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On May 15, 2025, this happened:

“ATLANTA (AP) — A pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain-dead after a medical emergency and has been kept on life support for three months by doctors to allow enough time for the baby to be born and comply with Georgia’s strict anti-abortion law, family members say.

“Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old mother and nurse, was declared brain-dead — meaning she is legally dead — in February, her mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta TV station WXIA.”

By December, the story had only gotten worse:

“The baby boy born prematurely to a Georgia woman who had been declared brain dead after a medical emergency remains in the hospital nearly six months after his birth, his grandmother says.

“Adriana Smith, a 31-year-old mother and nurse, was declared legally dead in February, but she was put on life support for months to let her fetus grow enough to develop.

“Chance April Newkirk was born in June and weighed 1 pound and 13 ounces.

“Smith’s family says that the hospital told them that they were required to put the Atlanta mother on life support under Georgia’s anti-abortion law.”

Meanwhile, in March of last year, this happened. From the Equal Justice Initiative:

“On March 20, in response to a 911 call in Tipton, Georgia, emergency medical services found a 24-year-old woman unconscious and bleeding in her apartment. They determined she had suffered a miscarriage and transported her to a hospital for treatment.

“The next day, after a witness said the woman had placed the fetal remains in a bag and placed the bag in a dumpster, Tipton police announced she had been arrested, taken into custody by the local sheriff, and charged with concealing the death of another person and abandonment of a dead body.

“After the coroner determined she had suffered a “natural miscarriage,” prosecutors dismissed the charges two weeks later, explaining in a press release that the charges did not apply because the 19-week fetus had not been born alive.

“Georgia lawmakers are among those citing the case as a example of an alarming trend—a growing number of women facing criminal prosecutions related to pregnancy loss.

“Every woman of reproductive age in Georgia who miscarries beyond the six-week marker of Georgia’s law can now be criminalized for a miscarriage,” Georgia state Sen. Sally Harrell argued during a hearing last week.”

There are many more examples of the legally sanctioned abuse women continue to endure under the guise of protecting the life of an unborn child. But this has nothing to do with protecting children; it has everything to do with victimizing women for no other reason except that they are women and therefore are expected to tolerate it. And, I am willing to bet, like most men in this country, I had no idea this was happening. I am a journalist of more than 40 years, college-educated and prep schooled, well-informed (I thought), but I had no idea that a woman could be criminally prosecuted for a miscarriage in several backward states in the year 2026 until my wife of 27 years brought this to my attention. I’m assuming she hadn’t mentioned it to me before because most women live with this kind of knowledge all day, every day, so it’s not a news flash to them. It’s just another day in the life of women in America.

And in America, perhaps you (men) didn’t know that there are currently six states where a woman can face legal action and possibly be thrown in jail for the ‘crime’ of a miscarriage: Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina. Until 2022, California was on that list, but it woke up and realized something horribly wrong was going on under its watch.

As far as “fetal personhood” is concerned, it is important to realize that the Talmud does not recognize a fetus as a “person” until the mother is in active labor and the baby takes its first independent breath. Fetuses cannot breathe or live outside the womb without medical assistance until at least 24 weeks (6 months).

But here’s the thing about when women have a miscarriage: 1 in 5 pregnancies result in miscarriage. That is because the body rejects the pregnancy on its own, usually because the body knows something is wrong. It’s biology, not criminology.

And yet women, often disproportionately Black and low-income women (because of course that’s the case), have faced charges such as “abuse of a corpse,” “concealing a death,” “felony child neglect,” and sometimes homicide.

Research shows a rising trend of such investigations, with many prosecutors using feticide or “fetal personhood” laws to treat pregnancy loss as a criminal act. In Oklahoma, multiple women have been prosecuted for manslaughter or child neglect following miscarriages where they tested positive for drug use.

It would be convenient to blame this warped behavior and the twisted mentality that leads to this behavior on Trump and Trumpism. And certainly, the sickness he has unleashed upon America throughout both of his terms in office has played a part in the amplification and attempted normalization of these acts of violence. But the truth is, this sort of anti-woman activity, which is even exhibited and supported by some women, was around long before Trump. It is the sort of moral infection that can lead to the election of a Donald Trump and others like him.

One day, Trump will be gone. But this issue has the potential to survive as a cancerous threat for much longer.

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I am a retired educator of all grades from Pre-K through university level, and I primarily taught English, government, and history. However, not only did I not learn about the Black Seminoles in school, but I also did not teach them, because I did not know about them.

I hope this post will help you learn about this important topic in American history.

John Horse stands as one of the most remarkable yet often overlooked figures in American military history—a man who led warriors across continents, commanded respect from diverse peoples, and fought tirelessly for freedom against overwhelming odds.

John Horse, also known as Juan Caballo, Juan Cavallo, John Cowaya, and Gopher John, was a man of mixed African and Seminole ancestry who fought alongside the Seminoles in the Second Seminole War in Florida. His surname “Horse” is believed to have been a translation of Cavallo (or Caballo, the Spanish word for horse).

Born around 1812 in Florida to a Black Seminole family, John Horse would become a legendary military strategist whose influence extended far beyond the borders of the United States. He rose to prominence in the third year of a seven-year war when the first generation of Black Seminole leaders was largely decimated, and the charismatic Seminole war leader Osceola was taken prisoner by the American military commander.

In 1818, the American General Andrew Jackson invaded the area, scattering the tribal peoples and their Black allies in the region. Jackson also destroyed settlements and seized Blacks from among the Seminole for removal to the north and returned to plantation slavery.

During the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), John Horse emerged as a principal leader of the Black Seminoles, a distinct community of African Americans who had found refuge among the Seminole Nation. Unlike many enslaved African Americans of his era, Horse lived as a free man within Seminole society, where Black Seminoles held a unique status—neither fully enslaved nor fully free, but occupying a space that allowed greater autonomy than available elsewhere in the American South.

Horse learned to read and write and acquired linguistic skills in English, Spanish, and the Hitchiti tongue spoken by the Oconee and many other Seminole bands. He was one of Osceola’s main translators when dealing with the Americans.

Horse’s military genius became evident in his strategic planning and tactical innovations. He worked alongside Osceola, the renowned Seminole resistance leader, coordinating military operations against superior U.S. forces.

What set Horse apart was his ability to organize and inspire fighters across racial and ethnic lines. He successfully unified Black Seminoles and Native Seminoles under a common cause, demonstrating leadership qualities that transcended the racial divisions so prevalent in nineteenth-century America. His understanding of guerrilla warfare and his deep knowledge of Florida’s terrain proved invaluable in frustrating American military campaigns.

When the U.S. government began enforcing Indian Removal policies designed to force southeastern tribes westward along the tragic Trail of Tears, John Horse recognized the existential threat to his people.

Despite their remarkable resistance, the Seminoles faced an enemy with seemingly unlimited resources. After years of brutal conflict and broken treaties, John Horse made the difficult decision to lead his people west.

In 1838-1839, he guided approximately 1,500 Black Seminoles on a forced march to Oklahoma, enduring disease, starvation, and violence along the way. Many perished during this journey, which ranks among the most harrowing chapters of American Indian removal history.

However, Horse’s story did not end in Oklahoma. Recognizing that even Indian Territory offered limited safety for his people, he embarked on an even more ambitious undertaking. In 1849-1850, he led a group of Black Seminoles south across Texas toward Mexico, seeking sanctuary in a foreign land.

This remarkable migration involved dangerous river crossings and navigation through hostile territory, yet Horse successfully brought his followers to Mexico, where they established settlements and found the freedom that the United States had denied them.

In Mexico, John Horse continued his military service, eventually joining the Mexican army and rising to the rank of Colonel. He established a settlement called Nacimiento de los Negros and became a trusted military advisor, continuing to lead warriors in defense of Mexican territories against Apache and Comanche raids. His reputation as a brilliant military strategist earned him respect throughout the region.

John Horse’s legacy exemplifies the courage and ingenuity of Black Seminoles, who created and defended their own autonomous space within American history despite systemic oppression.

Today In Black History

• In 1924, South Africa passed the Industrial Conciliation Act No. 11 to provide for job reservation for whites only, exclude Blacks from membership in registered trade unions, and prohibit the registration of Black trade unions.

• In 1953, Jomo Kenyatta, the founding father of the African nation of Kenya, was convicted of involvement with the Mau Mau rebellion and sentenced to 7 years in jail.

• In 1960, the U.S. Senate passed a Civil Rights bill that included measures against discriminatory voting practices.

• In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s major league record.

• In 1975, baseball outfielder Frank Robinson was named manager of the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first Black manager in Major League Baseball history.

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AI-generated graphic illustrating all-white sundown towns with no Black residents after dark.

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I am a child of the 1950s and 1960s, so I certainly remember overt racism, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement.

As a matter of fact, the only reason I was born and raised in Detroit is that my late father, an infectious diseases specialist like Dr. Fauci, could not get hired in St. Louis, where my parents met and planned to live after they got married.

One of my father’s childhood friends from Arkansas, where they were born and raised, was already living in Detroit and told my father that Detroit was hiring “colored people.” So my Dad applied to the Detroit Health Department, was hired, and worked there at Herman Kiefer Hospital his whole medical career.

