn’t control America’s streets. In 2020, Trump is the insider who can’t control America’s streets. He looks weak as well as desperate.
RB: You marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and were part of the great reforms of the 1960s. Now, more than half a century later, the police brutality, the structural racial disparities, the de facto segregation of our schools and neighborhoods, the obscene inequality seems as bad, if not worse. Do you have any hope that change might come?
JJ: I remain hopeful. We need a broader analysis. Police violence is real today. But remember, segregation was once the law of the land, embraced by the Supreme Court. The knees on our necks in all aspects of life were legalized. The Klan and the wave of lynching in the early 20th century literally drove African Americans out of the South. The trail of tears was a trail of blood and bloodhounds. Even today, there are more blacks from Mississippi in Chicago than there are blacks in Mississippi.
The civil rights movement transformed the Constitution. Segregation was outlawed. The Voting Rights Act gave blacks the right to vote. Yes, Nixon and Reagan led a reaction. The War on Poverty was lost in the jungles of Vietnam, but we can forge change. George Floyd Protests The Federal Government Is “Affirming Everything That Black People Have Been Saying” Ibrahim Hirsi You Cannot Stop Us From Proclaiming “I, Too, Am America” Maya Wiley In Minneapolis, the Cycle of Police Violence Continues Alyssa Oursler and Anna DalCortivo
Now, a new generation is rising, with new energy and new hope. The Blue Code that has protected the police is exposed—in part because cameras literally record the reality and expose the cover-ups. People—white and black, young people particularly—are outraged—and demanding change.
There are deeper currents in politics, currents that can drive things in a very different direction. I believe we are at that turning point now. The pandemic, the mass unemployment, the extreme inequality, the police brutality out in the open, Trump’s ugly misrule—more and more people are intent on political change.
Now demonstrations must lead to action. Dr. King always taught that our protests must lead to policy changes, and to power. That’s why the right to vote was so important to him. This year, we have the Census—a count as accurate as possible is vital. We have the elections, where not just the presidency but the US Senate and over 4,000 seats in state legislatures are up for grabs with redistricting at stake in 2021. The deep recession shows we need major economic initiatives if we are not to sink into a depression.
Demonstrations should turn to pushing concrete policy changes. Pass anti-lynching laws at the federal and state level. Require changes in how policing is funded and done. Demilitarize our police forces. Revoke police immunity protections and set up independent review boards and prosecutors to prosecute brutality. And of course, it isn’t just police reform, but structural reforms needed to make this economy work for working people once more.
Change is possible. Ella Jones was just elected the first black mayor of Ferguson, Missouri. Representative Steve King, the racist Republican from Iowa, was shunned and defeated in the Republican primary. Liberal Democrats in Minneapolis may have failed us for years, but Keith Ellison, the progressive African American leader elected as the state’s attorney general, stepped in to indict and jail Chauvin and his accomplices for murdering George Floyd, the first time a white policeman had ever spent a night in jail for brutalizing a black man in Minneapolis. Interview Keith Ellison on Police Brutality: ‘We Need a Vision That Says There’s Going to Be Accountability’ John Nichols
The protests can lead to policy changes and political changes. The elections this fall offer a chance not only to throw out Donald Trump and the Republican Senate, but to elect more change agents at every level of government, and to change the attitudes of those who have previously stood in the way.
Reality—the pandemic, mass unemployment, extreme inequality, institutionalized racism, climate change—can’t be addressed without fundamental change. If Trump and McConnell are ousted, the rout of the right could open an era of reform that is likely to far exceed the limits of our current debate. A rising generation of new leaders—like the young progressive legislators in the House, the progressive attorney generals across the country, the new generation of black and Latino mayors in major cities—will be able to use the currents of change to drive significant reforms.
Voting is important—that’s why Republicans spend so much energy trying to suppress the vote of African Americans and Latinos. Voter registration is a militant idea. But voting is not enough. Those marching today must continue to demand change and to hold accountable officials who fail to deliver it. Protests like these can set the stage for change. Elections can put new people in office. But it will still require citizen mobilization and pressure to overcome the resistance to change—and to counter the reaction that surely will follow.


thenation--2020-06-12--Should I Confront My TERFy Ex-Colleagues on Social Media?

I ’ m a middle-aged lesbian who ’ s gotten more and more butch over the years .
I now even find myself claimed as an elder by transmasculine kids , which is awesome .
I don ’ t identify as trans , but I definitely feel a solidarity with younger gender nonconformists .
I have two former colleagues , once good work friends , whom I now rarely see except on social media .
They have lately gone TERF .
We ’ ve shared some good times , and they ’ ve supported me at crucial junctures , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ muting them , since their views are now repugnant to me and harmful to younger people like me .
But what ’ s the general line when it comes to full-on blocking or unfriending people whose politics start evolving in ways you disagree with ?
Is that pointless social media virtue-signaling ?
Should I stay “ friends ” with them and take on the challenge of disagreeing with them ?
For readers unfamiliar with the lingo , the term TERF stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists , who won ’ t accept transwomen as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invading women-only spaces like bathrooms or sports teams , often for sinister , predatory purposes .
