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Dear Progressive Reader,

In February we celebrate Black History Month. The month of February is notably the shortest month on the calendar, and in no way long enough to showcase all of the contributions of Black Americans to our nation. But it was chosen, in part, because the month includes the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln’s progressive (albeit also problematic) legacy was featured in “Blast from the Past” from 1920 ([link removed]) in our current issue. The life of Frederick Douglass was highlighted in a 2007 article for The Progressive by journalist Salim Muwakkil. Douglass, Muwakkil wrote ([link removed]) , “became one of the nation's most effective anti-slavery activists.” He was “the father of the Civil Rights movement and the most influential Black American of the 19th century.”

In the wake of last week’s second Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, I thought about the words of Pan-Africanist radical author and activist Frantz Fanon (July 20, 1925-December 6, 1961) who wrote sixty-five years ago, in November 1956, as he resigned his post at the French colonial hospital in Algeria, “There comes a time when silence becomes dishonesty. The ruling intentions of personal existence are not in accord with the permanent assaults on the most commonplace values.”

Many (in fact most) Republicans in the Senate apparently did not heed Fanon’s words as they voted for Trump’s acquittal. As Matthew Rothschild notes ([link removed]) this week, “History will record this vote as a shameful abdication on the part of Republican Senators. Only seven of them had the decency and the respect for our democracy to vote to convict.” Columnist Bill Blum points out ([link removed]) , “If you’re looking for someone to blame for Trump’s acquittal . . . . Blame Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers for the system they created that vested the Senate with the sole authority to conduct impeachment trials.” And, as cartoonist Mark Fiore illustrates ([link removed]) , Mitch McConnell’s “speech taking Trump to task for his naughty actions made his vote to acquit look even more outrageo
us.”

Meanwhile, the Biden Administration appears ([link removed]) to be vacillating on its intentions regarding the reopening of schools, but as Nicholas Johnson and Victoria Jackson write ([link removed]) in an op-ed, “Our children and our schools need more than a return to a pre-COVID-19 ‘normal’ that left many students behind.” The Chicago Teachers Union has been a strong voice in demanding well-planned reopening policies. Karen Lewis, who led that union from 2010-2014, passed away on February 8. In her memory, we republished this interview ([link removed]) with Lewis on the importance of teachers’ unions conducted in 2012 by Jody Sokolower of Rethinking Schools.

And last Sunday was the third anniversary of the tragic shootings ([link removed]) at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida ([link removed]) . The Progressive, together with independent bookstore A Room of One’s Own ([link removed]) , presented a virtual book talk with author Frank Smyth about his book The NRA: An Unauthorized History ([link removed]) . An archive of the event can be seen ([link removed]) on our YouTube channel. If you would like a copy of the book mailed to you, you can receive one for a donation to The Progressive ([link removed]) of $50 or more.

Keep reading, and we will keep bringing you important articles on these and other issues of our time. Also, the new issue of The Progressive is out now, and addresses many of these issues in depth. Several articles are now available on our website ([link removed]) ; please take a look.


Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. – Our new February/March issue is off the presses and out in the mail. If you don’t already subscribe to The Progressive in print or digital form, please consider doing so today ([link removed]) . Also, if you have a friend or relative that you feel should hear from the many voices for progressive change within our pages, please consider giving a gift subscription ([link removed]) .

P.P.P.S. –We need you now more than ever. Please take a moment to support hard-hitting, independent reporting on issues that matter to you. Your donation today will keep us on solid ground and will help us continue to grow in the coming years. You can use the wallet envelope in the current issue of the magazine, or click on the “Donate” button below to join your fellow progressives in sustaining The Progressive as a voice for peace, social justice, and the common good.
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