Many of the members of both my parents’ families moved North during the “Great Migration,” but many others stayed in the South. Traveling from South to North or North to South for vacations or visiting family was rife with covert and overt dangers for “colored people” in those days. We weren’t allowed to stay in most hotels or patronize restaurants.

We cooked food ahead of time and ate at isolated picnic tables along the way. I remember my mother filling a Thermos with hot coffee for my father to drink while he was driving.

In the late 1950s, my father learned about a Black man who had purchased a group of eight cabins on a lake outside Mackinaw City in northern the lower peninsula of Michigan. For about seven or eight years, members of our family would travel from all over the country, including Los Angeles, to stay in the cabins we rented for one or two weeks. My uncle, who was a doctor in Tyler, Texas, packed his family into their Cadillac (did I mention that he was a doctor?) and drove straight through to “Mackinaw,” as we fondly called it.

At a time when Black people weren’t allowed in swimming pools or at beaches in the United States, our family swam, fished, played cards and other board games, and listened to the radio (there were no TVs at the cabins). We didn’t have to worry about racism or violence during those weeks, although we certainly knew what was going on.

Our family members had to travel to Mackinaw to get away from it all, the way they did, because across America, in addition to avoiding hotels and restaurants, there was a troubling chapter of history that many people know little about: sundown towns. These were communities that basically said “no Black people allowed”—some spelled it out in the law, others enforced it through intimidation and violence. The name comes from an unspoken but deadly serious rule: African Americans had to leave town before the sun went down, or face serious consequences. It’s a key part of understanding why our neighborhoods look so divided today.

These towns really took off in the late 1800s and early 1900s, right when millions of Black Americans were heading north looking for better lives and escape from Jim Crow laws down South. White communities saw this as a threat and decided to stop it. Some towns passed laws banning Black residents outright. Others used intimidation and violence instead. That warning—”don’t let the sun set on you in this town”—wasn’t just words; it was a deadly threat that everybody understood.

You’d find sundown towns all over the Midwest—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan (the Detroit suburb of Livonia in Wayne County is a famous example), and many other places nationwide. Historian James Loewen documented hundreds of them in his book Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. His research showed these weren’t random acts; they were systematic features built into American geography through real estate rules, property deed restrictions, and police enforcement.

These towns used many different tricks to keep themselves all-white. Some put it in writing—property deeds had clauses saying you couldn’t sell to Black families. Towns would put sundown ordinances on the books, even if they rarely needed to enforce them officially; the threat alone did the job. The real enforcement came from the threat of violence and police looking the other way when mobs attacked. Black families trying to move in faced burned homes, violence, and intimidation.

Here’s something that might surprise you: sundown towns were mostly a Northern and Midwest problem, not just a Southern one. Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana had some of the most deliberately segregated towns in America. Nobody talks about it as much because it wasn’t written into law the way Jim Crow was in the South—but it was just as real and just as damaging. These towns blocked Black families from buying homes in neighborhoods where property values were going up, cutting them off from one of the biggest ways ordinary people build wealth.

The old sundown laws are technically off the books now, and you can’t enforce those property deed restrictions anymore. But here’s the thing—the legacy is still very much alive. A lot of these old sundown towns are still almost completely white today. Property values are higher, schools are better funded, and neighboring Black communities stayed poor. Real estate agents still steer people of color away from certain neighborhoods. Banks still discriminate in mortgages. The barriers are just less obvious now, but they’re still working.

Modern exclusion works differently than it did a hundred years ago—you don’t see the violence anymore. Instead, it’s more subtle: really expensive houses, strict zoning laws, barely any affordable housing. These mechanisms still keep people of color out. Some communities look exactly like they did during the sundown town era, which raises the question: Did anything actually change, or did discrimination just get quieter?

Sundown towns are a hidden but crucial part of American racism. They show us that segregation wasn’t accidental or inevitable—it was deliberately built and deliberately maintained through laws, violence, and social pressure. Even though the era of explicit sundown towns is over, the damage lives on in neighborhoods, property values, school quality, and wealth gaps that persist today. Understanding this history is key to fixing the residential segregation we see now and all its ripple effects on Black families’ wealth, health, education, and opportunities.

Today In Black History

• In 1909, Black arctic explorer Matthew A. Henson, an ancestor of award-winning actress Taraji P. Henson, became the first non-Inuit person (ahead of Robert Peary) to reach the North Pole.

• In 1931, the trial began for the nine “Scottsboro Boys” who were falsely accused of raping two white women.

• In 1941, Italian forces holding the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, surrendered to the Ethiopian army.

• In 1968, Oakland, CA, police killed Black Panther Bobby Hutton, but another Black Panther member, Eldridge Cleaver, was charged with attempted murder for his participation in the shootout.

• In 1987, LA Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis appeared on ABC News’ “Nightline” and said he believed Blacks were “not equipped” for baseball management.

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“The Golden Rule” by Norman Rockwell, 1961

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The mass deportation of primarily brown and other non-white documented or undocumented immigrants was a major campaign focus for Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

Since Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, have been relentless in rounding up, detaining without due process, and deporting anyone they believe is an “illegal alien,” including Native Americans, military veterans, and American citizens. ICE in particular has been breaking into people’s homes without a judicial warrant, pulling people from their cars, jobs, airport waiting lines, and immigration hearings, leaving the immigrants’ children, families, pets, homes, jobs, businesses, and communities devastated.

Not all of the people ICE has targeted were working in low-wage jobs in agriculture, construction, food service, or warehousing. Some of the people DHS and ICE have detained (and in some cases, deported) are scientists, college professors, teachers, nurses, doctors, college students, and even high school students, some only days or weeks away from graduation.

ICE has also had to release several people it illegally detained when they found out after the fact that those people were either in the U.S. legally, or were even American citizens.

In February 2026, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, was found dead in Buffalo, New York, after U.S. Border Patrol agents released him on a cold night. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by dehydration and exposure, sparking outrage. Agents had left the nearly-blind man outside a closed coffee shop after determining he was not deportable.

ICE is also directly responsible for the shooting deaths of three American citizens in the past few months: Kevin Porter, Jr. in Los Angeles, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

Several people held by ICE in the detention centers (located often hundreds of miles from their homes) have died while in custody, primarily due to the withholding of necessary medical attention. Several other people have been deported (again, without due process) to countries where they’ve never lived (or lived in decades before they were detained), and to deplorable prisons in those countries, which are paid by the U.S. government to accept those people.

Trump and his administration promised that they would arrest and deport only the “worst of the worst.” Yes, entering this country illegally is a CIVIL offense that could be punishable by deportation (AFTER due process and a trial and conviction), but almost 74% of those snatched up by ICE have no CRIMINAL records, and have been living productive lives, working hard, raising families, paying state and federal taxes, and contributing to their local economies. Many already have their green cards, allowing them to legally work in the United States.

These fervent anti-immigrant/white supremacy policies are not new in the United States, even though most white people in this country, including Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Kash Patel, and Marco Rubio, are only 1 - 3 generations away from their immigrant parents or grandparents themselves.

These proponents of the “Great Replacement Theory,” which posits that non-white people are “replacing” white American citizens, fail to recognize that not all immigrants are brown, low-class, and barely educated people who can’t properly speak English.

Based on 2024–2025 data, approximately 46% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies, often called “New American” firms, generate trillions in revenue and employ over 15 million people.

Additionally, hundreds of thousands of immigrants (documented or not) are running small businesses of all kinds, from bodegas, cleaners, and taco trucks to IT companies, food service, construction firms, and various service organizations.

The undocumented immigrants whom Trump, Miller, et al., claim are “taking American jobs” contribute significantly to public funds, paying an estimated $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. This total includes personal income and FICO taxes, property taxes, and sales and excise taxes, from most of which they cannot benefit.

Still, keeping America as a majority white population is the ultimate goal, and the people implementing these current policies are reacting to the “browning” of America and realize that they soon will be in the minority.

The U.S. Constitution went into effect in 1789. Just one year later, the United States Congress implemented its first law to limit non-white immigrants, the Naturalization Act of 1790. This was the first law to define eligibility for citizenship by naturalization and establish standards and procedures by which immigrants became US citizens. In this law, Congress limited this important right to “free white persons,” meaning only white men. Women and all non-white people were excluded. Naturalization candidates only had to live in the United States for two years, and any white children born to them after this law was passed were immediately and automatically granted United States citizenship.

In 1846, Dred Scott, an enslaved African taken by his owner to the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin, sued to gain his freedom. In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that since Dred Scott was an enslaved person and the descendant of enslaved people, he was not a citizen and had no standing to sue. The SCOTUS further declared that African Americans had “no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” and also concluded that banning slavery in territories violated the Fifth Amendment rights of slaveholders, effectively legalizing slavery throughout the U.S. territories. The “Dred Scott Case,” as it came to be called, was one of the defining events that led to the Civil War.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to ALL persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (including former slaves), guaranteed “equal protection of the laws,” and provided “due process of law” against state violations. It also nullified the “3/5ths” law that counted slaves as only 3/5 of a person for census purposes. The “Citizenship Clause” of the 14th Amendment, also known as “birthright citizenship, is what Donald Trump is trying to revoke because most current immigrants are non-white, yet their children are immediately granted United States citizenship, hastening the time that the white majority of American citizens will soon be in the minority.

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment granted former slaves and EVERYONE born in the United States U.S. citizenship.

