Wokeness: A Response to Phil Ebersole

 Phil Ebersole is a retired reporter for the Rochester New York Democrat and Chronicle who blogs at https://philebersole.wordpress.com/ recently posted a piece about wokeness entitled What is this thing called "Woke?" From the outset he is well reasoned and takes so called woke advocates seriously. Agree or disagree with Ebersole he displays an openness and recognition of nuance when writing " Some parts may be good, some parts may be bad, some parts may be good up to a point and counterproductive beyond that point, and some points are used by plutocrats and militarists to divide and rule." Liberals like Mark Lilla author of The Once and Future Liberal and Leftists like Adolph Reed completely dismiss issues related to race, gender, and LGBTQ rights as a distraction or divisive Phil Ebersole does not. 

He also lays out several ideas associated with woke advocates including oppressed and oppressor are based on identity, justice for the collective is more important than individual rights, and race and race prejudice are baked into American culture. At this point one has to question the idea of wokeness as a way to understand certain various struggles for social change. The term wokeness came out the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Revolution in the 1960s. It meant staying aware and conscious of the need for struggle. Change didn't come from token measures or symbolism. It was important not give up or be distracted. This was the meaning of woke. At some point contemporary Anti Racists activists and supporters of Black Lives Matter sought to revive the term in relation to current protests. However, the notion of wokeness came to be identified with struggles for gender equality, LGBTQ Rights, and even climate change too. The political right seized onto the term and made it into something negative to discredit various activist efforts, Liberals, and the Left in general. The problem with using woke as an umbrella term or concept is that it lumps disparate groups and activist struggles together that often have nothing to do with each other. There are black activists concerned about racism who have nothing to do with gender equality, LGBTQ issues, or climate change. There are Feminists fighting for abortion rights and associated with the Me Too Movement that have nothing to do with climate change activism or race. There are single issue climate activists and those concerned only with LGBTQ rights. Furthermore, within in all these struggles there are differences about political goals, methods, ideology, and thought. Ultimately, Phil Ebersole disagrees with wokeness. He says, " they are a break from the old time twentieth century Liberalism and Progressivism which is based on equal rights for all and special privileges for none." 

Notions of wokeness and identity politics are less important than real problems and issues that impact whole groups of people. Think about things like racial discrimination against black homeowners, working women paid less than men doing the same work, facing sexual harassment on the job, LGBTQ persons lacking basic civil rights protections in most states, and transgender people in particular face violence while being dismissed by many. In all these cases people are defined and subordinated collectively. They don't have choices or the ability to follow self-chosen goals as free individuals. Therefore people in the same situation with common interests come together through activism and political action to challenge unjust treatment. This part of American history. In fact, the American colonists, workers fighting for unions, and agrarian populists all through American history came together to fight for freedom and their material wellbeing. Why are blacks, women, or LGBTQ people different? All politics involves groups and identities in some sense. Ebersole and other critics of so called wokeness and identity politics fail to consider this. But he keeps the door open writing " My plea is for adherents of the new ideology to openly articulate their principles, and give reasons for them, and not to expect nor demand automatic acceptance."

Of course, there are excesses and bad ideas associated with any struggle for social change. Liberals have to be critical of such things. Cancel culture and those advocating bans on hate speech are rightly opposed by Liberals. At the same time, we have to leave room for disagreement among reasonable people without charges of racism, sexism, or homophobia being leveled against individuals. Nobody gets everything they want in the democratic process. Affirmative action as a tool in reducing racial discrimination is controversial and very unpopular among whites. The Supreme Court may likely strike it down. Almost four decades ago the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution failed to get enough states for ratification. Ensuring basic civil rights for LGBTQ people will have to be balanced against religious liberty. Activists, intellectuals, and other individuals concerned about different issues won't be pleased. Some will continue to advocate calling out racism, sexism, and homophobia. However, most people are better off because of the reforms. Those changes will not happen without agitation that is often dismissed as wokeness or identity politics. Liberals and leftists who side with Conservative opponents of social change and equality completely rejecting wokeness or identity politics are making a grave mistake. 

