The blood spilled by our ancestors for voting rights, fair housing and other freedoms has benefitted non-Black Americans arguably more than they have benefitted us.
Nothing about this administration is intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate, encouraging, useful, inclusive, or enlightening. I can't think of one redeeming quality. Yet most consider themselves Christians. I have never experienced a more hateful destructive group in my 70 years.
The Federalist Society's Leonard Leo became a billionaire by collaborating with Republican legislators and dark money donors to pack our federal courts with extremist judges. The Supreme Court's six-extremist supermajority is his single greatest achievement (even before there were six, John Roberts was able to manipulate five into the piecemeal dismantling of the landmark Voting Rights Act, and the ramming through of Citizens United, which liberated the nation's billionaires to poison the American civic well).
Leo now leads an organization called The Teneo Network (Pro Publica has done some excellent reporting on this appalling group), which is, Leo acknowledges quite openly, even proudly, dedicated to doing to various sectors--notably publishing, journalism, higher education and the arts-- what the Federalist Society has done to our federal courts: to transform them into vessels of a narrow, fanatical ideology, to crush all dissenting voices.
The Republicans aim to create a society in which mere disagreement with the Republican ruling class invites vicious reprisals and retaliation, and in which artistic and scholarly expressions must be preapproved by the censors and regulators of the state.
The attacks on the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, and the nation's libraries reflect the authoritarian right's determination to silence all creative opposition to the regime: to silence memory: to silence the arts: to silence history itself.
When you look at the Supreme Court, and realize how thoroughly the world's greatest judicial body was systematically perverted into a rubber-stamp for an authoritarian regime, and when you look at the Republican Party's escalating assault on every institution of civil society that might challenge their dominance and power, you realize Leo's mad vision is not outside the realm of the possible.
We could be within a few years of a bleak, Soviet-style (or Nazi-style, if you prefer) Kultur in which all expressions are molded by the state, and free, creative expression has been driven underground.
This is certainly what Leonard Leo and the billionaires are hoping for.
Thank you for this! I had not heard about the Teneo Network but have begun to dive in. Always love a Pro Publica 990 to see interesting detail. Learning they are based in my hometown of Austin TX right on the edge of the University of Texas at Austin campus and spitting distance from the Capitol has piqued by curiosity further. I had no idea. Thanks again.
If you are able to, please support ProPublica's efforts. They are a not-for-profit and do some amazing reporting, including the Harlon Crowe/ Clarence Thomas relationship.
I've toured the Museum twice and found an amazing amount of history right before our eyes. It is an amazing tribute to Black history through the years. And I'm proud that a little part of my town, Oak Bluffs, is recognized in the Museum. We know the truth; hiding it will not destroy it.
Thank you for this. I am heartbroken every day. This endless amount of cruelty needs to be chronicled, and I hope that when we read it in the future we will be as incredulous as we are now, but at the fact that "we used to be that way."
The NMAAHC is a beloved institution for Black Americans. This is one fight Trump and Vance will not win. Trump always projects his own conduct onto others. Trump and his administration "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, and promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy". The recent Department of Defense debacles made by the white men in his administration show that they are incompetent. It appears that there were only nonwhite males on the Signal text so they couldn't blame the national security blunder on DEI. The American public knows that if it were otherwise, the GOP and MAGA would be screaming for POC and women's heads to roll. Let's not forget Trump attempted to blame the January 2025 DC airplane crash on nonexistent disabled pilots and "diversity hiring". White supremacists will try to ignore that POC and women are patriots who contributed greatly to the success of our country. However their racist actions show just how threatened they are by the truth. See what happened when Hegseth removed historic women, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and planes (the Enola Gay was infamous for dropping the nuclear bombs on Japan in WWII and now it's famous for being dropped because it was named Gay!) from the DOD website. There was national and international outrage. No one can pretend that the MAGA movement is not racist. Those of us who know the truth will continue standing up for an inclusive, not white washed American history narrative..
Given that his enablers, like Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg, all claim to be “free speech absolutists,” they sure spend an awful lot of time and effort censoring what can be said, by whom and on what topics. From banning books to purging website to declaring that museums cannot discuss anything but their whitewashed version of history, filled only with the heroism of straight white men, they are erasing American history a little more every day. All part of their racist, sexist big lie.
Help us know how to help preserve the materials they want to have "disappeared". Is there a special fund? Do you have storage somewhere where the Trumpeters cannot ruin or destroy the exhibits? Some day we will be rid of him, and his ilk, and we will proudly put those exhibits back. Save all of it!
I love the quote from the South African constitution: “united in our diversity.” E pluribus unum, of course is the very motto of the United States. The irony is deep when white men and women who claim to be patriotic hate our country’s diversity because they don’t automatically get to be top of the social order simply based on their skin tone. Trump exploited their fear of losing their dominance. I agree with everything the writer says here, and she says it so very well. I say all this as a white, albeit gay, American man.
Thank you for this stirring, angry, and defiant essay! When are we ever going to learn that our history is who we are as Americans? This country, great or otherwise as you like, would not be remotely what it is today without the presence of African-Americans: they are America, we all are America, our experience is America -- that's it!
Nothing about this administration is intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate, encouraging, useful, inclusive, or enlightening. I can't think of one redeeming quality. Yet most consider themselves Christians. I have never experienced a more hateful destructive group in my 70 years.