Ratified in 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. Although the provisions of this amendment were vigorously opposed by many Southern states, it remained in effect until the passage of the Voting Rights Act VRA) in 1965. Republicans have worked to limit or eliminate most or all of the VRA since it became law, and even more so in the last few decades.

Signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first significant federal law restricting voluntary immigration to the U.S., banning Chinese laborers for 10 years and prohibiting them from becoming citizens. Chinese residents already in the U.S. were barred from naturalization and from becoming U.S. citizens. The Chinese Exclusion Act was later extended and made permanent, then repealed in 1943.

However, in the late 1890s, a U.S. citizen born of Chinese parents in San Francisco was blocked from re-entering the U.S. after traveling to China. He sued, and his case reached the Supreme Court. In the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that a child born in the U.S. to foreign citizens automatically becomes a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment. The decision established that birthright citizenship applies regardless of the parents’ nationality, provided they are not foreign diplomats or invaders.

This case was referenced in the recent SCOTUS hearings about birthright citizenship, much to the disdain of Donald Trump and his Solicitor General.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the 1930s Mexican Repatriation was a mass deportation of approximately 300,000 to 2 million people of Mexican descent from the U.S. to Mexico, with nearly 60% of those deported being U.S. citizens. The Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were “accused” of taking jobs from ”real (that is, white) Americans.”

In early 1942, after the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing the relocation of over 100,000 people of Japanese descent, the majority of whom were American citizens, into hastily built internment camps throughout the western and midwestern United States.

The order stayed in place until President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9742 on June 25, 1946. EO 9742 ordered the liquidation of the War Relocation Authority and allowed Japanese-Americans to return to their homes, businesses, and properties, most of which had been destroyed.

In October 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a mobile device app called CBP One to provide travelers, with or without entry documents, with access to certain CBP functions prior to their arrival in the United States. Starting in May 2023, CBP One became the primary method by which asylum seekers could enter the United States at ports of entry through the end of the Biden administration.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary, renewable immigration status granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to foreign nationals already in the U.S. whose home countries are deemed unsafe due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary, temporary conditions. Recipients, primarily from Venezuela, Haiti, and Sudan, have been granted TPS and have had temporary relief from deportation and authorization to work legally in the U.S.

The Trump administration has repeatedly refused to extend TPS and given TPS recipients 30 days to leave the United States.

However, Judge Allison Burroughs of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who was appointed in 2014 by President Barack Obama, recently ruled that the Trump Administration unlawfully stripped legal status from nearly 900,000 immigrants, and ordered that TPS status be restored.

At least two people who had at one time been granted parole, Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal and Emmanuel Damas, later died in ICE custody.

• They followed the process.

• They entered the system the way they were told to.

• And still, they ended up detained.

• And they still died.

Our Choice:

• Continue to fight against the Trump administration’s attempt to replace DEI with “WEI” (White, Entitled, and Incompetent).

• Continue to fight against the mass deportation goals of primarily non-white people that are cruel and inhumane.

• Continue to help ensure that the 2026 midterm elections are free and fair, and be ready to fight Trump and the Republicans, who will not only cheat to win those elections but will also refuse to accept any results that do not favor them.

• Continue to fight for the rights of ALL American citizens, including the beneficiaries of the 14th Amendment birthright citizenship clause, documented and undocumented immigrants, and LGBT persons.

Paid subscribers are encouraged to comment on today’s Choice post.

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The Origins and Evolution of “Uncle Ben’s” and “Aunt Jemima”

The brands formerly known as “Uncle Ben’s” and “Aunt Jemima” are among the most recognizable food labels in American history. Yet their origins are deeply intertwined with 19th-century racial stereotypes rooted in slavery and minstrel culture. Over more than a century, both brands evolved—first attempting to soften their imagery, and eventually abandoning their original identities altogether.

19th-Century Origins: Language, Stereotypes, and Minstrelsy

The terms “Aunt” and “Uncle,” when applied to Black Americans in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were not neutral honorifics. They emerged from a racist social system in which white Americans avoided using respectful titles like “Mr.” or “Mrs.” for Black adults. Instead, Black men and women were often addressed as “uncle,” “auntie,” or by their first names—terms that implied familiarity while reinforcing social inferiority.

These naming conventions overlapped with popular entertainment of the time, particularly minstrel shows. These performances featured white actors in blackface portraying caricatured Black characters. One of the most enduring stereotypes was the “mammy” figure: a loyal, cheerful Black woman devoted to serving white families. The name “Aunt Jemima” itself came from a minstrel song from the 1870s, embedding the brand in this tradition from its inception.

Similarly, the “Uncle” figure reflected a paternal, non-threatening Black male archetype—often older, subservient, and detached from authority or independence. These caricatures were widely used in advertising during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to evoke nostalgia for the antebellum South.

The Creation of “Aunt Jemima”

The Aunt Jemima brand began in 1888–1889 as one of the first ready-made pancake mixes. From the start, it relied on the mammy stereotype as its central marketing image.

Nancy Green, a formerly enslaved woman, was hired to portray Aunt Jemima at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Her performance helped popularize the brand nationwide.

The character was depicted as a smiling, headscarf-wearing cook—an image designed to evoke the romanticized idea of enslaved Black women happily serving white households. Over time, this portrayal became one of the most enduring examples of racial stereotyping in American advertising.

Throughout the 20th century, the company made periodic updates to the character—removing the headscarf, modernizing her appearance, and softening overtly stereotypical features. However, critics argued that these changes did little to address the brand’s underlying origins.

The Creation of “Uncle Ben’s”

The Uncle Ben’s brand emerged in the mid-20th century, introduced by Mars, Inc. Its name and imagery followed a similar pattern of racialized representation. The term “Uncle” echoed the same historical practice of addressing Black men without formal respect, while the brand’s logo featured an elderly Black man dressed in formal attire.

The character was reportedly inspired in part by a real Chicago maître d’ named Frank Brown, though the branding itself was fictionalized and detached from any authentic biography.

Like Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s relied on a reassuring, service-oriented Black persona—one that suggested warmth and trustworthiness while remaining rooted in a history of racial hierarchy. Critics have described this imagery as a “happy servant” trope, reinforcing outdated and harmful stereotypes.

Gradual Evolution and Mounting Criticism

By the late 20th century, both brands faced increasing scrutiny. Civil rights movements and academic scholarship highlighted how such imagery perpetuated distorted narratives of Black life and history.

Companies responded incrementally. Aunt Jemima’s appearance was modernized, and Uncle Ben’s image was refined to appear more dignified—sometimes even portrayed in corporate settings. Yet these changes were widely seen as cosmetic rather than substantive. The core issue—the names and their historical connotations—remained unaddressed.

The 2020 Turning Point

The turning point came in 2020, amid widespread protests following the killing of George Floyd and a broader reckoning with systemic racism in the United States. Corporations faced renewed pressure to examine their branding practices.

Quaker Oats acknowledged that Aunt Jemima was “based on a racial stereotype” and announced that the brand would be retired.

Mars, the parent company of Uncle Ben’s, is similarly committed to “evolving” its brand identity.

These decisions marked a significant departure from earlier efforts. Instead of updating imagery, companies chose to remove the names and characters entirely.

Rebranding and Erasure of Origins

The Aunt Jemima brand was officially renamed Pearl Milling Company in 2021, referencing the original mill that produced the pancake mix in the 19th century.

Uncle Ben’s was rebranded as Ben’s Original, dropping both the “Uncle” honorific and the portrait of the Black man from its packaging.

These changes did more than alter logos—they effectively severed the brands from their historical identities. The new branding emphasizes neutrality, inclusivity, and product quality rather than character-driven storytelling.

The removal of these names and images raises complex questions. On one hand, the rebrands represent a clear acknowledgment that the original imagery was rooted in racism. On the other hand, critics argue that erasing these symbols risks obscuring the historical realities they reflect.

Yet even as the names and images disappear, the history behind them remains essential. Understanding that history is key not only to evaluating these brands, but also to recognizing how cultural narratives are constructed—and, eventually, transformed.

Today In Black History

• In 1866, the U.S. Congress rejected a presidential veto that would have given all people equal rights in the United States.

• In 1868, Hampton University, previously known as Hampton Institute, was founded by Samuel Chapman Armstrong as a school for Black students in Hampton, Virginia. The undergraduate school is still called Hampton Institute.

• In 1924, Northern Rhodesia became a protectorate of the UK and was appointed as governor.

• In 1929, the Atlanta University Affiliation was established between Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Atlanta University.

• In 1949, “Happy Pappy,” the first Black variety talent show series with an all-Black cast, aired on WENR-TV with Ray Grant as the host.

• In 1966, the first World Festival of Negro Arts began in Dakar, Senegal.

• In 1989, six-time all-star first baseman Bill White was elected as the first Black president of the National Baseball League.

• In 1991, the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that jurors cannot be barred from serving due to race.

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Ethiopian Empress Taytu Betul stands as one of Africa’s most influential and formidable women, whose strategic intellect and military prowess shaped the destiny of her nation during a critical period of colonial expansion. Born in 1840, Taytu ultimately became empress from 1889 to 1913, and one of the key architects of Ethiopia’s resistance against European imperialism.

