In our previous post, we examined some of the current discussion around reparations for slavery. Many factors are coming together in our society that make it apparent that our “original sin” of slavery still has serious ramifications more than 150 years after the Civil War, ramifications that need addressing sooner rather than later because of […]
Southern Poverty Law Center
Index to the Third Year
Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF! Here is a guide to the past year of blog posts (note that some posts appear in several categories). If you want a guide to the first year (October 2015-October 2016), you can find it here, and a guide to the second year (October 2016-October 2017) […]
The Values Voter Summit 2018 and a Look at Mike Pence
As we learn more about Donald Trump, his family, his connections with Russians, his finances, the people around him who have been indicted, jailed, caught lying and who have pleaded guilty to federal crimes, the closer we might be getting to his no longer being President – whether by resignation, impeachment, enactment of the 25th […]
What is the ADF and Why is Jeff Sessions Praising It?
Once again we in the United States of America are facing an egregious example of “doublespeak” by the Trump Administration. Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III has announced a “Religious Liberty Task Force” that is, in effect, a vicious attack against the LGBTQ community. Here is how the dots are connected: The ADF is the […]
Mr. Kobach and the Judge
Remember Kris Kobach and President Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission? The story of Kobach and the most recent news about him is one of those examples of the intersection between an activist right-wing politician, immigration, voter suppression, Trump’s basic bigotry and racism, fear-mongering, a brave judge, the impotence of current Republican lawmakers to challenge Trump’s policies […]
A Profile in Courage, Mitch Landrieu: Someone to Watch
On May 20, 2018, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Mass., the 2018 Profile in Courage Award was presented to former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. He was honored “for his leadership in relocating four of the Confederate monuments in New Orleans while offering candid, clear and compassionate reflections on the moment […]
Neo-Nazi Group Unravelling, Spencer Backing Off: Positive Steps in the Battle against Racism and Bigotry
A group that few of us have heard of, which “advocates for racially pure nations and communities and blames Jews for many of the world’s problems,” is having some problems lately. The neo-Nazi Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) lost both its primary spokesperson and its leader in mid-March. [SPLC “Weekend Read/ Issue 71,” March 17, 2018] […]
Teaching American Slavery: Confronting an Educational Deficit in Our Schools
As of the presidential election of 2008, the US has now had an African American President – for eight years. When Barack Obama was first elected, there was speculation, even hope, that the US might finally be entering a time of reduced racism. Of course, many others among us realized that merely the election of […]
Solidarity with Jews in Light of Heightened Antisemitism
Last year brought yet another extremely disturbing statistic: 2017 marked the highest increase in antisemitic incidents in the US since the first Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents was taken in 1979. In a statement, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, stated, “A confluence of events in 2017 led to a surge […]
First Lawsuit Filed to Challenge Trump Medicaid Attack
Certain Republicans and conservatives would love to damage, severely weaken or kill off Medicaid (and other social safety net programs that have been in place for decades). A first step was recently taken in Kentucky and approved by the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, on January […]