History Didn’t Repeat, It Continued
WE ARE UNDER-REACTING‼️
Justice Alito “In large part because of the Voting Rights Act, our Nation has made great strides in eliminating racial discrimination in voting,” Alito wrote. “And if, as a result of this progress, it is hard to find pertinent evidence relating to intentional present-day voting discrimination, that is cause for celebration.”
That’s a lie. It’s meant to deceive. It’s meant to give the Court cover for a decision rooted in white nationalism.
If you needed any more proof that the Voting Rights Act is still necessary, just look at what’s happening right now, red states rushing to wipe out Black representation the second SCOTUS gutted it.
What we’re watching isn’t subtle. Protections get stripped, and the response is immediate. Not years later. Not gradual. Immediate. That should tell you exactly why those protections existed in the first place.
And yet… the reaction? Muted.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a lot of white Americans are not having the conversations they need to be having with each other.
In Black families and communities, these conversations are constant. They aren’t optional. They are passed down. They’re how we survive.
We talk about voting. We compare notes. Who’s on the ballot? What do they actually stand for? What policies affect our lives, our schools, our housing, our safety? Is this proposition on the ballot good or are they playing us for fools? What decisions protect us, and which ones put us more at risk?
That didn’t start with us. That was taught to us.
I vote because my great-grandparents couldn’t. I vote because my great-grandfather sent his children north just to access an integrated education. I vote because my grandfather moved west chasing opportunity and still got locked out of housing he could afford. I vote because I live today in a neighborhood that was redlined, a place my family wouldn’t have been allowed to live in within my mother’s lifetime.
That’s not history to us. That’s muscle memory. It’s instruction.
And it’s why Black voters, more often than not, vote with consistency. Not because we all agree on everything, but because we understand what’s at stake. We don’t have the luxury of being single-issue voters. We literally have skin in the game.
So when something like this week happens, we recognize the pattern immediately.
The question is, does everyone else?
Because if these same conversations were happening consistently in white households, at dinner tables, in group chats, among friends, we would be in a very different place as a country.
If you want to help, start by listening to Black voices, and amplify them. Join us.
And especially if you’re white, talk to each other. Challenge each other. Don’t let “racism is over” narratives slide by in silence, unchallenged.
Call it what it is, racism. And right now, we’re watching the definition of institutionalized racism play out in real time, courtesy of the Supreme Court. The right is loud, organized, and crystal clear about their goals. They are brutal — we need to get brutal too.
Thank you for raising this issue and the thoughtful way you presented it. My white family and friends, as well as my brown family and friends, are all horrified by the Supreme Court decision and all the illegal WCN actions that have led to this disgusting moment.
We are all in a purple state that will be made into a red state immediately. If it weren’t for intense racial gerrymandering sneakily enacted after a long-past red wave, we’d probably be a blue state by now.
We need everyone who is horrified by the Orange Antichrist to work together to defeat the regime in a peaceful manner. Unfortunately, there are so many horrors happening every day that it can be so disheartening and overwhelming that it seems difficult to know what to do about any of it at times. It is easy to feel exhausted by every offense and outrageous statement, but their evil plan is to wear us down. Yet, we must persist.
I’ve called my House representative’s office enough that the person who answers the phone says my address to me after I say my fairly common name. I am far from the only person in my district with that name. I think the confirmation of my address without my volunteering the information is meant to be chilling. I will admit that I do feel chilled enough by the person answering the phone that I should probably put on a winter jacket to make the calls.
Then, there is protesting, backing the causes on social media, persuading other people we know to care enough to act, and so on. It is a constant battle and we need everyone’s help in order to peacefully rid ourselves of the evil regime. We know Trump et al. will do anything possible to steal the next election. We need new ideas. New strategies. We need our current leaders to be fierce and clever. We need our viral posts on social media to be so sharp that it pierces the echo chamber. We all need to amplify the shouts for help!
Thank you for your call to gather together!
yes, yes, and yes -- I see more "talking" here on Substack -- than I've heard in most gatherings over the last several years