It ’ s a paranoid and bigoted point of view , which may stem from an essentialist notion that being born with a penis makes a person disgusting and violent .
As if man-hating wasn ’ t tiresome enough on its own , TERFs dangerously direct that prejudice toward a much more vulnerable group .
It ’ s sensible to mute these former colleagues so their views won ’ t distress you .
What you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have further obligations , both as a friend who could influence them and as a person with social media followers who could shape the opinions of others in the Twittersphere .
On social media , it ’ s not always clear whether silence amounts to complicity .
Living in Trumpian America , it could become a full-time job to block or unfriend everyone whose opinions bother us , and if you don ’ t tell the offenders why , the gesture doesn ’ t accomplish much .
I ’ m sometimes annoyed when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some knucklehead in my network posted : How am I supposed to keep track ?
Yet , people who are the target of bigotry feel , with justification , that when their friends let such things go , they ’ re enabling haters .
Then again , public confrontation can be lethal to a genuine friendship , and in any case , we almost always have a better chance of changing people ’ s minds in private , especially while acknowledging that some friendship exists .
Consider sending the TERFs a personal note @ @ @ @ @ @ @ posts affect you as a gender-nonconforming person , a perspective they might not have considered .
Say that you worry about the harm such messages can cause to trans people , many of whom are your friends .
( Don ’ t use the term TERF in your messages , as people who hold these views now consider the word to be a “ slur.
” ) If your TERF friends are posting out of ignorance rather than commitment , a kindly framed heartfelt word from you might help them reconsider .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sending them some articles that have shaped your own understanding of these issues .
After that , you ’ ve done your best and can let it go .
Dear Liza , Should We Be Kind to the Rich ?
My Anxious Wife Is Stockpiling Pop-Tarts !
What Should I Do ?
I ’ m Roasting at the Office .
What Can I Do ?
I ’ m a mother of three who lives in suburban Rochester .
Often , my neighbors don ’ t share my leftist politics .
I ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , and don ’ t pretend to be anything other than the democratic socialist that I am .
However , things have gotten a little more complicated since my kids have gotten older and their parents have started friending me on Facebook .
I regularly make political posts , whether that be sharing articles with a left-wing analysis , promoting Bernie Sanders ( when he was running in the primary ) , giving my own leftist feminist analysis of a particular issue , or deconstructing the right-wing bias of our local newspaper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids ’ friends and teammates are among my Facebook friends , though , I ’ m wondering if I should be starting a separate , “ my friends only ” list for my political postings that excludes the adults associated with my kids .
I don ’ t care if my politics loses me friends , and I think it ’ s politically productive to be out there as a hockey mom with left-wing politics , because it normalizes these views , showing that it is not just city “ bohemians ” who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it might also be affecting these people ’ s approach to my kids .
More than once , I have noted a cooling in the other parents ’ attitude to me after they friend me and have access to my left-wing posts .
In one case , that cooling led to a similar cooling of a once-valued friendship for one of my sons .
I am not 100 percent sure whether my politics led this kid ’ s parents to discourage the friendship , but the events were suggestive enough that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t care if the other hockey parents disapprove of me , is it wrong of me to affect my kids in this way ?
After all , don ’ t they have a right to make their own decisions about their friends ?
I ’ ve faced some version of this problem .
My son also plays sports , and while I ’ ve often found comrades on the sidelines , some of his teams have very conservative—even Trumpian—cultures .
I ’ ve generally responded by not friending other parents on Facebook until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In your case , the horse has left the barn , but that may not be a bad thing .
Like Butch in the letter above , you ’ re feeling the acute mismatch between real-life relationships and social media , where it can be much harder to hide our politics .
Have you asked your kids what they thought ?
Would they prefer that you tone down your socialism online ?
A family discussion might be fruitful , letting them know that you ’ re trying to avoid bringing social death upon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about what ’ s actually going on .
Social media can make us all a bit paranoid at times : The shade from that kid ’ s parents may well have been about your Bernie post , but it also could have been unrelated .
Maybe your son said theirs sucked as a goalie , while they believe he ’ s the next Henrik Lundqvist .
I agree with you that it ’ s great for the other parents to see someone they can otherwise relate to , a fellow hockey mom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set a good example for your kids by standing up for your beliefs even when they aren ’ t popular .
Perhaps try wording your political posts as if you are directly addressing the more conservative hockey parents .
Sometimes people are more likely to respond with an open mind if they feel they ’ ve been considered as part of the audience .
Knowing that you weren ’ t just writing for your cooler , more radical other friends can be reassuring .
Saying something like , “ I know many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know you also agree that we are facing serious problems in this country .
This is why I think we need Medicare for All , ” can make people feel included even if they disagree with you .
It lets them know you consider them—and people like them—as part of your friend group , protecting the relationships while also leaving them more open to persuasion .
If your kids do feel that your Facebook posts are significantly complicating their social lives , however , consider reining it in or limiting your reach .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one possible solution to this problem , as you note .
It ’ s important that as parents that we get out of our kids ’ way whenever possible and let them live their lives .