None of this means the problems faced by all working people don't matter. The economy isn't working well for the average person regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Far too many of us live paycheck to paycheck, lack retirement savings, and face financial ruin trying pay medical bills. If you could get all kinds of ordinary working people together in a room talking about their economic struggles and worries there would be blacks, whites, Latinos, men, and women. There might also be gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and just maybe a transgender person. It's likely they would all agree about the need for a higher Federal Minimum Wage. They would probably support paid family leave and want more affordable healthcare. All of this makes an activist and political struggle for an economy that benefits working people not just monied elites essential. However that economy and society won't benefit all working people if certain people are denied rights, opportunity, and material wellbeing because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The struggles around race and other issues matter just as much. Liberals and the Left should reject the false choice between economic or class issues and struggkes against racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Furthermore, we cannot ignore climate change because our survival depends on it. Making the good on the promise of freedom and equality for every American depends addressing all these issues. 

 

How Racism Undermines Black Homeowners

 Despite gains in education, income, and employment most blacks do not own a home. In fact the gap is wider now than fifty years ago with only 44.1% of blacks compared to 74.5% of whites owning a home. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of homes, blacks are still frequently denied loans compared to similarly situated whites. The same thing is true when paying interest on a mortgage. In 2017 J.P. Morgan Chase settled a federal lawsuit for $55 million alleging discrimination against at least 53,000 black and Hispanic borrowers who were charged more for loans than whites with similar credit profiles. All of this is compounded by the systemic devaluation of homes in mostly black areas and neighborhoods. This means blacks gain less wealth from their property or money when selling it. 

Between 2004 and 2008 blacks were consistently denied mortgage loans at higher rates than whites according to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. 2007 was the highest year with blacks being denied loans at a rate of 35% compared to just under 15% for whites. Those rates did decline to little over 15% for blacks and slightly over 5% for whites in 2018. What's going on here? Maybe it's not race. What about debt or credit ? Blacks are twice as likely as whites to have student loan debt over $ 10,000 dollars. When it comes to credit which essential to getting loans the Urban Institute found only 20% of blacks scored 740 or higher which is the best score for most lenders. However credit scores only accounted for 22% of the gap between blacks and whites. Even when blacks get loans they are charged more than similarly situated whites. 

Raheem Hanifa with the Harvard based Joint Center for Housing Studies found blacks with incomes of $75,000 to $ 100,000 paid a higher rate of interest at 4.125% compared to whites with incomes of $ 30,000 who paid 4.16%. Blacks with incomes of $ 30,000 or less paid 4.267%. For blacks in the $ 30,000 to $ 44,999 income rage the median interest rate was 4.506%. For whites it was 4.213%. 

Even when blacks get loans at comparable interest rates to whites their property is systematically devalued at levels of 21 to 23% when black homes are located in mostly black areas or neighborhoods according to the Brookings Institute which looked 113 metropolitan areas across the U.S. This was after adjustments for size, age, and physical condition. This problem is compounded by racially biased home appraisals. In February of 2023 Paul and Tenisha Tate-Austin of Marin City, CA just reached a settlement in Federal lawsuit.

In 2016 the couple bought a home listed at $ 500,000. They later renovated the property adding up to 1000 square feet. The Austins then sought refinancing to pay for the work. Their lender assigned a white Appraiser named Janette Miller to look at the property who valued the house at $ 995,000. This was despite the fact the house had been appraised at 1,450,000 a year earlier. The Austins could not believe it. They told their lender they disagreed and were concerned race was an issue. They removed any clues or signs that a black person lived in the home. They also had a white friend stand in for them at a second appraisal that came back at $ 1,482,000. 