As the third wife of Emperor Menelik II, who was her fourth husband, Taytu wielded considerable influence over state affairs at a time when few women held any political power. She was also a military strategist, a political advisor, and a fierce patriot who actively participated in governance decisions. During the Italo-Ethiopian War (1895-1896), Taytu, meaning “sun” in Amharic, proved instrumental in mobilizing support for the Ethiopian cause.

Taytu’s influence also strengthened the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s role in national life and promoted education. She was known for her intelligence, her command of multiple languages, and her diplomatic acumen. Just as her husband, Emperor Menelik II, was about to sign an “understanding” to set up Ethiopia as a “protectorate” of Italy, Taytu grabbed the documents, written in Italian and Amharic, and tore them up because she saw them for what they really were: an attempt by Italy to colonize Ethiopia.

Taytu’s most celebrated achievement was her pivotal role at the Battle of Adwa on March 1, 1896. This decisive victory against the Italian army not only secured Ethiopian independence but also became a symbol of African resistance against colonialism. Taytu personally led troops into battle, and her actions during that time demonstrated that gender was no barrier to leadership during moments requiring the nation’s defense.

The Ethiopian victory at Adwa stands out globally as one of the few instances where an African nation successfully repelled a European colonial power, earning Taytu a place among history’s greatest military leaders. Ethiopia is the only African nation that was never colonized by Europe.

Taytu Betul also founded Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s current capital city.

Taytu’s legacy symbolized the potential for women’s leadership and agency during an era when such visibility was extraordinary. She challenged prevailing assumptions about women’s capabilities and demonstrated that history’s crucial turning points can pivot on the decisions and actions of women. Her example inspired subsequent generations of African women to claim space in public and political life.

Taytu Betul’s life reminds us that history’s great movements are often shaped by the contributions of women whose names deserve to be remembered alongside the most celebrated figures of their era. Today, Taytu Betul is honored as a national hero in Ethiopia, a symbol of resistance, courage, and the indomitable spirit that preserved African independence.

Today In Black History

• In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving Black men the right to vote.

• In 1912, the French protectorate in Morocco was established.

• In 1941, the National Urban League presented a one-hour program over a national radio network, urging equal protection for Blacks in the national defense program.

• In 1960, 18 Southern University students were suspended for their involvement in lunch counter sit-ins and anti-segregation rallies.

• In 1963, Captain Edward J. Dwight, Jr. became the first Black candidate for astronaut training.

• In 2013, Kenya’s Supreme Court declared Uhuru Kenyatta the rightful winner of the Kenyan presidential election.

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The SAVE Act, referred to by some tragically misguided individuals as the SAVE America Act, has nothing to do with saving America – or Americans – in any way, shape, or form. An appropriately named SAVE Act would help save us all from Donald Trump.

Instead, the SAVE Act is all about saving Trump and the Republicans from an almost certain humiliating defeat in the 2026 elections. Already, there is clear evidence of deeply Republican districts that voted for Trump’s re-election in 2024 by double digits now turning blue. Hell, in Georgia, a Black Democrat named Shawn Harris is in a runoff election against a Republican to fill the House seat vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. This is after he came out ahead in the earlier special election, but just not enough to win the seat outright.

I’ll say it again: A Black Democrat is now in a position to fill the Congressional House seat vacated by the once rabidly and mindlessly pro-Trump Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. A rabid, mindless pro-Trump Republican who represented a deep red district in Georgia (for crying out loud), who was first elected in 2020, then again in 2022, then again in 2024, could now be replaced by a Black Democrat. Even if he loses, the fact that this man forced a runoff in the Congressional district that Greene won three times in a row…?

But Shawn Harris isn’t the only one. This Trump-No-More phenomenon is happening across the country in heavily Republican congressional districts that formerly voted for Trump and now don’t want to be associated with the man. A growing number of ex-MAGA are now willing to do what was once considered unthinkable and impossible to atone for the sins of their past voting history.

The only way for Republicans to turn back the blue wave that’s coming is for Republicans to do what they do best, and that’s to cheat like their lives depend on it – which, politically speaking, they do.

Which brings us back to the SAVE Act. Because the SAVE Act is all about cheating by any and all means necessary.

Formally, the SAVE Act seeks to do the following (Bipartisan Policy Center, Congress.gov, just for starters) :

Key Provisions

• Proof of Citizenship for Registration: Prohibits states from registering individuals for federal elections unless they provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship (DPOC).

  • Acceptable Documents: Includes a U.S. passport, birth certificate, or certain forms of government-issued photo ID that explicitly indicate citizenship.

  • In-Person Requirement: Requires this documentation to be presented in person to an election official, which critics argue effectively ends the convenience of mail-in and online registration.

• National Photo ID Requirement: Mandates that all voters present a valid photo ID to cast a ballot in person or submit a copy of their ID when voting by mail.

• Voter Roll Purges: Requires states to establish programs to identify and remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls using federal databases, such as USCIS’s SAVE system.

• Penalties & Legal Action: Establishes criminal penalties for election officials who register ineligible individuals and creates a “private right of action,” allowing individuals to sue officials for alleged non-compliance.

So essentially, the SAVE Act is a voter suppression bill. Or to quote the Campaign Legal Center:

“In addition to requiring burdensome documentation to register to vote, the SAVE America Act would implement an extreme documentation requirement at polling places and for mail voters that is more onerous than almost every single state voter ID law currently in effect.

“Moreover, under the SAVE America Act, every single state would be forced to submit its voter registration list to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comparison to the agency’s error-ridden database. This is a plain attempt to bully states into sharing voters’ sensitive personal information with the federal government that federal officials might be unable to otherwise access.

“Alarmingly, the SAVE America Act includes no restrictions on what the federal government can do with the sensitive data once DHS receives it and no safeguards against using the data to force voter purges or unduly question election results.”

And now consider this: most married women take their husband’s last name, so their birth certificate doesn’t match, if they even have one. 50% of Americans don’t have passports, and it takes time and money to get either a passport or a copy of their birth certificate—essentially a “poll tax,” which was ruled unconstitutional in 1966 by the Supreme Court.

Trump tries to say mail-in voting, which started during the Civil War, is full of fraud, even as he himself uses it. The military and Americans Abroad have been voting by mail for decades. He wants vote counting to stop at the closing of the polls local time, and not allow counting of any ballots after that, even though many jurisdictions don’t even start counting until then, and have a “grace period” to receive and count ballots that come in for about five days after the polls close. Some states have been doing all-mail-in voting for decades. He also wants to eliminate early voting, which has been in place for years. He wants states to give the Department of Homeland Security their voting records and wants voters purged monthly. He doesn’t realize that what he’s proposing negatively affects a lot of his base.

The SAVE Act passed the House last month, but faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republican Senate Leader John Thune says he has nowhere near the 60 votes necessary to pass the bill, and he has no intention of breaking the filibuster for 51 votes instead - and he doesn’t have 51 votes either.

This bill does not need to be saved. It needs to be flushed.

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I admit that I am not much of a movie-goer. In 2025, I saw only two movies at the theater: “Avatar Fire and Ash” and “Sinners.” The cinematography for both films was outstanding, but “Sinners” stood above and beyond and quite rightfully won the top Oscar for its cinematographer, Autumn Arkapaw.

Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw stands as one of the most accomplished cinematographers in contemporary cinema, breaking barriers and setting new standards in a field that has historically been dominated by men. Her innovative visual storytelling and technical mastery have earned her recognition on the highest stages of the film industry, including Academy Award wins that cement her legacy as a groundbreaking artist and visionary.

She was born on December 14, 1979, into a family that valued creativity and artistic expression. She is of Filipino descent on her mother’s side (with roots in Pampanga) and Black Creole descent on her father’s side. She has described her maternal grandfather, Guillermo Pagan Bautista of Pampanga, who was a resistance fighter during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines and a survivor of the Bataan Death March, “the most important man in my life” and “one of the biggest influences on my childhood and my family”.

Arkapaw developed an early fascination with how light, shadow, and composition could convey emotion and meaning. She pursued formal training in cinematography, where she distinguished herself through a distinctive visual language and an ability to interpret directors’ visions while adding her own artistic perspective. Her education and early experiences shaped her philosophy that cinematography is far more than technical expertise—it is a storytelling medium in its own right.

Throughout her career, Arkapaw has collaborated with some of the most respected filmmakers in the world, bringing her signature style to films that span multiple genres. Her work is characterized by a deep understanding of color theory, lighting design, and camera movement that serve the narrative.

Her breakthrough came with a series of critically acclaimed films that showcased her ability to create visually stunning worlds while maintaining intimate connections to her characters’ emotional journeys. These early successes established her reputation as a cinematographer who could enhance any director’s vision while bringing her own artistic sensibility to the screen. Critics praised her work for its beauty, intentionality, and profound understanding of visual language.

Photo Credit: IndieWire

Arkapaw shot the 2025 film Sinners on 65 mm film using a combination of IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70 cameras, which made her the first female director of photography to shoot any movie on large-format IMAX film. For her work on Sinners, she became the first woman of color to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, becoming the first female cinematographer, first black person, and first Filipino to win in the category.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw also served as the Director of Photography for Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). She used her high-contrast, emotionally charged, large-format visual style to explore the themes of grief and strength following Chadwick Boseman’s death. She was recommended for the project by Rachel Morrison, the cinematographer for the first Black Panther film.