If it weren’t for the so-called Christian Prosperity Movement, Trump would be in jail by now.
CINO = Christians In Name Only
The Federalist Society's Leonard Leo became a billionaire by collaborating with Republican legislators and dark money donors to pack our federal courts with extremist judges. The Supreme Court's six-extremist supermajority is his single greatest achievement (even before there were six, John Roberts was able to manipulate five into the piecemeal dismantling of the landmark Voting Rights Act, and the ramming through of Citizens United, which liberated the nation's billionaires to poison the American civic well).
Leo now leads an organization called The Teneo Network (Pro Publica has done some excellent reporting on this appalling group), which is, Leo acknowledges quite openly, even proudly, dedicated to doing to various sectors--notably publishing, journalism, higher education and the arts-- what the Federalist Society has done to our federal courts: to transform them into vessels of a narrow, fanatical ideology, to crush all dissenting voices.
The Republicans aim to create a society in which mere disagreement with the Republican ruling class invites vicious reprisals and retaliation, and in which artistic and scholarly expressions must be preapproved by the censors and regulators of the state.
The attacks on the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, and the nation's libraries reflect the authoritarian right's determination to silence all creative opposition to the regime: to silence memory: to silence the arts: to silence history itself.
When you look at the Supreme Court, and realize how thoroughly the world's greatest judicial body was systematically perverted into a rubber-stamp for an authoritarian regime, and when you look at the Republican Party's escalating assault on every institution of civil society that might challenge their dominance and power, you realize Leo's mad vision is not outside the realm of the possible.
We could be within a few years of a bleak, Soviet-style (or Nazi-style, if you prefer) Kultur in which all expressions are molded by the state, and free, creative expression has been driven underground.
This is certainly what Leonard Leo and the billionaires are hoping for.
Thank you for this! I had not heard about the Teneo Network but have begun to dive in. Always love a Pro Publica 990 to see interesting detail. Learning they are based in my hometown of Austin TX right on the edge of the University of Texas at Austin campus and spitting distance from the Capitol has piqued by curiosity further. I had no idea. Thanks again.
Thanks for the heads up. Here's the ProPublica article:
https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents
If you are able to, please support ProPublica's efforts. They are a not-for-profit and do some amazing reporting, including the Harlon Crowe/ Clarence Thomas relationship.
Well written.
I've toured the Museum twice and found an amazing amount of history right before our eyes. It is an amazing tribute to Black history through the years. And I'm proud that a little part of my town, Oak Bluffs, is recognized in the Museum. We know the truth; hiding it will not destroy it.
Thank you for this. I am heartbroken every day. This endless amount of cruelty needs to be chronicled, and I hope that when we read it in the future we will be as incredulous as we are now, but at the fact that "we used to be that way."
The NMAAHC is a beloved institution for Black Americans. This is one fight Trump and Vance will not win. Trump always projects his own conduct onto others. Trump and his administration "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, and promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy". The recent Department of Defense debacles made by the white men in his administration show that they are incompetent. It appears that there were only nonwhite males on the Signal text so they couldn't blame the national security blunder on DEI. The American public knows that if it were otherwise, the GOP and MAGA would be screaming for POC and women's heads to roll. Let's not forget Trump attempted to blame the January 2025 DC airplane crash on nonexistent disabled pilots and "diversity hiring". White supremacists will try to ignore that POC and women are patriots who contributed greatly to the success of our country. However their racist actions show just how threatened they are by the truth. See what happened when Hegseth removed historic women, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and planes (the Enola Gay was infamous for dropping the nuclear bombs on Japan in WWII and now it's famous for being dropped because it was named Gay!) from the DOD website. There was national and international outrage. No one can pretend that the MAGA movement is not racist. Those of us who know the truth will continue standing up for an inclusive, not white washed American history narrative..
Given that his enablers, like Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg, all claim to be “free speech absolutists,” they sure spend an awful lot of time and effort censoring what can be said, by whom and on what topics. From banning books to purging website to declaring that museums cannot discuss anything but their whitewashed version of history, filled only with the heroism of straight white men, they are erasing American history a little more every day. All part of their racist, sexist big lie.
Help us know how to help preserve the materials they want to have "disappeared". Is there a special fund? Do you have storage somewhere where the Trumpeters cannot ruin or destroy the exhibits? Some day we will be rid of him, and his ilk, and we will proudly put those exhibits back. Save all of it!
This is just unAmerican!
Probably part of 2025 destructions!
Stop it someone!
Time to sit in the museum so they can't change anything?
I certainly agree with your characterization of Steven Miller as Trump's Goebbels.
I love the quote from the South African constitution: “united in our diversity.” E pluribus unum, of course is the very motto of the United States. The irony is deep when white men and women who claim to be patriotic hate our country’s diversity because they don’t automatically get to be top of the social order simply based on their skin tone. Trump exploited their fear of losing their dominance. I agree with everything the writer says here, and she says it so very well. I say all this as a white, albeit gay, American man.
Thank you for this stirring, angry, and defiant essay! When are we ever going to learn that our history is who we are as Americans? This country, great or otherwise as you like, would not be remotely what it is today without the presence of African-Americans: they are America, we all are America, our experience is America -- that's it!