Some people are still not convinced that systemic racism has anything to do with these disparities. They will wrongly question blacks spending habits, willingness to save or ability to manage their money. They will say that blacks aren't smart or responsible with their finances. However blacks are no better or worse than whites. The fact is we still have a race problem despite the progress America has made. Owning a home provides stability. It is an important source of intergenerational wealth too. Everything we believe about individual freedom and economic prosperity is tied to private property. Having your own home is the most basic example of that. Systemic racism undermines black homeownership. This is a matter for both political and business leaders. More importantly, it should be a reminder to blacks that our struggle for freedom and equality continues. With so much talk about reparations, police brutality, killings, and the controversy surrounding the teaching of black history in schools; we shouldn't fail to consider the importance of homeownership to our collective wellbeing. If there's a reason for protest or advocacy this is one.

SOURCES 

https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/ 

https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-racial-bias-in-appraisals-affects-the-devaluation-of-homes-in-majority-black-

https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/high-income-black-homeowners-receive-higher-interest-rates-low-income-white-homeowners 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jpmorgan-lawsuit/jpmorgan-agrees-to-55-million-settle-of-mortgage-discrimination-complaint-source- 

https://abc7news.com/wells-fargo-lawsuit-racism-allegations-lending-discrimination-civil-rights-

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/column-wells-fargo-denied-well-off-borrowers-low-

Singles Are Struggling Economically

 " I'm old enough to still remember a time from the mid 1970s until the early eighties when a high school diploma was enough to get you a decent job, an apartment, and a used car. You could even work a fulltime minimum wage job in a store, warehouse, or service firm and live decent. For people in manufacturing, construction, or the public sector it was even better. College graduates had it made. Fulltime work took care of your basic needs and there was room for improvement. Today none of this is the case. The economy and society have changed for the worse." I wrote that in September 2022 about working people in general. But now when I think about single people it makes a lot of sense. They are struggling economically. In fact, the number of unmarried people without a partner age 25 to 54 is up from 29% in 1990 to 38% in 2019.

I'm in my mid-fifties and have been divorced for over twenty years. My children are all grown now. When they were young, I worked two jobs and paid child support. It's not easy paying rent, a car payment, insurance, or emergency expenses if you're not married or don't have a partner. For the last decade I've lived with my elderly mother. We pool our resources and make out alright. However I work with men who are divorced or never married and they struggle. The old saying is very true - It takes two. None of this implies married people or single mothers have it easy. They don't. In this economy I call Predator Capitalist it's hard on most people who aren't rich and work for someone else. But it's clear that having a spouse or partner helps.

Consider these facts. 

Singles are less likely to work, have a college, and make less money than married people or those living with a partner. 

 73% of single men work compared to 91% of married men. For women 77% of single women work compared to 74% of partnered women. 

Between 1990 and 2019 single men saw their earnings drop 4% compared to 0.9% for single women. However partnered men saw a 7% increase. Partnered women saw their earnings increase 48%. 

Median income for partnered men was $ 57,000 compared to $ 35,600 for single men. For women with a partner, it was $ 40,000 compared to $ 32,000 for single women. 

For the elderly things get even harder. According to the Social Security Administration while poverty among seniors is low. For those who live alone the rate is higher: 

The never-married elderly (aged 65 or older) have the highest poverty rate among all groups, followed by those who are divorced and widowed. The overall elderly poverty rate is almost two-thirds higher among women than men with 12 percent of women in poverty compared with 7 percent of men. Unmarried women—including those who are widowed, divorced, and never married—are significantly more likely than unmarried men to be poor. The unmarried elderly are disproportionately poorer than the married elderly. Never-married individuals represent about 5 percent of the elderly, but 12 percent of the elderly poor. Likewise, divorced individuals make up 12 percent of the elderly and 20 percent of the elderly poor. Widowed individuals make up a quarter of the elderly, but 37 percent of the elderly poor.  

While the poverty rate for non-elderly seniors (without dependents) is 9.4% there are millions of people struggling to survive close to poverty. Think about that. People who struggle to pay rent, eat healthy, and pay for healthcare. 