Arkapaw’s Oscar wins represent significant milestones not just for her personally, but for the broader film community. Her recognition by the Academy has inspired countless aspiring cinematographers, particularly those from underrepresented communities, to pursue their artistic visions and believe that their voices matter in cinema.

Beyond her work as a cinematographer, Arkapaw has become an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the film industry. She has spoken openly about her experiences and the barriers she has faced, while also mentoring emerging cinematographers and working to create more opportunities for underrepresented artists.

Her technical innovations have also influenced how contemporary cinematography is taught and practiced. Other cinematographers study her work to understand how she achieves her effects and how she makes artistic choices that serve each specific story.

From intimate dramas to large-scale productions, she adapts her visual language to serve the story while maintaining the distinctive qualities that make her work recognizable and respected.

Autumn Cheyenne Durald married Australian cinematographer Adam Arkapaw in 2015. They have one child.

Today, we celebrate the achievements of Autumn Arkapaw and acknowledge not only her extraordinary contributions to cinema but also her role in paving the way for future generations of cinematographers. Arkapaw exemplifies the power of artistic excellence combined with a commitment to community—a true testament to her status as one of cinema’s most important contemporary artists.

Today In Black History

• In 1807, the British Parliament abolished the slave trade throughout the British Empire.

• In 1895, Italian troops invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) but failed to colonize the African nation.

• In 1910, the Liberian Commission recommended financial aid and the establishment of a U.S. Navy coaling station in Liberia.

• In 1931, the Scottsboro Boys, nine young African-American males, were falsely arrested and charged with raping two white women and collectively served over 100 years in prison. This case also finally established African Americans’ right to serve on juries.

• In 1958, Black boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson became the first boxer to win a world championship five times.

• In 1965, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with thousands of other civil rights leaders and supporters, completed the Selma to Montgomery March, which took four days, despite attacks on many marchers.

• In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the “poll tax” was unconstitutional.

• In 1975, Salem Poor, who, along with Peter Salem, fought in the American Revolutionary War with other Black soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill, was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp.

• In 1991, future EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) winner Whoopi Goldberg won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in the movie “Ghost.” She was the second Black woman to win this award after Hattie McDaniel for “Gone with the Wind.”

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Philippa Schuyler was born on August 2, 1931, to an extraordinary and unconventional family. Her father, George Schuyler, was a renowned and influential Black journalist and social commentator. Her mother, Josephine Cogdell, was a blond, blue-eyed Texan heiress who broke racial barriers through her marriage to George. Josephine was an intellectual trailblazer who believed strongly in the potential of interracial unions and was convinced that cultural and genetic diversity could strengthen society.

Her mother subscribed to unconventional nutritional practices, believing that raw foods—including uncooked meat—preserved vital vitamins and nutrients. While these parenting methods were certainly unusual by mid-20th century standards, the Schuyler household was a place where ideas were debated, music filled the air, and excellence was expected.

Philippa’s upbringing followed the recommendation of the behavioral psychologist John B. Watson that a child should never be hugged or kissed, and her mother’s journals contain numerous references to beating, whipping, and slapping. The approach may have been unconventional, but the results were spectacular. When Philippa was not yet three, she had a 500-word reading and writing vocabulary, and when she was 5, her IQ was measured at 180. She displayed musical talent at a very early age and made her first public broadcast appearance as a pianist at the age of four. Shortly before her fifth birthday, she entered her first musical competition and, in addition to playing four set pieces, performed six of her own compositions, winning a gold seal certificate.

By her teenage years, she had earned recognition from some of the most respected figures in American music. Legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein and renowned composer Virgil Thomson both recognized her exceptional abilities. She performed with five leading American orchestras while still in her teens and made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at 16 years old.

Her compositions and performances were favorably compared to those of American masters such as Aaron Copland and Marc Blitzstein. As a pianist, she demonstrated technical mastery and emotional depth that captivated audiences. Her future in music seemed limitless, and the classical music establishment appeared ready to embrace her as a major talent.

Yet despite her remarkable achievements, Philippa’s life was marked by profound contradictions and challenges. As the daughter of a Black man and a white woman at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in many American states, she navigated a deeply segregated society. She was often treated as an outsider in different circles—never fully accepted by either Black or white audiences due to her mixed heritage. This position on the margins of society, while providing a unique perspective, also subjected her to discrimination and prejudice.

In the mid-1940s, it became clear that Philippa’s color was an insurmountable barrier to her career as a soloist in America, so she switched her focus to composing. Her Manhattan Nocturne was performed and broadcast in April 1945 at a New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concert, and this marked the emergence of Philippa Schuyler, the composer. Twelve months later, she made her debut in the dual role of pianist and composer with the New York Philharmonic at Lewisholm Stadium.

As a woman in a male-dominated classical music world, Philippa faced gender-based expectations and limitations. She was talented and ambitious, but the institutions of her era were not structured to support women composers and conductors. This profoundly shaped her worldview.

Despite a limited number of high-profile concerts for white audiences, Philippa’s appeal remained largely confined to the African American community. In a Look Magazine profile, she was described as “The Shirley Temple of American negroes” and her appearance with Arthur Fiedler in Boston was in the ghetto of the “Colored American night at the Pops”. Philippa later wrote that it was in the late 1940s that she became intellectually aware of America’s racial prejudice. Her insecurity was further fueled by the increasing realization that her mother viewed her simply as a genetic and behavioral experiment whose success was due to nutrition and training rather than natural talent.

Her European debut was made with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1953, and during her visit to England, she formed a lasting friendship with the Black Guyanese conductor Rudolph Dunbar, while the African American Everett Lee conducted several of the orchestras that accompanied her on her tours.

As Philippa matured, she became increasingly conscious of the systemic injustices she experienced and witnessed. Rather than remain in the classical music establishment that had lauded her talents, she made the bold decision to pursue journalism—a field that allowed her to address social and political issues directly.

Her Black father had made the extraordinary political journey from moderate left to the extreme right. In his later years, George Schuyler was described by a Harlem friend as politically to the right of Barry Goldwater, and he finally fell from grace after writing a front-page article for an ultra-conservative newspaper condemning the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Martin Luther King.

In 1959, Philippa started to experiment with her ambiguous ethnicity by describing herself as ‘white’ on visa applications. This allowed her to travel to South Africa, which was then in the grip of apartheid, and during her brief visit, she was championed by white residents.

Philippa discovered the vocation of political journalism when she found herself in the Congo in 1960, as the country lurched towards independence. As well as a journalist, she was a prolific author whose output included a semi-apocryphal autobiography, two novels, non-fiction books on the Congo and Vietnam, and a feminist tract. Her new career as a journalist was confirmed when she returned to the Congo to report with a United Press International accreditation.

She became an accomplished journalist and writer, using her voice to report on important issues and give a voice to the voiceless. Her transition from concert pianist to investigative journalist reflected her deepening commitment to social justice and her refusal to be confined by expectations or tradition. She brought the same intellectual rigor and passion to her journalism as to her music.

On May 9, 1967, she was traveling on a US military helicopter to Da Nang, en route to America for a recital at New York’s Town Hall. When it was ten miles from its destination, the Lycoming UH-1D crashed into Da Nang Bay, and Philippa and two others were killed. Two years later, her mother, Josephine Schuyler, hung herself.

Philippa Schuyler refused to be defined by a single role or achievement and instead pursued truth and justice wherever her conscience led her.

Much of the information in this article came from an article, “On an Overgrown Path.”

Today In Black History

• In 1956, the African nation of Sudan declared its independence from a joint British/Egyptian ruling coalition. South Sudan became an independent country on July 9, 2011.

• In 1971, Rev. Walter Fauntroy became the first nonvoting congressional delegate from the District of Columbia since Reconstruction.

• In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the ACA (Affordable Care Act) into law.

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Issue #1,006 The Choice, Friday, March 20, 2026

Donald Trump, through one of his many executive orders, actually made DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) illegal. DEI initiatives worked to eliminate systemic barriers of race, gender, and ability, to create inclusive, productive environments for marginalized communities, including women and veterans.

Instead of DEI, we now have WEI: White, Entitled, and Incompetent.

The WEI people in the Trump administration claim that only “meritocracy” should matter for hiring or programs. That is ironic, since the entire Trump Cabinet is totally unqualified for their positions. According to Trump, the only “qualification” he needs to appoint, nominate, or support someone is loyalty to him.

Almost none of the members of Trump’s administration have the needed qualifications or experience for their positions, and it shows. Like Trump, they show almost no understanding of American history or how to implement actual policy besides what Trump wants.

For example, the current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, served part-time in the National Guard. He tried to change his organization’s name to the “Department of War,” although only Congress has the authority to do so. Hegseth, who had to promise not to be drunk while on the job, was preceded by retired General Lloyd Austin, who not only saw combat many times but also commanded units at all levels throughout his 39-year military career. Austin is also an alumnus of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Hegseth was fired from two of his previous jobs and was a Fox News host before being nominated by Trump.

Not only is Hegseth totally unqualified, but he thinks that war is a video game, and is gleeful about the killing of people in boats that could never reach the United States, and the illegal Iranian war started by Trump. He said that the military in Iran should implement the policy of “no quarter.” In the context of rules of engagement, “no quarter” means refusing to take prisoners, essentially commanding that all enemy combatants be killed, including those who are wounded or attempt to surrender. This practice is a strict violation of customary international law and is classified as a war crime under the 1899 Hague Convention. So he and Trump are deliberately committing war crimes and laughing about it.