And although social media can feel crucial—especially during this pandemic , when in-person community is harder to find and there ’ s so much to be mad about—remember that there are plenty of other ways for you to make your voice heard .
Have a question ?
Ask Liza here .

Dear Liza,
I’m a middle-aged lesbian who’s gotten more and more butch over the years. I now even find myself claimed as an elder by transmasculine kids, which is awesome. I don’t identify as trans, but I definitely feel a solidarity with younger gender nonconformists.
I have two former colleagues, once good work friends, whom I now rarely see except on social media. They have lately gone TERF. We’ve shared some good times, and they’ve supported me at crucial junctures, but I don’t feel weird about muting them, since their views are now repugnant to me and harmful to younger people like me. But what’s the general line when it comes to full-on blocking or unfriending people whose politics start evolving in ways you disagree with? Is that pointless social media virtue-signaling? Should I stay “friends” with them and take on the challenge of disagreeing with them?
—Butch
Dear Butch,
For readers unfamiliar with the lingo, the term TERF stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists, who won’t accept transwomen as women, seeing them instead as men invading women-only spaces like bathrooms or sports teams, often for sinister, predatory purposes. It’s a paranoid and bigoted point of view, which may stem from an essentialist notion that being born with a penis makes a person disgusting and violent. As if man-hating wasn’t tiresome enough on its own, TERFs dangerously direct that prejudice toward a much more vulnerable group. Current Issue View our current issue
It’s sensible to mute these former colleagues so their views won’t distress you. What you’re asking, though, is whether you have further obligations, both as a friend who could influence them and as a person with social media followers who could shape the opinions of others in the Twittersphere. On social media, it’s not always clear whether silence amounts to complicity. Living in Trumpian America, it could become a full-time job to block or unfriend everyone whose opinions bother us, and if you don’t tell the offenders why, the gesture doesn’t accomplish much. I’m sometimes annoyed when I get complaints about something offensive that some knucklehead in my network posted: How am I supposed to keep track? Yet, people who are the target of bigotry feel, with justification, that when their friends let such things go, they’re enabling haters. 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
Then again, public confrontation can be lethal to a genuine friendship, and in any case, we almost always have a better chance of changing people’s minds in private, especially while acknowledging that some friendship exists. Consider sending the TERFs a personal note, letting them know how their TERFy posts affect you as a gender-nonconforming person, a perspective they might not have considered. Say that you worry about the harm such messages can cause to trans people, many of whom are your friends. (Don’t use the term TERF in your messages, as people who hold these views now consider the word to be a “slur.”) If your TERF friends are posting out of ignorance rather than commitment, a kindly framed heartfelt word from you might help them reconsider. If that doesn’t help, consider sending them some articles that have shaped your own understanding of these issues. After that, you’ve done your best and can let it go.
Dear Liza, More From Liza Featherstone Can a Socialist Lyft Driver Beat an Incumbent Bankrolled by the Fossil Fuel Industry? August 17, 2022 The Fierce Hope of Ana María Archila June 23, 2022 Why This N.Y. Socialist Is Running on Climate June 21, 2022
I’m a mother of three who lives in suburban Rochester. Often, my neighbors don’t share my leftist politics. I’ve never been shy about my views, however, and don’t pretend to be anything other than the democratic socialist that I am. However, things have gotten a little more complicated since my kids have gotten older and their parents have started friending me on Facebook.
I regularly make political posts, whether that be sharing articles with a left-wing analysis, promoting Bernie Sanders (when he was running in the primary), giving my own leftist feminist analysis of a particular issue, or deconstructing the right-wing bias of our local newspaper. Now that the parents of my kids’ friends and teammates are among my Facebook friends, though, I’m wondering if I should be starting a separate, “my friends only” list for my political postings that excludes the adults associated with my kids. I don’t care if my politics loses me friends, and I think it’s politically productive to be out there as a hockey mom with left-wing politics, because it normalizes these views, showing that it is not just city “bohemians” who endorse these principles. But I worry that it might also be affecting these people’s approach to my kids. More than once, I have noted a cooling in the other parents’ attitude to me after they friend me and have access to my left-wing posts. In one case, that cooling led to a similar cooling of a once-valued friendship for one of my sons. I am not 100 percent sure whether my politics led this kid’s parents to discourage the friendship, but the events were suggestive enough that I worried.
While I personally don’t care if the other hockey parents disapprove of me, is it wrong of me to affect my kids in this way? After all, don’t they have a right to make their own decisions about their friends?
—Socialist Hockey Mom
Dear Socialist Hockey Mom,
I’ve faced some version of this problem. My son also plays sports, and while I’ve often found comrades on the sidelines, some of his teams have very conservative—even Trumpian—cultures. I’ve generally responded by not friending other parents on Facebook until I know something of their politics. In your case, the horse has left the barn, but that may not be a bad thing.
Like Butch in the letter above, you’re feeling the acute mismatch between real-life relationships and social media, where it can be much harder to hide our politics.