Some will say the tax code wrongly favors people with children especially married people. Others say people need to get married stay together and have children for moral and economic reasons. Of course all of this intersects with racial and gender inequality too. There are millions of single black women never married and without children who want husbands and families. And we know that poverty is a serious problem among single parent moms regardless of race. But this shouldn't be a zero sum game that divides working people trying to make ends meet. The problems faced by single people are tied to an economy that is grossly unequal in terms of wealth and income. Employment is less stable, not adequately paid, lacking decent benefits, and uncertain because of new technologies. All working people matter. The plight of singles needs the same attention and care as working families. 

Sources

The escalating costs of being single in America

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22788620/ 

https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/population-profiles/ 

https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/gaps-in-economic-support-for-non-elderly-adults-without-children

What's Wrong With Policing ?

 

In January the killing of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by five police officers in Memphis Tennessee sparked continued outrage concerning police conduct towards black people; this despite the fact the five officers were also black. It's an all too familiar and increasingly common occurrence.

However, as this piece is being written just a few days ago on March 1 police officers in Farmington Utah shot and killed Chase Allen a law student who like Nichols died in a routine traffic stop. But in this case Allen and the officers involved were white. You can't deny racism is a problem in policing like everything else. But deadly force and brutality seem to characterize American policing in general. Many years ago, a friend at work, who had immigrated from Eastern Europe, asked me why American police kill and beat unarmed people in routine situations. I couldn't give him a satisfactory answer. 

Caroline Preston at the education policy news site Hechinger Report provided some facts about police training. It is a patchwork of programs with little standardization or oversight. Programs skew towards military style training, lacking emphasis on anti-bias, de-escalation tactics, conflict resolution, and are resistant to change. Preston notes that police departments began using military style training in the 1960s and 1970s as politicians called for law and order. At the same time President Richard Nixon launched the War on Drugs at the federal level. The federal Bureau of Justice in 2016 found that 48% of police academies followed the military model, 18% emphasized academic achievement, and a third balanced the two. The notes that in 2006 police academies spent 51 hours teaching self-defense, 11 hours on cultural diversity, and 60 hours on firearms. 

 A report by an independent group the Police Executive Research Forum entitled: Transforming Police Recruit Training 40 Guiding Principles begins with; Training standards for more than 18,000 police agencies are outdated; inconsistent; training is too brief; there's too much focus on weapons; tactics; too little focus on decision making; communications; and critical thinking skills. 

ABC News.com reports compared to police in other countries Americans on average only get 20 weeks of training. In Japan it's 15 to 20 months. For Germans it takes 2.5 years and in Finland it takes 3 years to become a police officer. Clearly there is something wrong with how police are trained. Even more alarming are the ties between law enforcement personnel and extremist groups like antigovernment militias and White Supremacists. Just think about the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Many of the January 6th attackers on the US. Capitol were part of law enforcement. It puts a controversial and very important 2006 FBI Intelligence Report on law enforcement ties to extremist groups in perspective. Only recently, has the general public gained knowledge of the document. Here are the highlights: 

Racist and extremist groups seek affiliation with law enforcement for recruitment

Infiltration of law enforcement by group members 

Current members of law enforcement volunteer their services to White Supremacist groups they sympathize with 

Opposition to domestic and foreign policies of the government generates support for these groups among law enforcement. 

In at least one case a White Supremacist leader got hold sensitive FBI intel online that became public...it identified FBI targets of interest in the White Supremacy Movement 

An investigative report by Reuters News Service focused on police trainers with ties to rightwing groups. One man is Richard Whitehead is a law enforcement consultant has taught 560 police officers in 85 sessions in 25 states. Whitehead had been a Deputy Sheriff in Travis County Texas for more than two decades before starting his firm in 1995. He's been a member of the Oath Keepers Milita whose members have been arrested for their involvement with the January 6th attacks. Whitehead has also made remarks against Muslims and LGBTQ people. By 2020 he was living in Kootenai County Idaho running as a Constitutional Sheriff. Those who subscribe to this principle refuse to enforce any law they believe goes against the U.S. Constitution. Whitehead lost the election. 