Then, of course, there is Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is a slap in the face to his namesake and assassinated father. He is not a doctor, has no medical training, and no relevant government experience. He is also anti-vaccines, and tried to eliminate the recommended vaccination schedule for newborns and young babies. Vaccinations are the reason why we have not had the high rates of polio, rubella, and measles as before. Except now, because RFK Jr. has recommended that parents not get their children vaccinated against measles, the number of cases has risen rapidly. Measles can be deadly, and some people have died due to measles infections.

I could continue detailing the mediocracy and incompetence of members of the Trump Administration, but I think you get the point.

So, what is our Choice?

• Work to implement DEI in whatever ways we can while not going against the present laws and policies put in place by Trump

• Learn about the mediocracy of the members of the Trump Administration and help to ensure that the next Democratic president follows the lead of Obama and Biden when making appointments and nominations.

• Call your Senators and demand that they vote against the SAVE Act.

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Betty Reid Soskin was born on February 6, 1921, in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Her parents, natives of Louisiana, were of Creole and Cajun heritage, and her great-grandmother had been born into slavery in 1846.

After spending her early childhood in New Orleans, Betty’s family relocated to Oakland, California, in 1927, following the destruction of their home and business by a hurricane and flood.

During World War II, she made history as one of the first African American women to serve in the United States military, joining the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) in the Navy. Her service challenged the systemic racism that defined the era. She worked as a file clerk for the all-Black union auxiliary of the Boilermakers Union A-36, filing change-of-address cards for workers who moved frequently.

In June 1945, Betty and her then-husband, Mel Reid, founded Reid’s Records in Berkeley, California, specializing in gospel music. The family endured significant racism and was subject to death threats after they built a home in a white suburb.

In the 1960s, Betty Reid became well-known as a songwriter for the civil rights movement. Betty divorced her husband, Mel Reid, in 1972 and subsequently married William Soskin, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

After Mel Reid’s health began to decline, Betty took over the management of the music store and became a prominent community activist. The record store closed in 2019.

Betty later served as a field representative for California State Assemblywomen Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock, and became actively involved in the early planning stages and development of a park to memorialize the role of women on the home front during World War II. Those efforts came to fruition when Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established in 2000, to provide a site where future generations could remember the contributions women made to the war effort.

During the building planning sessions for the Historical Park, Betty said that, often, she “was the only person in the room who had any reason to remember that ... what gets remembered is a function of who’s in the room doing the remembering.”

In 2003, she left her state job and became a consultant at the park she helped create, then, at age 85, became a National Park Service ranger at the Rosie the Riveter Park in 2007.

Soskin’s duties included conducting park tours and serving as an interpreter, explaining the park’s purpose, history, various sites, and museum collections to park visitors.

For nearly two decades, she served as a docent and guide, sharing her firsthand knowledge of the home front experience during the Second World War. But more significantly, she became an ardent advocate for preserving and telling the stories of African American women who contributed to the war effort—stories that had been systematically erased from mainstream historical narratives.

Betty Reid Soskin released her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom, in February 2018. A feature-length documentary about her involvement with music, also titled Sign My Name to Freedom, began filming in 2016.

Beyond her official duties, Betty Reid Soskin had been a powerful voice for truth-telling in American history. She consistently emphasized the importance of including diverse perspectives in historical accounts, particularly those of Black Americans whose contributions have been marginalized or completely omitted.

Here are just a few of the awards and commemorations Betty Reid Soskin received:

• She attended President Obama’s Inauguration in 2009 as a guest of Rep. George Miller.

• She received an Honorary Doctorate from California College of the Arts in 2011.

• She was recognized in the Congressional Record in 2016.

• She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts and Letters from Mills College in 2017.

In celebration of her 100th birthday on September 22, 2021, the West Contra Costa Unified School District renamed Juan Crespí Middle School to Betty Reid Soskin Middle School.

A stage musical based on her life, Sign My Name to Freedom by Michael Gene Sullivan, with songs by Soskin, premiered by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company in March 2024.

She had a stroke while working at the park in September 2019; yet she returned to work in a limited, informal capacity in January 2020. She retired from the National Park Service on March 31, 2022, as the oldest serving park ranger.

Soskin died at her home on December 21, 2025, at the age of 104.

Today In Black History

• In 1865, the Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourned for the last time.

• In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Frederick Douglass as marshal of the District of Columbia.

• In 1895, 200 African Americans left Savannah, Georgia, for Liberia.

• In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9102, which created the War Relocation Authority that was charged with overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

• In 1972, the USS Jesse L. Brown, the first U.S. naval ship to be named after an African American naval officer, was launched.

• In 2002, Black Grammy Award-winning songwriter and singer Isaac Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Barbara Johns: The Teenage Activist Who Challenged Segregation in School Facilities

On April 23, 1951, a sixteen-year-old girl named Barbara Johns organized a student strike at Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, over unequal conditions in her Black school.

Barbara Ceppage Johns was born on March 6, 1935, in New York, but her family moved to Farmville, Virginia, when she was young. Black and white students attended separate schools with vastly unequal resources, including Moton High School, where Barbara was a junior.

The school was severely overcrowded and decrepit. Built to hold 180 students, it housed over 450. The building lacked proper heating in winter and cooling in summer. There were no cafeteria facilities, no gymnasium, and no adequate laboratory space for science classes. Meanwhile, the white high school in the same county had modern facilities and well-maintained buildings. The disparity was impossible to ignore for Barbara.

By the spring of 1951, frustration had reached a breaking point among Moton’s students. When the principal announced that construction on a new, still-inadequate building would take years to complete, Barbara and a group of student leaders decided to act. They devised a plan to stage a walkout—a student strike demanding equal educational facilities.

They convinced over 450 students to walk out of classes, accounting for nearly the entire student body. The strike lasted for two weeks, drawing attention from local and national media.

While the immediate strike didn’t secure better facilities at Moton, it caught the NAACP’s attention. Civil rights lawyers, including the legendary Thurgood Marshall, decided to use the Moton strike as a vehicle for challenging the constitutionality of segregation itself. What began as a student protest for better school conditions evolved into Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County—one of five cases consolidated under the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Barbara Johns’ name became synonymous with student activism and civil rights. Though she was not the plaintiff in the case (her uncle, Oliver Brown, lent his name to the consolidated case, though this case actually refers to the Davis case), her role as the instigator of the strike was crucial. The Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declared that “separate but equal” was unconstitutional—a decision that overturned decades of segregationist doctrine.

After the strike, Barbara faced significant backlash in Farmville. Her family, concerned for her safety and future, sent her to live with relatives in Philadelphia so she could continue her education. She graduated from high school there and later attended Drexel Institute of Technology. Barbara went on to become a teacher, a choice that reflected her commitment to education and youth empowerment.

Barbara Johns’ courage in organizing the Moton High School strike demonstrated that age is no barrier to activism and moral leadership.

Barbara Johns received a degree in library science from Drexel University. She married William Powell, raised five children, and lived in Philadelphia. Her commitment to education moved her to become a librarian for the Philadelphia school system. She served in this profession until her death from bone cancer in 1991.

Today In Black History

• In 1792, Denmark became the first country to ban the transatlantic slave trade, although the ban did not take effect until 1803. An estimated 120,000 enslaved Africans were transported to the West Indies aboard ships flying the Danish flag.

• In 1827, “Freedom’s Journal,” the first Black newspaper, published its first issue.

• In 1836, the Constitution of the Republic of Texas was approved, legalizing slavery.

• In 1870, Hiram R. Revels gave the first speech by a Black person before the U.S. Senate, opposing the readmission of Georgia to the Union without adequate safeguards for Black citizens.

• In 1903, Rev. Ernest Lyon was appointed as the Minister to Liberia.

• In 1922, Egypt gained its independence from Great Britain.

• In 1940, Frederick McKinley Jones was awarded a patent for his mobile refrigeration system for long-haul trucks. He co-founded the Thermo King Corporation and had several other inventions.

• In 1962, the University of the Virgin Islands was founded, becoming the first HBCU outside of the mainland United States.

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From AP, because I can’t say it any better than they already have.

“The White House’s social media feed has issued a series of pumped-up videos that mix real Iran war explosions with movie action heroes, gaming footage, and bone-crunching football tackles, leading critics like a top cleric of the U.S. Catholic Church to condemn a trivialization of deadly real-life conflict.

“Clips from “Braveheart,” “Superman,” “Top Gun,” “Breaking Bad,” and “Iron Man.” All appear cut between declassified imagery of what is presumably the Iran war. Even the cartoon likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants is spliced in, asking, “You wanna see me do it again?” in between images of buildings, planes, and vehicles blown up by American bombs. The caption on one bomb-heavy post: “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” — the title of a post-9/11 Toby Keith song about war that is subtitled “The Angry American.”

This story was reported a few days ago, on March 9. As an opinion writer, I usually like to add my flair to telling my stories and sharing my opinions because, well, that’s what I do. The best way for opinion writers to get readers to read their opinions is to write them in the most interesting and eye-catching way possible. But sometimes just the plain statement of facts is all that’s needed. The President of the United States has engaged our country in a war for no discernible reason except distraction – and apparently because being at war can be cool and fun. Just like video games.