Have you asked your kids what they thought? Would they prefer that you tone down your socialism online? A family discussion might be fruitful, letting them know that you’re trying to avoid bringing social death upon them, but also possibly yielding valuable information about what’s actually going on. Social media can make us all a bit paranoid at times: The shade from that kid’s parents may well have been about your Bernie post, but it also could have been unrelated. Maybe your son said theirs sucked as a goalie, while they believe he’s the next Henrik Lundqvist.
I agree with you that it’s great for the other parents to see someone they can otherwise relate to, a fellow hockey mom, espousing left-wing politics. You also set a good example for your kids by standing up for your beliefs even when they aren’t popular. Perhaps try wording your political posts as if you are directly addressing the more conservative hockey parents. Sometimes people are more likely to respond with an open mind if they feel they’ve been considered as part of the audience. Knowing that you weren’t just writing for your cooler, more radical other friends can be reassuring. Saying something like, “I know many of you are not socialists, but I know you also agree that we are facing serious problems in this country. This is why I think we need Medicare for All,” can make people feel included even if they disagree with you. It lets them know you consider them—and people like them—as part of your friend group, protecting the relationships while also leaving them more open to persuasion.
If your kids do feel that your Facebook posts are significantly complicating their social lives, however, consider reining it in or limiting your reach. Changing the settings on your political posts is one possible solution to this problem, as you note. It’s important that as parents that we get out of our kids’ way whenever possible and let them live their lives. And although social media can feel crucial—especially during this pandemic, when in-person community is harder to find and there’s so much to be mad about—remember that there are plenty of other ways for you to make your voice heard.
Have a question? Ask Liza here.


thenation--2020-06-12--The Violence Didn’t Start With the Protests

On any given day in recent weeks , it ’ s been possible to binge-watch a brand-new batch of videos documenting police attacking protesters with every tool in their ( literal ) arsenals .
A New York City cop shoved a woman roughly half his size to the pavement so forcefully , she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized .
In Texas a mounted police officer steered his horse into a crowd of demonstrators , nonchalantly trampling a woman in his path .
Minneapolis police , from the comfort of their squad cars , conducted the drive-by pepper spraying of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cops in Iowa—like ones in Virginia , Texas , Colorado , California , and many other states—fired rounds of tear gas at protesters standing with their hands in the air and chanting , “ Hands up , don ’ t shoot.
” 1 Again and again , protesters demanding an end to police brutality have been met with brutality by police .
The videos of law enforcement being unlawfully violent—including footage of cops in Buffalo pushing a 75-year-old white man to the ground and then falsely reporting that he “ tripped and fell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other marginalized communities have been saying for as long as policing has existed in this country : Cops not only lie about the harm they inflict on people ; they lie frequently and brazenly , even when there is solid proof to the contrary .
( These scenes also raise the question , If police are willing to commit this kind of over-the-top violence when they know they ’ re being filmed , what horrors must they carry out when they know their acts will go unseen ? )
Weeks of witnessing rampant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainstreaming the idea of police abolition , something that seemed unthinkable—and which many suggested was laughable—even a couple of months ago.2 And yet , against this backdrop of wanton police abuse , there has been no lack of pearl-clutching about the supposed violence of the protests .
These critiques seem to rest on the idea that civilian attacks against big-box retail outlets , luxury boutiques , and other inanimate objects are somehow commensurate with the state-funded violence by armed officers against actual black bodies .
( Yes , some small businesses were struck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ critical that we not allow those targeting them to derail attention from racialized policing . )
Tacit rhetorical equivalences between lost commercial products and lost black lives reveal yet again how American racism and capitalism are inextricably intertwined .
But this historic moment of nationwide uprisings also demonstrates how white institutional power decides what does and does not qualify as violence in this country—a standard resulting in a national ethos that defines the destruction of buildings as catastrophic but the literal snuffing out of black life by police as merely maintaining “ law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true that the footage of police attacking protesters has forced mainstream news writers bemoaning that the protests “ turned violent ” to clarify that the initiators of said violence were the police .
But those reports still ignore that the “ violence ” being laid at protesters ’ feet began when a police officer used his knee to slowly and casually murder George Floyd , a killing that followed police firing eight bullets into Breonna Taylor as she slept and fatally unleashing their firepower on Tony McDade .
The violence started when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Philando Castile , Tamir Rice , Eric Garner , Michael Brown , and Rekia Boyd to walk free.4 In fact , the violence can be traced back to before this country ’ s founding .
These United States are , quite literally , the spoils of genocidal violence against Indigenous people and the violence of forced black labor .
A continuum of violence connects this moment to the first slave patrols .
Since then , through overpolicing and mass incarceration , the criminal justice system has destroyed black communities .
The carceral state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only be labeled a brutal form of violence rendered invisible by the power given to agents of a white supremacist state.5 The Bravery of Marching for Black Lives in the Middle of a Pandemic ‘ Starve the Beast ’ : A Q & A With Alex S. Vitale on Defunding the Police And what about the steady drumbeat of violence issuing from the current president , who explicitly tells cops to rough up people during arrests ; who repeats the white supremacist promise that “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might by threatening today ’ s protesters with “ the most vicious dogs , and most ominous weapons ” ?
Consider the violence in Bill Clinton ’ s decision to sign the 1033 Program , which fast-tracked the militarization of the police through the transfer of weapons of war from the US armed forces to the country ’ s street cops .