Some say better training is needed. But if we consider the ties between law enforcement and extremists others argue the culture within law enforcement must change. Maybe it's both these things along with defunding and demilitarization of policing. Of course, it's not easy to raise this issue in the current atmosphere of rising urban crime and violence. But something has to be done. We know lots of police officers are overworked, poorly paid, and stressed out. Some struggle with alcohol and substance abuse. And many experts are concerned about the growing number of suicides among police. Because of racism the whole issue is very adversarial. It's easy to overlook the challenges a lot of ordinary good police officers face. Perhaps the problem is so complex and multifaceted that activists, experts, police officials, and political leaders will have to come together and find pragmatic solutions that will be better for us all. 

Do You Know ALEC ?

 Do you know ALEC ? It's not the name of a person. ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council an organization bills itself as the nation's largest nonpartisan, voluntary, membership organization of state legislators devoted to limited government, free markets, and federalism according to the group's website. Founded in 1973 the current CEO is Lisa B. Nelson, and by it's own account ALEC claims a quarter of state legislators as members. Okay so what's the problem ? ALEC is a secretive right leaning group that brings together legislators with big money business interests to write model legislation that can be introduced and passed into law in any state word for word. 

Legislators connected to ALEC meet with business representatives in task forces to draft bills that are then approved by members and the board. States like West Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Montana, Kansas, and Arizona according to the Brookings Institute have been the leaders in ALEC related activity. Brookings further notes that 57% of those sponsoring ALEC legislation are group members, and they are 90% Republican. Furthermore, working at the state level ALEC has got 9% of its legislation passed compared to Congress where only 2% of legislation introduced passes. 

What kinds of legislation are based on ALEC models? 

1. Laws that require local authorities to enforce Federal immigration laws like taking illegal immigrants into custody. These laws allow private citizens to take local governments to court if they don't think officials are complying with the law. They also make hiring illegal immigrants a criminal offense. 

2. Preventing local governments from restricting ownership of firearms or taking makers of guns, ammo, trade associations, or dealers to court. 

3. Shielding corporations from product liability lawsuits and adopting a presumption in their favor if companies if it can be shown to comply with government standards. 

4. Limiting class action lawsuits by individuals by barring monetary damages or bringing suits with plaintiffs from other states. 

ALEC has also been responsible for anti-immigrant legislation and Stand Your Ground Laws that many believe made it easier for George Zimmerman a neighborhood watch member to kill a black teenager named Trayvon Martin and later be acquitted at trial after police didn't initially arrest Zimmerman, a white Hispanic man, after the shooting happened. 

The organization lost corporate backers like Wal Mart, McDonald's, and General Electric it is believed in connection with the group's efforts to advance that legislation. However companies like Altria ( formerly Phillip Morris); American Electric Power, and Anheuser Busch remain tied to ALEC. Oil companies like Chevron and Marathon and pharmaceutical manufacturuers like Eli Lilly also partner with ALEC. They pay thousands of dollars to be ALEC members and rightwing foundations like the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation have given the organization millions of dollars over the years. 

Our economy is grossly unequal with the middle class struggling to maintain its standard of living while most poor people will never move up the ladder no matter how hard they try. At the same time climate change threatens everyone everywhere. But none of this is natural or inevitable. In the early 1970s rightwing activists and politicians who opposed social changes and struggles around civil rights and gender equality aligned with corporate interests to cut regulations, taxes, and break unions. They grew powerful together through all kinds of advocacy groups and think tanks changing laws and public policies making the economy less equal and livable than it had been for years after the Second World War. This is when ALEC was founded, and it is how the group became so influential.  

