View this email in your browser ([link removed])
Dear Progressive Reader,

Today is Juneteenth. On this day, 156 years ago, on June 19, 1865, Union troops marched into Galveston, Texas and brought the news ([link removed]) to 250,000 enslaved people that they were free. It marked the moment when, in an era devoid of modern electronic media, the word of President Lincoln’s 1862 Emancipation Proclamation ([link removed]) (which went into effect January 1, 1863) finally reached the outer edge of the country. It would not be until December 1865, with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment ([link removed]) , that slavery would be fully abolished in the United States.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden created ([link removed]) the first-ever federal holiday honoring Juneteenth (although the day has been celebrated in various ways in individual states and cities for decades). In December 1962, The Progressive produced a special issue recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. President John F. Kennedy was asked by editor Morris Rubin to write something for the issue. He sent a letter noting ([link removed]) , “The Emancipation Proclamation was more than an individual act of wisdom and courage. It was a part-payment on our debt to the Founding Fathers of this republic — an installment in our national determination to realize for all our citizens the promise of equal rights and equal opportunities to which this nation is forever dedicated.” But Kennedy acknowledged this was only “part-payment,” merely an “installment”
on a debt.

Kennedy’s letter went on to state, “I am sure, too, that The Progressive will remind us that the task is not complete—that no American can cease striving until every American, whatever his creed or color, enjoys the rights assigned to all Americans in the Declaration of Independence.” The special issue did indeed take on that task—featuring the voices of John Hope Franklin, A. Phillip Randolph, Lillian Smith, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others. The issue also included the first printing ([link removed]) of James Baldwin’s “A Letter to My Nephew” (which would later be included in his book The Fire Next Time). This year, as Juneteenth finally becomes a national holiday, we at The Progressive recognize our responsibility to continue striving to address that unfulfilled task.

This week, on our website, Frye Gaillard reviews ([link removed]) a book that looks at the U.S. Supreme Court’s history of enforcing racism, and Paul Buhle looks at ([link removed]) a recent book that chronicles the success and strategies of teachers’ strikes. Plus Sarah Lahm reminds us ([link removed]) that although the Minneapolis Star Tribune just won a Pulitzer for its coverage, it still needs to be held accountable for its poor coverage of racial issues in that city, and Mike Ervin writes about anti-vaxxers and empathy.

In international news, Jeff Abbott reports ([link removed]) on the rise of authoritarianism in El Salvador; Stephen Zunes examines ([link removed]) the accusation of the use of “human shields” in Gaza; and Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies analyze ([link removed]) the recent NATO and G7 meetings in Europe.

Finally, Christopher Blackwell writes ([link removed]) from inside a prison in Washington State about the failure of the grievance system; Robert Davis looks at ([link removed]) the racist history of capital punishment; and Azadeh Shahshahani and Priyanka Bhatt write about ([link removed]) an abusive detention center for immigrants in Georgia. “There is no way to reform institutions like CoreCivic or ICE,” they conclude. “Stewart must be shut down, ICE must be abolished, and the Biden Administration must immediately discontinue all contracts with private prisons.”

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

Sincerely,
Norman Stockwell
Publisher

P.S. –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.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.
Donate ([link removed])

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 The Progressive, Inc.

P.O. Box 1021 • Madison, Wisconsin 53701 • (608)257-4626

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])