The Obama administration imposed limits on the program , but in 2017 , Trump revoked them with an executive order that jump-started the violent program anew.6 Add to that the daily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calibrated to ensure the rich and powerful remain that way .
Which causes more irreparable harm : gutting big-box stores or looting an entire tax system to benefit billionaires who , while we ’ re on the subject , have gotten precipitously richer as the pandemic has caused unemployment claims to skyrocket ?
Which is more destructive : burning a building that can be rebuilt or a $ 2 trillion stimulus package that overwhelmingly gives cash to Americans who already possess more money than they can spend in a lifetime ?
Violence is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of American policies that protect the interests of a tiny but powerful portion of this country .
The same folks then create legislation that outlaws a particular brand of violence and disproportionately apply those laws against the most vulnerable .
We ’ ve been living with an astounding amount of violence all this time .
The state just calls it something else.7 That ’ s the trick of American violence : It ’ s labeled so only when it threatens to upset the violence of America ’ s white supremacist hierarchical order .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ see real progress , that means not being fooled by the term “ violence ” yet again.8

This article appears in the June 29/July 6, 2020 issue.
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On any given day in recent weeks, it’s been possible to binge-watch a brand-new batch of videos documenting police attacking protesters with every tool in their (literal) arsenals. A New York City cop shoved a woman roughly half his size to the pavement so forcefully, she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized. In Texas a mounted police officer steered his horse into a crowd of demonstrators, nonchalantly trampling a woman in his path. Minneapolis police, from the comfort of their squad cars, conducted the drive-by pepper spraying of peaceful protesters in multiple instances. And cops in Iowa—like ones in Virginia, Texas, Colorado, California, and many other states—fired rounds of tear gas at protesters standing with their hands in the air and chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot.”1
Again and again, protesters demanding an end to police brutality have been met with brutality by police. The videos of law enforcement being unlawfully violent—including footage of cops in Buffalo pushing a 75-year-old white man to the ground and then falsely reporting that he “tripped and fell”—has proved what black folks and other marginalized communities have been saying for as long as policing has existed in this country: Cops not only lie about the harm they inflict on people; they lie frequently and brazenly, even when there is solid proof to the contrary. (These scenes also raise the question, If police are willing to commit this kind of over-the-top violence when they know they’re being filmed, what horrors must they carry out when they know their acts will go unseen?) Weeks of witnessing rampant law enforcement violence has finally succeeded in mainstreaming the idea of police abolition, something that seemed unthinkable—and which many suggested was laughable—even a couple of months ago.2
And yet, against this backdrop of wanton police abuse, there has been no lack of pearl-clutching about the supposed violence of the protests. These critiques seem to rest on the idea that civilian attacks against big-box retail outlets, luxury boutiques, and other inanimate objects are somehow commensurate with the state-funded violence by armed officers against actual black bodies. (Yes, some small businesses were struck, too, but it’s critical that we not allow those targeting them to derail attention from racialized policing.) Tacit rhetorical equivalences between lost commercial products and lost black lives reveal yet again how American racism and capitalism are inextricably intertwined. But this historic moment of nationwide uprisings also demonstrates how white institutional power decides what does and does not qualify as violence in this country—a standard resulting in a national ethos that defines the destruction of buildings as catastrophic but the literal snuffing out of black life by police as merely maintaining “law and order.”3 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
It’s true that the footage of police attacking protesters has forced mainstream news writers bemoaning that the protests “turned violent” to clarify that the initiators of said violence were the police. But those reports still ignore that the “violence” being laid at protesters’ feet began when a police officer used his knee to slowly and casually murder George Floyd, a killing that followed police firing eight bullets into Breonna Taylor as she slept and fatally unleashing their firepower on Tony McDade. The violence started when the justice system allowed the police killers of Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Rekia Boyd to walk free.4
In fact, the violence can be traced back to before this country’s founding. These United States are, quite literally, the spoils of genocidal violence against Indigenous people and the violence of forced black labor. A continuum of violence connects this moment to the first slave patrols. Since then, through overpolicing and mass incarceration, the criminal justice system has destroyed black communities. The carceral state has subjected black folks to what can only be labeled a brutal form of violence rendered invisible by the power given to agents of a white supremacist state.5 A Nation in Revolt The Bravery of Marching for Black Lives in the Middle of a Pandemic Elie Mystal Making George Floyd’s Life Matter Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, The Nation and Magnum Foundation ‘Starve the Beast’: A Q&A With Alex S. Vitale on Defunding the Police Zachary Siegel
And what about the steady drumbeat of violence issuing from the current president, who explicitly tells cops to rough up people during arrests; who repeats the white supremacist promise that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”; who flexes historical white racist might by threatening today’s protesters with “the most vicious dogs, and most ominous weapons”? Consider the violence in Bill Clinton’s decision to sign the 1033 Program, which fast-tracked the militarization of the police through the transfer of weapons of war from the US armed forces to the country’s street cops. The Obama administration imposed limits on the program, but in 2017, Trump revoked them with an executive order that jump-started the violent program anew.6
Add to that the daily violence of American systems that are finely calibrated to ensure the rich and powerful remain that way. Which causes more irreparable harm: gutting big-box stores or looting an entire tax system to benefit billionaires who, while we’re on the subject, have gotten precipitously richer as the pandemic has caused unemployment claims to skyrocket? Which is more destructive: burning a building that can be rebuilt or a $2 trillion stimulus package that overwhelmingly gives cash to Americans who already possess more money than they can spend in a lifetime? Violence is a constant embedded in a staggering number of American policies that protect the interests of a tiny but powerful portion of this country. The same folks then create legislation that outlaws a particular brand of violence and disproportionately apply those laws against the most vulnerable. We’ve been living with an astounding amount of violence all this time. The state just calls it something else.7
That’s the trick of American violence: It’s labeled so only when it threatens to upset the violence of America’s white supremacist hierarchical order. For those of us who care to see real progress, that means not being fooled by the term “violence” yet again.8


thenation--2020-06-12--Durham Isn’t Burning, but Don’t Light a Match

Sitting on my deck a few miles from downtown Durham , N.C. , I waited for the city to burn .