The American Legislative Exchange Council advances the interests of monied corporations at the expense of people and their communities. They bring together elected officials and commercial interests who are not accountable to voters where there is no debate or compromise doing things in secret so there is no transparency either. None of this democratic and our collective wellbeing suffers as a result. This is why we don't get paid family leave, reduced carbon emissions, a livable minimum wage, or a fair tax system despite the fact most people want these things. Americans don't trust politicians because they are connected to the rich and powerful, and whether we choose to admit it or not our country is headed towards plutocracy because of groups like ALEC. If we don't organize and challenge them, we will be less free and a lot poorer. 

Sources 

The American Legislative Exchange Council is America’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism
LEARN MORE

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/alecs-influence-over-lawmaking-in-state-legislatures/

ALEC’s Influence over Lawmaking in State Legislatures | Brookings

https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/how-the-american-legislative-exchange-council-turns-disinformation-into-law/

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It's Not Just Trump Conservatives Are Wrong

 Critics of former President Donald Trump along with the political pundits and media continue to claim his election in 2016 and Presidency broke conservatism, the Republican Party, and American politics. They say our society and political democracy were fine before Donald Trump came along and ruined everything. The establishment is wrong! Our economy hasn't benefitted working people for more than forty years. At the same we have not made nearly enough progress towards a free and equal society for all. Conservative politics is partly responsible for our problems. Not only has the political right undermined our economy in order to advance the interests of big corporations and the wealthy; conservatives have used racism, sexism, xenophobia, and homophobia to mobilize their base. Trump didn't start any of this. He joined the Republican Right for power and glory. It's not just Trump conservatives are wrong. This has been the case for a long time.

Conservatives have been using race for years to get white votes. They made crime, welfare, and affirmative action race problems - things that threaten white people by pushing certain narratives. Black men are criminals who endanger white lives and property. This requires more money for law enforcement, long prison sentences, police racially profiling, stopping, and frisking any black man they see. There's the image of a black woman with multiple children getting cash, food stamps, housing, and healthcare from the government taking tax dollars from hardworking white people. Reagan popularized this notion of the " Welfare Queen" running for President in 1980 which began the conservative ascendancy in American politics. Affirmative Action that has been weakened by the Supreme Court and Voter Referendums in California and Texas gave lesser qualified blacks jobs and college admissions over better qualified whites according to conservative opponents. All this feeds resentment among whites.

Fast forward to 2021 now the problem is critical race theory in public schools. Critical Race theory was developed by academics especially the late Derrick Bell, a Harvard law professor, and others beginning in the 1970s. It posits the systemic racist nature of American law and public policy past and present. The theory has always been controversial within academia and was usually a graduate level university course. However, conservatives falsely claim it is being taught in history and social studies to elementary and high school kids. They claim it makes America and white people out as racists shaming white children. Conservative commentators and media pushed this idea in the aftermath of protests and racial unrest surrounding the killing of George Floyd setting off a populist backlash among white parents. It led to heated arguments and violence at local school board meetings across the country. Whites claimed their rights to control their children's education were being taken away. In the race for Governor of Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe by making this a central issue. 

However, the most dangerous idea coming from conservatives including Fox News personality Tucker Carlson is Great Replacement Theory. The idea is that nonwhites through immigration and higher birthrates are going to replace whites as the majority in America. This will mean less political power for white people. Furthermore, the political left and Democrats through open border policies are driving the trend to build their political base. Of course, this leads to fear and anger among whites who have turned to violence. The idea inspired Patrick Crusius to kill 23 Hispanic Americans in an El Paso Texas Walmart in 2019. More recently at the time of this post another white man armed with an assault rifle - Payton Gendron killed 10 black people in a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo New York. Both men posted online about the Great Replacement prior to the attacks. This politics of white resentment over changes that began with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s is motivated by ideology and opportunism. What's worse racists and political extremists usually on the fringe are becoming part of the mainstream thanks to the Republican Right. 

