Considering the din from the administration’s efforts to dismantle the government of our democratic republic and establish a fascist regime, we may have forgotten that this is Black History month. This might seem a jarring non sequitar considering all that is going on, but it is striking that it seems to be barely found in the news. [I just came across a news clip from NBC News saying that several federal agencies have cancelled Black History Month activities] [On the other hand, the President had signed a memo declaring February to indeed be Black History Month and where he deemed Clarence Thomas to be a great Black American hero].
The government’s “Black History Month” website is still in place. I guess that this particular bit of Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness was too much for the administration to handle right now. In some ways, I’m a bit surprised because rewriting history is a tried and true fascist tactic. And there is nothing more “woke” in the original sense of the term than fighting racism.
But, you would think that those combatting fascism would make more of the fact that this is the month where we are particularly vocal and reflective of one of the most important aspects of the historical development of democracy in the US: the fight against racism.
The NAACP has engaged to fight Project 2025, putting forward its own “Our 2025”. They have an “ACTION” button on their site. However, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Lives Matter, and the National Urban League have not updated their sites, and thus not mentioned the current events or specified actions in response to the administration’s antics. I’m not sure what they are waiting for. If you are aware of organizations whose mandate is to fight racism and are calling for action during these trying times, please let me know so I can reference them.
On USAID, a friend had a great idea, For anyone who lives in a country where USAID and USAID implementing partners have had to curtail activities, they can take video of the services that are being shut down, health clinics that are empty, etc. If they can do this soonest, they can forward the videos to me and I will forward to my friend who can in turn make them available to persons on the Hill.
A final point: where are the unions in all this? The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is very active, which is reassuring. They have quite a bit going on to protest the multi-prong onslaught on civic servants. However, the AFL-CIO, for example, seems to be ignoring what is happening altogether.
A final final point: I suggest that you look at 5calls.org when you have a chance, which has a host of new initiatives: State AGs: Prosecute DOGE for Illegal Data Breach ; Oppose The SAVE Act (H.R. 22 / S.128) – A Voter Suppression Bill; Condemn a US Takeover of Gaza; Protect Medicaid Funding; Fight Against Elon Musk’s Government Takeover ; and Protect the Department of Education.
True-ish Stories 