WI Bridge................................................................Center Section OpEd

Young Folks Are ‘Numb’ to America’s Antics

When the Supreme Court ruled last Friday to end a woman’s right to an abortion, the decision compounded what some young people are expressing as a growing indifference to an otherwise bright and promising future. Their transition to adulthood, which enters somewhere between ages 18 and 21, and a time when they are legally permitted to make their own life decisions, no longer feels liberating or hopeful. The word they use to describe their outlook is “numb.”

The killing of young Black men and women by police or murders committed by other young people with guns deters their desire to explore the social lives they longed for. Clubs, concerts and parties are unsafe places to go, and so are schools, shopping malls and churches. Some are exhausted from social media’s toxic environment, proclaiming social media-free weekends as a means of reviving their spirits. They are culling their platforms and getting rid of anyone who is not a family or friend.

They’ve been told the importance of voting and encouraged to show up and show out at the polls. Yet, their votes are among those being challenged by illegitimate outcries of voter fraud and rules aimed at suppressing their newly-acquired right to vote. And the president they watched during their formative years consistently demonstrated offensive behavior leading to a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, the symbol of U.S. democracy they were taught to uphold.

Their graduation from high school or college marked an unforgettable period in everyone’s lives that kept them frightened and isolated for nearly two years due to a deadly COVID-19 virus and its aftermath. Yet, they received degrees and diplomas that will open doors to careers that, in reality, may not afford them to go to college, purchase a home, marry the person they love or plan their families.

Throughout their lives, they’ve been told they are the future. Ask them how they feel about it; all they may say or attempt to describe is “numb.” Their destiny is still in our hands and we’ve got to do better for them.

WI

The Albatross of Racism

The weight of it is heavy. The burden is enormous. To endure daily, an unapologetic denial of equal treatment in every, single, endeavor you encounter. To know, subconsciously, going into every interaction, that the color of your skin, can play an integral part in it. That pay increases, promotions, employment opportunities, loan applications and even educational instruction, can be altered by the color of your skin, or your place of origin.

Generationally, we have been resigned to the premise, that "one day," things will get better. Yet, that "one day," always seems to be just a little further beyond the horizon. So we adapt. We persevere to the degree that our skin color will allow and we strive to do better than those before us, like all citizens of this nation aspire to. But that "second glance" from a police officer, that 'head turn," from the store loss prevention person, or that "inquisitive look" of the cashier, prior to making your payment selection, reminds you, that you fit the stereotype of someone we've been taught to question.

Oddly, some Caucasians, will attest this to paranoia, drug use, lower intelligence, or just a person who doesn't have the motivation to do better. In reality, the one that these same Caucasians reside in, they too know that there is this relegation, or unspoken attribute, that is attached to people of color.

Envision a scenario where that doesn't occur. To be able to walk freely in a different city, just to see the sights. To have the opportunity to excel, because your family "owns" the largest dairy farm. To have financial support, and "generational" wealth. To get the job because your "uncle" is the manager. To attend the school of "your choice" because it's your mother's alma mater. To be given a warning, rather than a citation. To stay on the same side of the street when approached by a person of color and not clutch your purse, or grip your partners arm tighter. To not stereotype your new neighbor and hope they don't "bring down" your property value. To extend your hand to assist, when it would be just as easy to look the other way. These are weights we must relinquish. For they are the "privileges" of the past that must be removed, so that our full future can be derived.

Freddie L. Brown Kenosha, Wisconsin

4 More Years!

I’m so glad Mayor Bowser won the Democratic primary! I believe she’s done great things for the District and has shown exemplary leadership.

Dawn Reynolds

TO THE EDITOR

Long Live the Black Press

Congratulations to 195 years of the Black Press. Wow! What a milestone. I look forward to the big 200-year celebration. As one of our community’s oldest institutions, we must keep the tradition alive.

Kerrick Milgram

Readers' Mailbox The Washington Informer welcomes letters to the editor about articles we publish or issues affecting the community. Write to: lsaxton@washingtoninformer. com or send to: 3117 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032. Please note that we are unable to publish letters that do not include a full name, address and phone number. We look forward to hearing from you.

Guest Columnist

Julianne Malveaux

After Juneteenth — Reparations Now

Juneteenth, or June 19, 2022, was marked with fireworks and concerts, parades, and proclamations, a big difference from Juneteenth a year ago when President Biden signed the executive order making Juneteenth a federal holiday just two days before its actual occurrence. Last year's hastily implemented plans were replaced by well-orchestrated programs this year. Last year's celebration merited brief chats; this year, there was a nationally televised concert. This year, the media has gone to great lengths to explain Juneteenth, perhaps doubling their coverage from a year ago.

Corporations and other organizations are observing or commemorating Juneteenth. I was surprised, for example, by receiving notices of Juneteenth observations from not one but two of the financial services organizations I deal with. A white man at the airport wished me a "Happy Juneteenth," and while I somewhat appreciated his greeting, it didn't make me happy, mainly because I don't think the word "Happy" should be applied to Juneteenth.