Xenophobia is closely tied racism on the political right too. Patrick Buchanan a former official in the Nixon Administration, television personality, and columnist was opposing both legal and illegal immigration claiming it would end American and Western Christian Civilization before Donald Trump even became a Republican. He even wrote a book The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization. Many people might forget Buchanan ran for President three times between 1992 and 2000. He failed to get the GOP nomination in 1992 and 1996 before running as the Reform Party candidate in 2000. Over the years Buchanan was fiercely critical of free trade too especially the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and globalism which he claimed destroyed American manufacturing and working-class people's lives. This combined with anti abortion social conservatism predated Donald Trump by two decades. For conservatives, especially whites. immigration is viewed with suspicion and hostility even if it's legal. Immigrants are associated with crime, job loss, and cultural change. For many people on the political right it's like they're "taking over." Donald Trump's brand of nationalist, xenophobic, populism is right where it belongs in the conservative Republican Party. 

While President Trump introduced a travel ban on Muslims after taking office in 2017 his right leaning Republican opponents appear hypocritical because Islamophobia is a political tool to engage their base before Trump came along. 

After the 9/11 terrorist attack Anti Islamic sentiment spread across the country and many conservatives helped spread the notion that Islam is synonymous with terrorism. Right wing commentators and activists pushed the idea as the US went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq billing it as a clash between the America and the Christian West versus the Islamic world. Many on the right claim that no Muslim can be a loyal American. By 2010 Anti Islamic groups with strong conservative ties were pushing anti Sharia Law legislation in numerous states with 201 bills proposed and 14 enacted including those in Texas and Arkansas. Supporters claimed the laws were needed to keep Sharia from being imposed on Americans. It didn't matter that nothing like that was happening. Sharia has to do with personal faith and living within Islam. It's rooted in the Quran and Sunnah (which are personal sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad). It has nothing to do with law in a legal sense. Muslims disagree about it's nature and application. Of course none of this mattered with activists wrongly claiming it subverts the American legal system. So if you think Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green's anti Muslim rhetoric and attacks on fellow representative Ilhan Omar are something new and you blame Donald Trump think again. This has been part of Conservatism for years.

The Supreme Court is likely to strike down Roe v. Wade in next few months in the greatest blow to gender equality yet. President Trump made the decisive move appointing three conservatives to the court Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney-Barret giving the Right a supermajority. But abortion rights were in peril anyway because of restrictions imposed by Republicans in the states. The court had enabled them to effectively regulate abortion out of existence with the 1989 decision Webster v. Reproductive Health Services. Whenever burdensome regulations blocked access to abortion the Federal and Supreme Courts upheld them because the judiciary is increasingly dominated by conservatives. Back in the 1990s Republicans began making the courts a political issue mobilizing their base to end legal abortion. Meanwhile Democrats especially liberals allowed this believing it was politically expedient to avoid controversial social issues. Conservatives through groups like the Federalist Society cultivate lawyers and judges indoctrinating them with ideology, legal, and policy ideas. The Federalist Society is linked up with right wing activists and politicians to get conservatives on the courts. Senate Republicans held up appointments to the Federal courts during the Obama administration including Merrick Garland's appointment to the Supreme Court after Justice Antonin Scalia's death in 2016. 

It's not just gender equality being eroded by conservatives. 

LGBTQ people have made some important strides in America especially after the Supreme Court ruled same sex marriage was a constitutional right in 2015. Maybe we all celebrated too early. Maybe some people thought the battle was over. It's not. LGBTQ persons lack basic protections from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations in 27 states. Also, Federal legislation - The Equality Act passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 is stalled in the Senate. The right to marry is not enough if you can't work, live, or patronize businesses like anyone else due to your sexual orientation or gender identity. Moreover conservatives at the state level are going after transgender people with a particular zeal. They have made school sports for girls a new culture war battlefield banning trans females from competing as girls. Like anything else the political right has made this an activist crusade among parents. Since 2019 12 states have passed bans. If that's not enough Texas is going after parents of trans youth as child abusers when they seek gender affirming care for their children. 

