Welcome to Wednesday, February 2nd, civilians...

February is Black History Month, a time to honor African American history and raise awareness of the Black experience in America. 

The month also serves to highlight the work that still needs to be done to establish and ensure civil rights and social justice for all human beings on a national and global scale. 

How To Honor Black History Month

Here are just a few ways to participate this month and beyond, by learning more about Black history and legacies, and participating in your community’s events. 

Continue to educate yourself on Black history, important Black figures, and Black stories:

• Check out this list of books about Black history and experiences in America, provided by the Innocence Project. 
• View “13th”, a documentary by Ava DuVernay examining the racial inequity of the U.S. prison systems. 
• Donate to anti-racism and black supporting organizations, such as the Anti-Racism Fund and ERASE Racism. 

Participate in virtual and local events:

• ​​ASALH’s month-long virtual festival to celebrate Black Health and Wellness, which will showcase choirs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) as they honor African-American music genres
• The Smithsonian African American History and Culture Museum’s virtual program, where visitors can discover how African American art represents the complexities of life in America

Find more events and resources here.

Trump Considers Pardoning Capitol Rioters if Re-Elected

On January 29, former President Donald Trump held a rally in Conroe, Texas, where he pledged to pardon the individuals prosecuted for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“If I run and I win, we will treat those people from January 6 fairly. We will treat them fairly, and if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly... This hasn’t happened to all of the other atrocities that took place recently…It’s a disgrace.” 

The announcement was met with a chorus of approval from his supporters. The former president criticized the current administration’s actions and investigation regarding the violent riots. 

This is the farthest Mr. Trump has gone to support the rioters of January 6.

At least 700 people were arrested in association with the assault on the Capitol. So far, only around 70 individuals have been prosecuted while the rest await trial or plea agreements. 

Do you support pardoning the January 6 Capitol rioters?

NATO Increases Readiness of Multinational Response Force - What Is It?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance recently increased the readiness level of the 40,000-strong NATO Response Force (NRF) in response to Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders. It’s unclear whether Russia will follow through with an invasion, but the heightened readiness of the NRF would enable their rapid deployment to Eastern Europe if the ongoing crisis escalates.

The Pentagon announced that 8,500 American troops have been put on heightened alert to deploy to Europe, most of whom would be part of the NRF if activated. 

Established in 2003, the NRF is a high readiness military force with land, air, sea, and special forces units capable of deploying quickly for operations anywhere in the world if needed for the collective defense of alliance members or other contingencies. 

Do you support raising the readiness of the NATO Response Force?

All the Memes Fit to Post

And, In The End...

—Josh Herman

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