The fact that China and Russia are supporting Iran (Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty with Iran in January of last year, and China signed a 25-year cooperation agreement with Iran in 2021) would normally raise the question, “Are we creeping toward World War III?” Because, you know, if we’re fighting Iran together with Israel, but Russia and China are supporting Iran with these mutually beneficial long-term economic agreements, then we’re kinda fighting them too. Granted, the agreements don’t stipulate any obligation for either China or Russia to respond to any military aggression taken against whoever threatens Iran. And picking a fight with the U.S. could be risky.

Then again, with Trump in charge, would it really be that risky? As compared to once upon a time when maniac toddlers weren’t in charge of the White House and the Defense Department? When some of the most qualified military personnel have been relieved of duty for either not being the right color or not being stupid enough to please Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth?

But Russia is Trump’s good friend! And China is…well…China. So it’s all just in fun. It’s all good.

It’s all a game. It’s all a game. It’s all a game.

Until Game Over.

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In an era before “fake news” became a household term, Marion Stokes was already fighting to protect the truth. Armed with VCRs and an unwavering commitment to historical preservation, this Philadelphia-born activist spent 35 years recording television broadcasts 24 hours a day, creating what many consider the most comprehensive personal archive of television history ever assembled.

Marion Marguerite Stokes was born on November 25, 1929, in Germantown, Philadelphia. Raised as an orphan, she developed an early passion for information and access, eventually training as a librarian. In the 1940s through early 1960s, she worked at the Free Library of Philadelphia, where her progressive political beliefs and civil rights activism eventually led to her dismissal—a casualty of Cold War-era political persecution.

But Stokes refused to be silenced. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she became deeply involved in social justice movements. She helped organize buses to the 1963 March on Washington, served as a founding board member of the National Organization for Women, and championed the integration of Girard College. She also co-produced Input, a Sunday morning public-access television show focused on social justice and community dialogue. These experiences taught that those in power control the narrative, and without documentation, history could be rewritten or erased entirely.

In 1975, Stokes purchased a Betamax magnetic videotape recorder. But it wasn’t until November 4, 1979—the day the Iranian Hostage Crisis began—that she truly “hit record and never stopped,” as her son Michael Metelits would later describe it. The crisis coincided with the dawn of the 24-hour news cycle, and Stokes recognized something profound: television was becoming the primary medium through which Americans understood their world, yet networks routinely discarded their archives.

What began as a single VCR evolved into an obsessive, round-the-clock operation. By 1980, when CNN launched, Stokes was running multiple machines simultaneously. She invested in Apple stock early, using her wealth to buy countless VCRs, tapes, and, eventually, nine apartments to house her growing collection. Family dinners were cut short when the tapes needed to be changed. Vacations were planned around recording schedules. Her life became entirely organized around the rhythm of preservation.

Over 35 years, Marion Stokes recorded approximately 840,000 hours of television across 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes. She captured revolutions and wars, political speeches and sitcoms, breaking news and commercials. Her archive included coverage of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, presidential addresses, and countless hours of news from nine different stations.

Stokes understood media theory decades before it became a mainstream discussion. She recognized how narratives were constructed, how information was suppressed or emphasized, and how television could be weaponized to manipulate public opinion. Her project was simultaneously an act of activism and an act of love—a gift to future generations who would need to understand how their present was mediated and constructed.

Initially, no institution wanted her tapes. But in 2013, the Internet Archive recognized its historical significance and began the painstaking process of digitization. Today, her collection is freely available online, searchable, and accessible to researchers, historians, and anyone seeking to understand how television shaped American history.

In 2019, filmmaker Matt Wolf released “Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project,” a documentary that brought her remarkable story to wider audiences. Marion Stokes proved that one person’s obsession could become humanity’s treasure—a testament to the power of persistence, vision, and an unshakeable belief that truth, once preserved, can never be entirely erased.

Marion Stokes died on December 14, 2012, at age 83. Interestingly, her final recordings captured the breaking news of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Her VCRs were switched off only when she took her last breath.

Today In Black History

• In 1789, Black astronomer, mathematician, and almanac author Benjamin Banneker began to lay out the street design of the District of Columbia, along with French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

• In 1824, the U.S. Department of War created the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

• In 1874, Frederick A. Douglass was elected president of Freedmen’s Bank and Trust.

• In 1959, “A Raisin in the Sun,” by Lorraine Hansberry, opened at the Barrymore Theater in New York City and became the first play written by a Black woman performed on Broadway.

• In 1963, the African nation of Somalia dropped diplomatic relations with Great Britain.

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Queen Califa first appeared in Spanish literature in the early 16th century. She appeared in “Las Sergas de Esplandián” (The Exploits of Esplandián), a chivalric romance written by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo around 1510. In this fantastical tale, Califa ruled over an island called California, a place of extraordinary wealth and natural beauty. The novel described her kingdom as an earthly paradise, populated by griffins and other mythical creatures, with mountains of gold and precious stones scattered throughout the landscape.

The character of Queen Califa was not merely a fictional creation for entertainment; she represented the dreams and aspirations of the Spanish conquistadors and explorers of her era. During an age of discovery and expansion, the legend of Califa embodied the promise of untold riches and undiscovered lands waiting beyond the horizon.

When Spanish explorers reached the Baja California Peninsula in the 16th century, they believed they had discovered the legendary island kingdom described in Montalvo’s novel. Consequently, they named the region “California” in honor of the mythical queen. The name eventually extended northward to encompass the entire territory that would become the modern state of California.

The early 16th century saw the publication of numerous tales of the Spanish Golden Age that often featured idealized rulers, magical kingdoms, and quests for glory and fortune.

The character of Califa herself was notable for her time. As a female ruler depicted as powerful, intelligent, and commanding, she represented a departure from many contemporary portrayals of women in literature. Though ultimately a fictional creation, her characterization suggested that women could possess authority and wisdom equal to their male counterparts—a progressive notion for the era.

In contemporary times, Queen Califa appears in various cultural works, from literature to art installations, often celebrated as a symbol of California’s unique heritage and the state’s connection to Spanish colonial history.

Today In Black History

• In 1841, the U.S. Supreme Court freed Joseph Cinque and the 35 surviving Mende people of the Amistad Mutiny in the case of United States v. The Amistad. Former president John Quincy Adams represented the Africans in court. The ruling determined that the men had been illegally kidnapped by Portuguese slave traders from the African nation now known as Sierra Leone, and private donations paid for their return to their homeland.

• In 1891, North Carolina A&T University was founded in Greensboro, N.C.

• In 1931, Walter White was named Executive Secretary of the NAACP.

• In 1961, Clifton Wharton, Sr. Was sworn in as the first Black Ambassador to Norway.

• In 1963, columnist and journalist Carl T. Rowan was named Ambassador to Finland.

• In 1966, Andrew F. Brimmer became the first Black governor of the Federal Reserve Board.

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Oseola McCarty was an amazing American philanthropist whose life story continues to inspire millions of people around the world. Born in 1908 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, after her mother was raped, she became a symbol of selfless giving and showed just how powerful education can be.

McCarty grew up in poverty with limited opportunities. She had to leave school in sixth grade to take care of her sick grandmother. Instead of getting her own education, she became a laundress, washing and ironing clothes for families in Hattiesburg for nearly 75 years.

McCarty was incredibly disciplined about saving money. For decades, she lived simply, walked everywhere, never owned a car, skipped unnecessary expenses, and put away every penny she could. She just kept depositing her earnings into a local bank account, watching it grow little by little over the years.

When McCarty retired in 1994 at age 86, she had saved about $250,000. But instead of finally treating herself, she donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to create a scholarship fund for Black students.

This gift was huge, especially considering Mississippi’s history of racial segregation (Southern Mississippi did not integrate until the 1960s) and how hard it was for Black students to get into college. McCarty believed deeply in the power of education to change lives and break the cycle of poverty.

Her donation grabbed national attention. The media loved her story, and suddenly she was famous. She received awards and recognition from President Bill Clinton, and her example inspired many people to give back and to start real conversations about generosity and responsibility.

Since then, her scholarship fund has helped hundreds of students attend college and pursue their dreams. Many of these students have become successful and even donors themselves, carrying on the legacy McCarty started.

What really stood out about McCarty was her humility. Even after becoming famous, she kept living simply and honestly, and wasn’t comfortable with all the attention. She’d brush off compliments and say she was just doing what felt right.

McCarty died in 1999, and she proved that no matter who you are or how much money you have, you can make a real difference.

Today In Black History

• In 1837, The Weekly Advocate, the 2nd major Black newspaper, changed its name to The Colored American.

• In 1871, after winning an at-large election to the 42nd Congress, Josiah Thomas Walls became the first Black Congressman to represent an entire state (Florida).

• In 1954, James Ernest Wilkins was named Undersecretary of Labor by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

• In 1957, the Gold Coast officially changed its name to Ghana ahead of its independence.

• In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. announced his plans for the Poor People’s Campaign. He was assassinated exactly one month later on April 4, 1968.

• In 1980, Robert Mugabe won the parliamentary election in Zimbabwe, becoming the country’s first Black prime minister.