I scanned the sky for telltale darkening .
Listened for keening sirens .
Watched my social media for uprisings in progress .
And periodically sniffed the air for evidence of municipal char .
But the only smoke that wafted to me snaked from my friend ’ s Black & Mild , and Twitter brought no images of SWAT teams .
Protesters in the city held forth for days on end .
They blocked traffic downtown and chanted names , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina–born Minneapolis man killed when a police officer knelt on his neck for a fatal eight minutes and 46 seconds .
In Durham , law enforcement was present and watchful , but from a distance .
It was a different scene from the one playing out in Raleigh , the nearby capital , where on May 30 police responded to a large protest with a reprehensible flex of militarized power , firing tear gas and pepper spray into a largely peaceful crowd estimated at around 1,000 protesters .
Over three days , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trespassing , resisting arrest , property damage , or public disturbance .
By contrast , Durham Sheriff Clarence Birkhead—the first black sheriff in county history , elected in a 2018 wave that installed six first-ever African American sheriffs in their respective areas—wrote in a May 29 letter to the media , “ As a law enforcement leader , I am embarrassed , and outraged , at the behavior of a few officers who fail to demonstrate the professionalism and humanity required to protect and serve our diverse communities .
No matter how hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand how these incidents continue to occur and those officers responsible seemingly go unpunished.
” Yeah , me neither , Clarence .
On the one hand , that ’ s textbook bad-apple rhetoric .
But on June 1 , he released another statement : “ I am proud of these men and women from all races and backgrounds and how they came together to peacefully let their voices be heard regarding needed change in the criminal justice system .
The system is not perfect , it is not equitable for all , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Bravery of Marching for Black Lives in the Middle of a Pandemic The Violence Didn ’ t Start With the Protests You Don ’ t Have to Publish Both Sides When One Side Is Fascism I view such statements with journalistic and citizenly skepticism .
But Durham law enforcement has simultaneously stood down and stood up .
Birkhead , Police Chief C.J .
Davis , and Mayor Steve Schewel had a June 5 meeting to talk about racism , relations with law enforcement , and poverty in the city with activists who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freeway .
The meeting drew some ire when community members were turned away .
Longtime activist and Durham resident Lamont Lilly was not there .
And didn ’ t want to be .
He was in similar meetings with public officials five years ago—albeit with different leadership—and describes such meetings as “ Kumbaya sessions , an attempt to cool us down , identify the leaders , and make friends .
Make some concessions , go out for coffee and shit .
If you cool the leaders down , you ultimately cool the whole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has probably not earned Birkhead brownie points with the conservative-leaning North Carolina Sheriffs ’ Association .
Some of its members supported a return to church services in a state where coronavirus cases are climbing and looked the other way when religious gatherings flouted shelter-in-place orders .
If only they ’ d ignore protesters the way they ignored the armed white men ( one with a supposedly inactive rocket launcher and two other guns visible on his person ) who roamed downtown Raleigh on May 9 , stopping to eat at a Subway and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their children .
I recognize the tightrope that Birkhead must be walking and don ’ t want to minimize the impact of law enforcement choosing affirmatively not to incite and inflame .
Yet I don ’ t want to give Durham ’ s police officers undue credit or a cookie for doing what law enforcement should already do : enable Americans to express discontent , pursue deescalation as a matter of policy , and refrain from using violence .
More important , we can ’ t ignore the herculean labor of the activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and down from righteous rage .
And call me cynical , but it ’ s also easier for police to be nonviolent when there ’ s a goodly number of wholesome-looking white folks , not your bearded Proud Boys or cap-backward instigators , among the marchers .
But the absence of mass arrests , looting , and police-initiated violence is not peace , and the idea that there are peaceful protests and then violent ones is a simplistic binary .
Durham didn ’ t burn , but all is not well .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17-year-old Jesus Huerta died , reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot , in the back of a police cruiser .
Police dispersed protesters with tear gas then .
I think back to August 2017 , when activists tore down the Confederate statue that fronted Durham ’ s old courthouse .