It's easy to be fixated on Donald Trump especially after he incited his followers to violently attack the US Capitol and overturn the 2020 Presidential election results. Trump is dangerous, but he is part of a reactionary conservatism filled with extremists who predate his political rise. Conservatism with its appeals to racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and increasingly transphobia must be challenged and defeated. A free and livable America for all depends on that struggle. 

A More Effective Black Politics

 Senate Republicans are blocking police reform and voting rights legislation, and this isn't mere partisanship. It's racial. The Republican Right motivates its white base by equating black protests against police killings with being anti police. They portray themselves as proponents of law and order and supporters of police. Think about slogans like - Back the Blue and Blue Lives Matter. Meanwhile voting and election laws passed by Republicans at the state level burden or suppress black Democratic turnout. Moderate Democrats like Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Krysten Sinema of Arizona don't help either by not joining with other Democrats to end the filibuster. However, the failure to pass legislation important to blacks isn't just about Republicans or Democrats who enable them. We need a more effective black politics. Voting in elections and having black officeholders is not enough. Politics involves citizen engagement, organization, and messaging too. Some will say blacks are doing these things. But, we must do better. 

What's at stake in the Senate ? The George Floyd Police Reform Act makes it easier to get Federal convictions of law enforcement officers for reckless conduct. It limits the use of choke holds and No Knock Warrants as well. However it's most controversial provision limits qualified immunity for officers in private civil litigation. That may be it's biggest obstacle. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would restore Federal pre clearance for states seeking to change voter and election laws if they routinely violate the 1965 Voter Rights Act. This is crucial because a 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder struck down Federal pre clearance for states with a history of racial discrimination in voting from changing their voting laws. The For The People Act passed by the House in 2019 bans partisan gerrymandering, makes election day a Federal holiday, and allows automatic registration when people get things like driver's licenses unless individuals opt out. With the protests last summer, and the growing recognition of systemic racism among many whites these bills are a good start. None of them are extreme as conservatives claim.

The same passion and energy that pushed street demonstrations all over America must be applied to getting legislation passed. Black voters should be making phone calls, texting, writing letters, and using online petitions to pressure Senate Democrats and President Biden on voting rights and police reform. If Democrats and Republicans can get together on infrastructure then legislation that advances racial justice and democracy should be possible too. Blacks should also put more pressure on corporate backers of both parties to get politicians moving on these reforms too. Above all blacks should remain engaged and prepared for a long hard struggle. Citizen engagement depends on black institutions that draw large groups of people together, allow pooling of resources, and are independent of whites. Think about churches, sororities, fraternities, and professional groups. Whether it's the National Baptist Convention or National Council of Negro Women such organizations can mobilize lots of blacks to fight for a political agenda. They can do voter awareness, registration, and lobbying. We need to realize that while Black Lives Matter has done an amazing job they are not the only group that can or should organize black people. We need a renewed commitment and revitalization of traditional groups like The NAACP and National Urban League. 

So much of politics is about messaging. Blacks need to be online, television, radio, and print creating awareness and motivating people to get involved in passing this legislation and other public policy solutions. Maybe I need to look harder. I have not seen anything anywhere about the George Floyd Police Reform Act, the John Lewis Voter Rights Act, or the For The People Act. Things happen or they don't and too many black people never know. White allies and those who might be persuaded to support our agenda are also ignorant and disengaged. Meanwhile those who oppose us along with the  mainstream media frame messages and discussions to our disadvantage. We need to be making race conscious appeals among blacks while playing to themes of freedom and democracy among whites. Mounting large scale media campaigns is expensive and difficult yet blacks should make the effort.

There are no guarantees in politics and democratic results are not always ideal. But politics is unavoidable. We need it if we are to overcome systemic racism and the economic inequalities that hurt all working people regardless of race. Apathy, cynicism, and disillusionment are understandable because it seems like most if not all white politicians and voters are against anything that significantly helps black people. But history has shown that if blacks take a stand there are whites and others willing to join us in making democracy work for our benefit.