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Dr. Auma Obama is a beacon of hope and transformation across Africa and beyond. As the half-sister of former U.S. President Barack Obama, she has carved her own remarkable path as an educator, author, and social entrepreneur dedicated to empowering young people through education and mentorship.

Born in Kenya in 1960, Auma earned her doctorate in education and has spent decades working in international development, with a particular focus on youth empowerment and educational access. Her academic background and lived experience have positioned her uniquely to understand the challenges facing young Africans and to develop practical solutions.

In 2010, Dr. Obama founded the Sauti Kuu Foundation, an organization dedicated to empowering vulnerable youth in Kenya through mentorship, education, and economic opportunity. The name “Sauti Kuu” means “big voices” in Swahili, reflecting the foundation’s mission to amplify the voices of marginalized young people. Through this organization, she has worked tirelessly to provide scholarships, vocational training, and mentorship programs to thousands of youth.

What distinguishes Dr. Obama’s work is her holistic approach to youth development. Rather than viewing education in isolation, she recognizes that young people need comprehensive support—including mental health services, leadership training, and economic empowerment—to truly transform their lives and communities. Her programs address not only academic needs but also the social and emotional dimensions of personal growth.

Beyond her foundation work, Dr. Obama is an accomplished author and speaker. She has written extensively about her family, her experiences, and her vision for Africa’s future. Her memoir, “And Then Life Happens,” offers intimate insights into her journey and her relationship with her famous brother, while also exploring broader themes of identity, belonging, and purpose. Through her writing and public speaking engagements, she has become an influential voice in conversations about education, social justice, and African development.

Dr. Obama’s commitment has consistently emphasized that young people need role models and guides who understand their contexts and can help them navigate the challenges they face. This philosophy underpins all of her work, whether through the Sauti Kuu Foundation or her various speaking and writing endeavors.

Dr. Obama has received numerous awards and accolades for her work in education and social development. However, her greatest satisfaction comes not from recognition, but from witnessing the tangible impact of her work—seeing young people graduate, secure employment, and become leaders in their own communities.

In recent years, Dr. Obama has expanded her reach, working on various international development projects and continuing to advocate for educational access and youth empowerment on a global scale. She has collaborated with organizations and governments to develop sustainable models for youth development that can be replicated across different contexts.

As Africa continues to develop and young people seek pathways to success, Dr. Obama’s contributions to education and mentorship will undoubtedly continue to shape the continent’s future for generations to come.

Today In Black History

• In 1807, the Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves was passed and signed by President Thomas Jefferson, himself a slave owner. The Act was effective on January 1, 1808, and aimed to stop the importation of enslaved people from foreign countries into any port or place within U.S. jurisdiction.

• In 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau was founded for Black education.

• In 1867, elections were ordered for constitutional conventions, and freed Black men were enfranchised.

• In 1867, Congress passed the first of a series of Reconstruction Acts, dividing the former Confederate states into five military districts under the command of army generals.

• In 1867, Howard University (HU) was founded in Washington, D.C. It was named for General Oliver Otis Howard, the head of the post-Civil War Freedmen’s Bureau, who influenced Congress to appropriate funds for the school.

• In 1888, the Capital Savings Bank of Washington, D.C., the first Black bank, opened in Washington, D.C.

• In 1917, the Jones Act created the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans.

• In 1919, Claude Albert Barnett founded the Associated Negro Press.

• In 1921, Harry Pace founded the Pace Phonograph Corporation, the first Black-owned and operated record company.

• In 1956, the African nation of Morocco became independent from France, although it had existed since 788 CE.

• In 1961, Dr. Clifton R. Wharton was sworn in as ambassador to Norway.

• In 1970, the white government of Rhodesia declared itself a republic.

• In 1972, Dr. Jerome H. Holland became the first Black person elected to the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange.

• In 1977, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery was named acting president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), succeeding Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy.

• In 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises ceased publication of six Dr. Seuss books due to racist and insensitive imagery.

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Issue #998 The Choice, Saturday, February 28, 2026

I am old enough to remember the Korean War (barely) and the Vietnam War, which was the first war to be televised on the evening news.

Of course, I also remember the unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although he used lies and made up emergencies after 9/11, at least George W. Bush got Congressional approval for those wars, as mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

Donald J. Trump, who, along with people in his administration, has continuously ignored the Constitution, in the early hours of February 28, 2026, started an unnecessary war with Iran, partnering with his fellow international war crimes buddy, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. Trump lied about why he started this war and did not seek Congressional approval for this action.

In 2012, Trump claimed that President Barack Obama would soon start a war with Iran because he was weak and needed something to “cover up” his terrible administration policies.

Actually, it was Barack Obama who secured an agreement with Iran to contain its nuclear capabilities, and Donald Trump who subsequently destroyed that agreement.

As we all know, Donald Trump is doing everything he can to distract from the Epstein files and to illegally stay in office for the rest of his life.

This war with Iran is his latest distraction, and it is a real phenomenon called " Wag the Dog, which describes the act of manufacturing a distraction — typically a foreign crisis or military conflict — to divert public attention from a domestic scandal.

The phrase owes much of its modern cultural resonance to the 1997 film Wag the Dog, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. In the movie, a Washington spin doctor teams up with a Hollywood producer to fabricate an entirely fictional war with Albania — complete with fake footage, an invented war hero, and a carefully crafted media narrative — all to shield a sitting U.S. president from a sex scandal erupting just days before an election.

The timing of Trump’s “wag the dog” initiative is not lost on anyone, especially since there is now credible evidence that he raped a 13-year-old girl, the knowledge of which has come out just as the country is preparing for the 2026 midterm elections.

Now, in an era of 24-hour news cycles, social media, and algorithmically amplified outrage, the tools for shaping public perception have grown exponentially more powerful. Trump and his billionaires and political operatives don’t need a Hollywood producer to wag the dog — they have created an entire ecosystem of media incentives doing much of the work for them.

The term itself has roots older than the film, derived from the idiom about a dog being “wagged” by its own tail — the smaller, less important part controlling the whole. Applied to politics, it suggests that the spectacle, the noise, the manufactured crisis is the tail wagging the dog of genuine democratic discourse.

Now, the best question to ask when Trump creates a new crisis that dominates the headlines isn’t what happened, but what aren’t we supposed to be looking at?

The next equally important questions to ask are:

1. Will the Republican-led Congress step up and do its job on war powers lying only with it?

2. Is Trump going to send his son Barron to the front lines?

3. What are “We the People” going to do?

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When your president is a pedophile

Personally, I don’t know what it will take to convince enough Republicans in Congress to realize that maybe having a pedophile for president is not a good thing. Or if enough repulsive criminal evidence even exists to tip the scales enough to where maybe, just maybe, they might consider not waiting until (hopefully) a Democratic Congress takes the reins in a year before taking any sort of enforceable action.

Because I still contend that by then it may be too late. At best, the amount of damage this president could do in another year could be so severe that this country will not be adequately repaired during most of our lifetimes. I say ‘adequately’ because I suspect we will never fully recover from this.

Having said that, I still think it’s important to keep track of the truly egregious behaviors exhibited by this president, although the staggering volume of Trump’s egregious behaviors seems to make whatever may have been considered egregious yesterday reappraised as perhaps not quite so egregious tomorrow.

But the rape of children is the kind of shockingly and horrifyingly egregious behavior that is hard to surpass. That is to say, you have to work really hard to find crimes considered much worse than raping a child who has been groomed to be a sex toy for the perverted fantasies of twisted, rich adult males. Now consider that the Epstein files appear to have provided evidence that Trump himself is one of those twisted types. It’s the kind of accusation that will make just about anyone freeze in their tracks. From NPR:

“According to the newly released files, the FBI internally circulated Epstein-related allegations that mention Trump in late July and early August 2025. The list, collected from the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center, included numerous salacious allegations. Agents marked most of the accusations as unverifiable or not credible.

“But one lead was sent to the FBI’s Washington office with the purpose of setting up an interview with the accuser. The lead was included in an internal PowerPoint slide deck detailing “prominent names“ in the Epstein and Maxwell investigations last fall.

“The woman who directly named Trump in her abuse allegation claimed that around 1983, when she was around 13 years old, Epstein introduced her to Trump, “who subsequently forced her head down to his exposed penis which she subsequently bit. In response, Trump punched her in the head and kicked her out. (ITALICS MINE)”

“Out of more than 3 million pages of files released by the Justice Department in recent months, this specific allegation against Trump appears only in copies of the FBI list of claims and the DOJ slideshow.

“But a review of FBI case file logs and discovery documents turned over to Maxwell and her attorneys in the criminal case against her point to one place the claim could have come from — and how serious investigators took it.”

“The FBI interviewed this Trump and Epstein accuser four times. That is according to an FBI “Serial Report” and a list of Non-Testifying Witness Material in the Maxwell case that were also released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”

NOTE: To hear an excellent discussion of this recent revelation, MS Now Commentator Lawrence O’Donnell’s episode from the evening of Wednesday, February 25, is one of the best I’ve heard from O’Donnell in quite some time.

Sometimes O’Donnell gets too carried away with his enjoyment of mocking the president every two or three minutes. I can’t stand Trump either, but calling him the stupidest president in history every single show makes me start to tune out. And yet, when Lawrence is at his best, nobody can match him. And this show was him at his best.

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