The city waited for a Klan rally in response , an event that never happened .
Many things did happen , however , and went unreported .
The city was teeming with homegrown and traveling white supremacists , ready to foment race rumbles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I was followed by an elderly wild-eyed white heckler who asked me repeatedly when I was going to cook him breakfast .
Two elderly black men sheltered in a nearby doorway despite near 100-degree temperatures and assured me they were watching me—and him .
I was sure all three were packing heat .
A friend was mistaken for a tall guitar-playing black man in a video of the statue ’ s toppling and questioned .
Another resident , coming back from a band rehearsal the night of the Klan march that wasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ car with a blue light and men wearing generic , suspect uniforms .
They wouldn ’ t show their badges .
The driver floored it and sped away , not knowing if he was a target of real but rogue officers or white supremacist impersonators .
After all , in Durham , black male drivers are far more likely than whites to be pulled over , day or night .
This in our Durham , a kinda “ Chocolate City.
” More than a third of the residents are black .
African-American political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long enough that electing a white mayor here in 2017 was a distinct change .
The black middle class has its businesses , bachelor ’ s degrees , and fancy balls .
And with a burgeoning population of immigrant neighbors and Latinx newcomers who relocated from other states , black and brown people now outnumber whites .
None of those demographics erase or fully mitigate the inequality inscribed on the landscape .
The Durham Freeway bisects the city ; from the late 1960s to the early ’ 70s , its construction sliced through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Whole Foods Market , so busy that its parking lot is the city ’ s fender-bender epicenter , anchors one end of Main Street .
The other end terminates in East Durham ’ s food desert .
Duke University occupies prime real estate in the city center ; you can walk around the stone wall that circles its East Campus .
But the $ 60,000 annual undergraduate tuition tops the 2014–18 median household income of about $ 56,000 .
Until a recent spate of development , the county jail loomed as one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s edge .
You can buy a luxury condo in its shadow and have incarcerated people as neighbors you ’ ll never meet .
Those slick condos are going up at a breakneck pace alongside hipster hotels , breweries , and Brutalist modern houses that remind us that our inner-city neighborhoods have appealingly cheap real estate .
The Bull City is no longer the Bull Shitty of a decade ago , the dysfunctional blacker stepchild wedged between seemingly bucolic Chapel Hill and Raleigh ’ s suburban sprawl .
And despite local opposition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police headquarters .
It ’ s no coincidence that eviction filings proliferate here .
The Durham Human Relations Commission reported 10,000 in both 2016 and 2017 .
The boom that makes downtown a delightfully gritty destination—a place white people once feared to tread—had to be someone ’ s bust .
In March new eviction proceedings were paused because of the pandemic .
As the courts crank back up , padlocks will be going on doors across the city and county again , and sheriff ’ s deputies will be the ones escorting people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Given the hemorrhaging of jobs , evictions will probably rise above the 2016 level of about eight households a day .
Durham may not be in flames .
But it ’ s smoldering .

This article appears in the June 29/July 6, 2020 issue.
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Sitting on my deck a few miles from downtown Durham, N.C., I waited for the city to burn. I scanned the sky for telltale darkening. Listened for keening sirens. Watched my social media for uprisings in progress. And periodically sniffed the air for evidence of municipal char.
But the only smoke that wafted to me snaked from my friend’s Black & Mild, and Twitter brought no images of SWAT teams. Protesters in the city held forth for days on end. They blocked traffic downtown and chanted names, including that of George Floyd, the North Carolina–born Minneapolis man killed when a police officer knelt on his neck for a fatal eight minutes and 46 seconds.
In Durham, law enforcement was present and watchful, but from a distance. It was a different scene from the one playing out in Raleigh, the nearby capital, where on May 30 police responded to a large protest with a reprehensible flex of militarized power, firing tear gas and pepper spray into a largely peaceful crowd estimated at around 1,000 protesters. Over three days, about 30 of them were charged with trespassing, resisting arrest, property damage, or public disturbance.
By contrast, Durham Sheriff Clarence Birkhead—the first black sheriff in county history, elected in a 2018 wave that installed six first-ever African American sheriffs in their respective areas—wrote in a May 29 letter to the media, “As a law enforcement leader, I am embarrassed, and outraged, at the behavior of a few officers who fail to demonstrate the professionalism and humanity required to protect and serve our diverse communities. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot understand how these incidents continue to occur and those officers responsible seemingly go unpunished.”
