Dear Progressive Reader,

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the wake of that killing and the huge protests that followed, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address some of the issues that led to the actions of Minneapolis police officers on that day. It stalled in the Senate. Now Congressmember Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, has reintroduced the bill and is calling, together with members of George Floyd’s family, for it to be passed immediately. “We have the opportunity to enact bold, comprehensive reform to policing practices, to correct and prevent unnecessary deaths,” said Representative Lee in a post on Facebook.

I am currently in New York City, where I had the opportunity on Thursday to sit in as Amy Goodman interviewed Yance Ford about his brand new film Power, which premiered on Netflix last week. The film project began when Floyd was murdered, and takes a long historical and analytic look at the history of policing in this country. “Polic[ing] was always organized about the control, regulation, or seizing of property, whether it’s people, Indigenous land in the West, or breaking unions and regulating the behavior of not-yet-white immigrants in Northeastern cities. It helps you understand when you reframe policing in that way,” Ford told her.

Also in New York, I have been visiting with authors and friends of The Progressive as we get ready to launch our new special June/July issue on media literacy which goes out in the mail this week. The issue, a co-production with our colleagues at Project Censored, comes at a time when media literacy in this crucial election year is more important than ever. Thanks to guest editor Mischa Geracoulis and all of the folks that helped bring this issue of the magazine together. I look forward to everyone getting a chance to read it soon. (If you are not already a subscriber, you can sign up now and get a copy with our second mailing in about four weeks!)

Speaking of New York, Mike Ervin writes this week on our website about the lack of accessible taxi cabs in the city and how that impacts people with wheelchairs as they try to navigate their commute. Also on the web this week, Miriam Davidson tells the story of an Arizona trial that highlights the dysfunction of our country’s border policies; Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies chronicle the U.S. weapons that are fueling the war in Gaza; and Rann Miller takes a long look at the history of U.S. policy toward Haiti and the roots of today’s crisis. Plus, Dan Piatkowski pens an op-ed on the importance of bike friendly cities for building local economies and sustainable futures.

Finally, Monday is Memorial Day, and I will again be participating in the annual Vets for Peace Memorial Day events sponsored by the Clarence Kailin Chapter of Veterans for Peace in Madison, Wisconsin. If you are in town, please join us at 1:00 p.m. at 302 E. Gorham Street as we remember those who have died in past and current wars, but also work to build a world in which no one ever need die in a war again.

Please keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time.

Sincerely,

Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – Don’t miss a minute of the “hidden history” of 2024 – you can still order The Progressive’s new Hidden History of the United States calendar for the coming year. NOW HALF PRICE – Just $7.50 plus $3.00 shipping. Just go to indiepublishers.shop, and while you are there, check out some of our other great offerings as well.

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