13TH

Beautiful. 👊🏾 https://t.co/C2262PjsVj

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 16, 2020

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In the last 3 weeks, millions of members (a 4,665% increase vs. 3 wks prior) have sought out 13TH, Ava DuVernay’s essential doc about the intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the US.

The film is also available for free on YouTube as an educational resource. pic.twitter.com/EYOVgHaV82

— Netflix (@netflix) June 16, 2020

white People Refuse To Handle The Truth

This narrative that black people who want an accurate reflection of history are "angry and resentful" leaves us with one logical takeaway:

White people don't want to know history because they can't handle the truth.

A thread. pic.twitter.com/YXDoUQReRU

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

First, let's be clear: The Founders were racists.

They weren't "products of their time." They KNEW slavery was wrong. They KNEW it was inhumane.

Gouverneur Morris, who literally wrote the Preamble said this during the Constitutional debates pic.twitter.com/CoOODu5BQQ

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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James Madison, who wrote the Constitution, "thought it wrong to admit in the Constitution the idea that there could be property in men."

Even Lincoln was a white supremacist. That's not my opinion. He said it himself when asked about freeing slaves: pic.twitter.com/Rz1T3RfxRw

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

In the only book Thomas Jefferson ever wrote, "Notes on the State of Virginia," he dedicated pages to explaining why black people were inferior.

Washington knew slavery was wrong but wouldn't manumit his slaves. He stalked Ona Judge, a runaway, until the day he died.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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BUT here is the thing:

When these truths are pointed out by black people or actual historians, it doesn't mean we want to erase everything they did. It doesn't mean we don't think the founding fathers' legacy should be deleted.

We just want y'all to tell the truth.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

The problem is that many white people believe that being a racist is an all-encompassing trait that stains everything else a person does. They believe it is an evil feeling that lives inside the heart.

I do not.

I think racism is a noun.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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For instance:

The fact that police disproportionately shoot black people is racist. It does not mean that individual officers go to work hoping to kill black people. It means they work for a system that disproportionately target black Americans.

That is racism.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

Jefferson, Lincoln, Washington and others did not explicitly say they hated black people.

They just created a system that dehumanized black people and treated black people as property. And, while we often focus on slavery, it was not just about slavery.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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White supremacy is the reason there is an electoral college There were more enslaved people in the south, which would give the South a political advantage if they counted slaves as whole human beings.

The founders' solution?

Count them as 3/5ths of a person.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

White supremacy is the reason every state has different voting laws.

Some states allowed free black landowners to vote, which was unthinkable to other states.

The founders' solution?

Every state gets to set its own rules.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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White supremacy is the reason behind America's military might.

Southern states didn't think the federal government should be able to raise an army because they feared black soldiers might invade the South to free their black brothers.

The Founders' solution?

The 2nd Amendment pic.twitter.com/MqUdnGG2p9

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

So, instead of facing these historical truths and force us to reconcile with how this country has treated black people and indigenous people since its inception, we'd rather lie about it.

And, in the vacuum created by this intentional whitewashing, racism flourishes

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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Why wouldn't you hate the idea of defunding the police if you didn't know that American policing descended from slave-catching rules?

Why wouldn't you think Confederate statues are monuments to white supremacist traitors if you believe the Civil War was about "states' rights?"

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

Why wouldn't you think black people are lazy and less intelligent if you didn't know about redlining and how it still influences school funding?

Why wouldn't you be against reparations if you didn't know how black ppl were excluded from the GI Bill, the New Deal & gov't loans?

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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Why wouldn't you think a speech at Mount Rushmore was a great idea if you didn't know how America stole the land from the Sioux after signing a treaty that said it belonged to them?

But white people are right about one thing:

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

Confederate monuments do represent history.

They represent the historical lengths this country has gone to whitewash the past. They represent the lie of "liberty and justice for all." They represent their willingness to ignore racism in order to honor whiteness in all its glory.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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Removing these symbols of white supremacy has nothing to do with anger or resentment.

If black people ever unleashed their anger, there is not a sword in the world that wouldn't be wet with throatblood.

But we know that's not the answer.

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

There is only one way.

See, a long time ago, we read another activist explained exactly how to eliminate racism and give our people justice.

It came from an admittedly whitewashed historical document but it still has a few relevant points, especially when he said:

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free:"

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 5, 2020

blunted

hey, nice new look:

OFA

If you’d like to celebrate the shiny new OFA site you could – maybe? – donate $5 to TOD’s 2012 fundraising page at OFA.

Thank you! 😉

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President Barack Obama greets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India at the start of their bilateral meeting at the ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Nov. 18, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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The BIG news!

“On Wednesday, November 23, 2011, President Obama will pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a ceremony in the Rose Garden. The President will celebrate the 64th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, reflect upon the time-honored traditions of Thanksgiving, and wish American families a warm, safe, and healthy holiday. The 2011 National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate were raised on AgForte farm in Willmar, Minnesota.

“After the pardoning, the turkeys will be driven to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. The National Thanksgiving Turkey will be on display for visitors during ‘Christmas at Mount Vernon,’ a special program through January 6. After the holidays, the National Thanksgiving Turkey and its alternate will live in a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility.”

2009:

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From Bali:

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Steve Benen: One of the top priorities of the House Republican leadership for this Congress was passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As of this afternoon, we can add another item to the list of GOP failures …. it needed 290 votes in the lower chamber, and came up with 261.

….only four House Republicans voted against it. The majority needed roughly 50 Democrats to break ranks, but ended up with about half the necessary total. [Here’s the roll call.]

The nation dodged a bullet today. This amendment would have devastated the economy and made responses to future crises effectively impossible….

Full post here

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Washington Post: Despite it all, the U.S. economy has entered a strong patch.

…. following a year of one economic disappointment after another, a variety of economic indicators are pointing in a more positive direction. The question is whether the U.S. economy has built enough momentum to withstand new shocks from overseas.

On Thursday, the Commerce Department said the number of permits to build new housing units rose 10.9 percent in October, compared with the 2.4 percent gain analysts had expected, suggesting that home-building may be finally picking up. And the Labor Department said the number of people filing new claims for unemployment-insurance benefits fell last week to its lowest level since April, continuing a two-month downward trend.

Full article here

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I know I don’t usually send you emails, but Joe has a birthday coming up this Sunday, and I’m trying something new.

The First Family and I are putting together a special card for him, and we’d like as many supporters of this campaign as possible to add their names and messages for Joe.

Because the year ahead is going to be a big one – not just for Joe and me, but for all of us. We’ve all got some work to do.

So help us make this birthday a memorable one for Joe. Add your names, and, if you like, your own notes and well-wishes for the year ahead.

Thanks,

Jill

Sign the card here

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NYT: Even with low approval ratings and an uncertain path to reelection, President Obama is exceeding expectations in one area: His campaign is doing far better at attracting grass-roots financial support this year than his GOP rivals or his own historic effort in 2008, according to new contribution data.

The sheer scale of small donations, totaling $56 million for Obama and his party, has surprised many Democratic strategists and fundraisers, who feared that a sour economy would make it difficult for Obama to raise money from disenchanted and cash-strapped voters.

A Washington Post analysis shows that nearly half of his campaign contributions, and a quarter of the money he has raised for the Democratic Party, has come from donors giving less than $200. That’s much higher than it was four years ago, and far beyond what the best-funded Republicans have managed.

…. “The number of small donations shows who it is that supports this president and who put him there,” said Katherine Hahn, a self-described “mom and artist” from Evergreen, Colo., who gives Obama $25 a month. “It wasn’t the powers that be so much as it was people like me.”

More here

Thanks Hopefruit