Yeah, me neither, Clarence. On the one hand, that’s textbook bad-apple rhetoric. But on June 1, he released another statement: “I am proud of these men and women from all races and backgrounds and how they came together to peacefully let their voices be heard regarding needed change in the criminal justice system. The system is not perfect, it is not equitable for all, and it is in need of reform.” George Floyd Protests The Bravery of Marching for Black Lives in the Middle of a Pandemic Elie Mystal The Violence Didn’t Start With the Protests Kali Holloway You Don’t Have to Publish Both Sides When One Side Is Fascism Eric Alterman
I view such statements with journalistic and citizenly skepticism. But Durham law enforcement has simultaneously stood down and stood up. Birkhead, Police Chief C.J. Davis, and Mayor Steve Schewel had a June 5 meeting to talk about racism, relations with law enforcement, and poverty in the city with activists who demanded a meeting after blocking a local freeway. The meeting drew some ire when community members were turned away. Longtime activist and Durham resident Lamont Lilly was not there. And didn’t want to be. He was in similar meetings with public officials five years ago—albeit with different leadership—and describes such meetings as “Kumbaya sessions, an attempt to cool us down, identify the leaders, and make friends. Make some concessions, go out for coffee and shit. If you cool the leaders down, you ultimately cool the whole movement down.” 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
Nonetheless, this approach has probably not earned Birkhead brownie points with the conservative-leaning North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. Some of its members supported a return to church services in a state where coronavirus cases are climbing and looked the other way when religious gatherings flouted shelter-in-place orders. If only they’d ignore protesters the way they ignored the armed white men (one with a supposedly inactive rocket launcher and two other guns visible on his person) who roamed downtown Raleigh on May 9, stopping to eat at a Subway and to harass a black couple strolling with their children. Current Issue View our current issue
I recognize the tightrope that Birkhead must be walking and don’t want to minimize the impact of law enforcement choosing affirmatively not to incite and inflame. Yet I don’t want to give Durham’s police officers undue credit or a cookie for doing what law enforcement should already do: enable Americans to express discontent, pursue deescalation as a matter of policy, and refrain from using violence. More important, we can’t ignore the herculean labor of the activists who organized and talked one another through and down from righteous rage. And call me cynical, but it’s also easier for police to be nonviolent when there’s a goodly number of wholesome-looking white folks, not your bearded Proud Boys or cap-backward instigators, among the marchers.
But the absence of mass arrests, looting, and police-initiated violence is not peace, and the idea that there are peaceful protests and then violent ones is a simplistic binary. Durham didn’t burn, but all is not well.
I think back to December 2013, when 17-year-old Jesus Huerta died, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot, in the back of a police cruiser. Police dispersed protesters with tear gas then.
I think back to August 2017, when activists tore down the Confederate statue that fronted Durham’s old courthouse. The city waited for a Klan rally in response, an event that never happened.
Many things did happen, however, and went unreported. The city was teeming with homegrown and traveling white supremacists, ready to foment race rumbles. On a reporting trip to the courthouse, I was followed by an elderly wild-eyed white heckler who asked me repeatedly when I was going to cook him breakfast. Two elderly black men sheltered in a nearby doorway despite near 100-degree temperatures and assured me they were watching me—and him. I was sure all three were packing heat. A friend was mistaken for a tall guitar-playing black man in a video of the statue’s toppling and questioned.
Another resident, coming back from a band rehearsal the night of the Klan march that wasn’t, was stopped by a car with a blue light and men wearing generic, suspect uniforms. They wouldn’t show their badges. The driver floored it and sped away, not knowing if he was a target of real but rogue officers or white supremacist impersonators. After all, in Durham, black male drivers are far more likely than whites to be pulled over, day or night.
This in our Durham, a kinda “Chocolate City.” More than a third of the residents are black. African-American political leadership has been comfortably ensconced here for long enough that electing a white mayor here in 2017 was a distinct change. The black middle class has its businesses, bachelor’s degrees, and fancy balls. And with a burgeoning population of immigrant neighbors and Latinx newcomers who relocated from other states, black and brown people now outnumber whites. None of those demographics erase or fully mitigate the inequality inscribed on the landscape. The Durham Freeway bisects the city; from the late 1960s to the early ’70s, its construction sliced through vibrant black neighborhoods and business districts. A Whole Foods Market, so busy that its parking lot is the city’s fender-bender epicenter, anchors one end of Main Street. The other end terminates in East Durham’s food desert. Duke University occupies prime real estate in the city center; you can walk around the stone wall that circles its East Campus. But the $60,000 annual undergraduate tuition tops the 2014–18 median household income of about $56,000.
Until a recent spate of development, the county jail loomed as one of the tallest buildings on downtown’s edge. You can buy a luxury condo in its shadow and have incarcerated people as neighbors you’ll never meet. Those slick condos are going up at a breakneck pace alongside hipster hotels, breweries, and Brutalist modern houses that remind us that our inner-city neighborhoods have appealingly cheap real estate. The Bull City is no longer the Bull Shitty of a decade ago, the dysfunctional blacker stepchild wedged between seemingly bucolic Chapel Hill and Raleigh’s suburban sprawl. And despite local opposition, it has a newish $71 million police headquarters.
It’s no coincidence that eviction filings proliferate here. The Durham Human Relations Commission reported 10,000 in both 2016 and 2017. The boom that makes downtown a delightfully gritty destination—a place white people once feared to tread—had to be someone’s bust. In March new eviction proceedings were paused because of the pandemic. As the courts crank back up, padlocks will be going on doors across the city and county again, and sheriff’s deputies will be the ones escorting people from the homes they’ve lost. Given the hemorrhaging of jobs, evictions will probably rise above the 2016 level of about eight households a day.
Durham may not be in flames. But it’s smoldering.