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Remember the Summer of 2020? How can we forget it? In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, and that grievous injustice set off weeks of protests across the country. The Black Lives Matter marches (and I’m talking about the larger movement, not the organization) were initially about the treatment of Black Americans by law enforcement. But they ultimately became emblematic of the treatment of Black people in American society more broadly, at a moment when Black Americans were becoming sick and dying from COVID-19 at higher rates than White Americans due to long-standing systemic inequalities.
This week, I take stock of where Black Americans are now, five years later, with Maze Jackson, a political activist, media personality, and advocate for Black people from Chicago’s South Side. Check it out in the Social Spotlight below.
But first, let’s take a look at what’s happening this week.
In Today’s Issue
The Social Briefing (skip this if you don’t want to read about Trump!)
The Social Spotlight: A Conversation in the South Side
This Week
SUBSTACK LIVE: It’s a short week, folks, and my calendar is jam-packed. For my paid followers: I have an engagement on Thursday night, so how do you feel about a weekend live this week? Let me know [ mailto:[email protected] ] if that works for you, and we’ll schedule it. I would also encourage you to upgrade to a founding membership if you’d like to join our Zoom call tomorrow night (see below!).
FOUNDING MEMBERS! Our monthly Zoom will be held next TOMORROW, May 28, at 8pm ET! We’ll be in touch by email tomorrow with the details. (Do you want to join us, but you’re not a Founding Member yet? Upgrade now [ [link removed] ]!)
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DONALD TRUMP IS A DEGENERATE. Okay, that’s not exactly news. But he proved it again over the weekend. His Memorial Day message [ [link removed] ] was a litany of Trump grievances, without a single word about the men and women who’ve given their lives in service to our country. Then, he spent half of his Memorial Day speech [ [link removed] ] celebrating…himself. And after his despicable address [ [link removed] ] at the West Point graduation on Saturday, he didn’t shake the hands of the graduates as former Commanders in Chief have done. Reportedly he cut out early to play golf. This is not how a real man, much less a president, behaves. No president disrespects our troops more than Trump, who has called American service members who died in war “losers and suckers.” Trump has ZERO understanding of sacrifice, because he is the antithesis of it.
NEWS FLASH: PUTIN IS STILL A BAD GUY. Vladimir Putin has managed to fool presidents from both sides of the aisle in the past. George W. Bush thought he could see his soul [ [link removed] ]. Barack Obama said presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s concerns about Russia were 1980s policy [ [link removed] ]. But no president has been an actual asset of Putin’s until Donald Trump came along. Just like with tariffs, Trump has somehow convinced millions of Americans that Putin is a good guy, an ally, a friend—and Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky [ [link removed] ] are the bad guys. Pure insanity. He makes such fools of his supporters every damn day. It’s sad. But now, Trump isn’t getting his way with Putin, and he’s mad [ [link removed] ]. Maybe because Putin is a scumbag [ [link removed] ], like we’ve been saying all along?
FOR PETE’S SAKE! According to Military.com [ [link removed] ], “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken yet another step to curtail the work of the press inside the Pentagon by imposing harsh restrictions on where reporters can go without official escort in a memo [ [link removed] ] released on Friday. The new rules forbid reporters from going into the hallway where Hegseth's office is located ‘without an official approval and escort from the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs’—a job held by top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.” Members of the press will also be required to sign a pledge adhering to the new rules. FFS🤦‍♂️
AUTHORITARIAN AMERICA. As part of Trump’s deportation push, immigrant arrests are continuing at courthouses [ [link removed] ], most recently in Dallas [ [link removed] ]. Many of these people are going through the process in the legal way, showing up at court, only to be detained. Trump is asking the Supreme Court to make it easier for him to deport migrants to South Sudan [ [link removed] ] and other third-party countries. In other words, not to their home countries, but to a country wracked by war. The inhumanity being done in our name is sickening. Meanwhile, an NYC public school student was detained [ [link removed] ] by federal immigration enforcement, and Trump wants 'names and countries' of Harvard's international students [ [link removed] ], creating a culture of fear throughout academia. The State Department has ordered all embassies to pause new student visas [ [link removed] ] as it expands “social media screening and vetting” to all applicants. Overseas schools [ [link removed] ] are eager to take these brilliant students. More brain drain. Remind me how that makes us great?
A BILL TO KEEP AN EYE ON. Good news in the political world is hard to come by lately, so I try to point it out when I can. A bill known as the Credit Card Competition Act [ [link removed] ] (CCCA), which would reduce credit card “swipe fees,” has been going nowhere in Congress for a while, thanks to the powerful banking industry lobby. Last week, the legislation’s sponsors introduced it as an amendment to the GENIUS Act, the major stablecoin bill that the Senate recently advanced in a procedural vote. If the CCCA passes, it would help both American consumers and small businesses. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Spotlight on the South Side
As you probably already know, I come from the Chicagoland area—the northwest suburbs of Chicago, to be specific (go Cubs!). The Windy City is well known for its distinct northern, western, and southern sides. For my conversation this week, I made my way to the South Side for a game of pool and some real chat with Maze Jackson. Maze is a long-time South Sider. He’s a Democrat, but like everyone else these days, he has some opinions about the Democratic Party, and how it has treated its most loyal voting bloc—Black Americans.
The South Side is incredibly diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. Some precincts are 99% Black. The region has produced Harold Washington [ [link removed] ], the first Black mayor of Chicago; Congressman William L. Dawson [ [link removed] ], a political pioneer who served 27 years in the U.S. House; Carol Moseley Braun [ [link removed] ], the first Black female U.S. Senator; Jesse Jackson [ [link removed] ], the first Black presidential candidate to win a primary; and, of course, Barack Obama [ [link removed] ], the first Black President of the United States. Impressive track record.
Here’s a little more info on the South Side…
DEMOGRAPHICS: There are about 226,950 residents in the South Side, with 7.32% being non-U.S.-born citizens and 7.92% being non-citizens. The racial breakdown is 62% Black, 21% Hispanic, 7% White, and 10% other or multiracial.
INDUSTRY: The South Side boasts a broad array of cultural and social offerings, such as professional sports teams, landmark buildings, museums, and medical facilities. It is also home to the University of Chicago and other educational institutions. The South Side accommodates much of the city's conference business with various convention centers. The current McCormick Place Convention Center is the largest convention center in the U.S. and the third largest in the world. Previously, the region was known for the Union Stock Yards, which employed 25,000 people and produced 82% of U.S. domestic meat production.
ENVIRONMENT: Chicago’s climate is typically continental with cold winters and warm summers. Lake Michigan provides a moderating influence on temperature while boosting the amount of snowfall received in the city. The South Side boasts at least 10 parks, including the only state park in the city.
POLITICS: The South Side is typically heavily Democratic, but citywide, in the 2024 presidential election [ [link removed] ], Donald Trump saw a roughly 16,000 vote bump compared to 2020, while Kamala Harris’ vote total was more than 205,000 votes behind Joe Biden’s in 2020. The city as a whole posted its lowest voter turnout for a presidential election in nearly three decades. Nevertheless, Harris captured about 77% of Chicago’s vote total.
Here’s a quick clip of our discussion…
This was such an important discussion. I think you’ll really enjoy hearing what Maze has to say about how we got here, and what will bring the Black community back to the voting booth next time. To watch the full videos, please click below.
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