Big Dot of Happiness, a company out of Wisconsin, has produced cringe-worthy "Happy Juneteenth" greeting cards. An online search will yield all kinds of products, many presumably not owned by Black people, commercializing Juneteenth with T-shirts, stickers, stationery and more. Commercialization is the way of predatory capitalism, so I'm not surprised at those who hope to extract surplus profits from the people who want to observe the day when formerly enslaved people were reminded that their enslavement was over. Many who heard the announcement in Galveston back in 1865 were elated, some were angry at being exploited, and some understood that the quality of their lives was not to change immediately or soon. Jim Crow laws, peonage and the sharecropping system, and economic lynching emerged immediately after the passage of the 13th Amendment.

The holiday observation of Juneteenth is a vital way to inject the issue of enslavement into the popular lexicon, if only once a year. But the holiday transcends symbolism only if coupled with decisive action to combat contemporary economic exploitation and virulent racism. President Biden set the right tone when he issued a proclamation a few days before Juneteenth.

He described the day as "a chance to celebrate human freedom, reflect on the grievous and ongoing legacy of slavery, and rededicate ourselves to rooting out the systemic racism that continues to plague our society as we strive to deliver the full promise of America to every American. This Juneteenth, we are freshly reminded that the poisonous ideology of racism has not yet been defeated — it only hides." Now that the fireworks have faded, the barbecue has been digested, and the red soda water has been consumed,

President Biden might do more to attack the hidden — and not-so-hidden — ideology of racism. Has his

Guest Columnist

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson

Did Trump's Actions on Jan. 6 Reach the Level of Treason?

Will Donald Trump be held accountable for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and what was a multi-layered conspiracy to overturn the results of the presidential election? Attorney General Merrick Garland has stated that, "We're just going to follow the facts wherever they lead … to hold all perpetrators who are criminally responsible for January 6 accountable, regardless of their level, [or]their position…"

The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack has systematically revealed the facts, confirming what Republican Rep. Liz Cheney stated when she announced she would vote to impeach Donald Trump: "On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic…," Cheney said. "The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president," she said. "The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."

The committee's investigation has confirmed what Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell stated: "The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like."

This is a question of treason, a charge that should not be made lightly.

The Constitution defines the crime: "Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

Guest Columnist

Heather Raspberry It’s Up To Us: Solving Affordable Housing Together

Despite the Fair Housing Act being passed more than 50 years ago, less than 50% of Black and brown people own the homes they live in. Having spent decades working in the housing industry, I understand the importance of having a place to call home. In a time of co-occurring crises that has exposed how broken system, we need innovative solutions that will address the systemic issues playing out in our communities, including a comprehensive approach to addressing affordable housing in the DC region.

Racial equity is a key component in combating the housing crisis in our region and the country. Unfortunately, generational financial constraints, discriminatory legislation and gentrification are just a few obstacles that have continuously prevented people from achieving the “American Dream.”

This is a crisis of national propositions and for those working to increase housing opportunities, the White House’s recent announcement addressing the housing affordability crisis around the country is welcome news. Federal assistance is instrumental to build upon the modest gains we have made locally.

Last year, to aid in the region’s efforts to create 374,000 new, affordable homes by 2030, the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) released a first-of-itskind housing indicator tool (HIT) measuring the state of affordable housing across 10 communities in our region. This report card for the region shows progress is being made and our region is working collaboratively to do so.

Washington D.C. added a record $400M to the Housing Production Trust Fund, which will close the gap and provide an extraordinary increase in opportunities for people in the region to have a place to call their own. Montgomery County, MD, and Arlington, VA have submitted or proposed significant funds in this year’s budget toward affordable housing. Fairfax County, VA, and the City of Alexandria have committed to increasing local production goals and meeting affordable housing goals, respectively.

The biggest need for expanded af-

MALVEAUX Page 41

Do Trump's actions meet the test of treason? Professor Carlton F.W. Larson, author of "On Treason: A Citizen's Guide to the Law" notes that the framers of the Constitution had "a very specific image in mind — men gathering with guns, forming an army and marching on the seat of government." Larson notes that few events in American history have matched that description as clearly as the sacking of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Their purpose assaulted the very

JACKSON Page 41

RASPBERRY Page 41

Guest Columnist

E. Faye Williams

A Clear and Present Danger

I'm sure that in 1989, when Tom Clancy authored his acclaimed novel "A Clear and Present Danger," he never envisioned the real threat facing this nation some 33 years later. Clancy's threat involved the inundation of the United States with illegal drugs. Today, the threat of a fascistic takeover seems the more realistic threat — more real than could ever have been imagined. This threat was affirmed during a public hearing of the January 6th Congressional Select Committee by conservative judicial icon and retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig. His characterization of Trump and his supporters as a "clear and present danger" to the United States was a chilling prediction of a dystopian future.

Some have forgotten or will vehemently deny the accusation of Ivana Trump that her ex-husband kept a book of Hitler's speeches on his nightstand. Her 1990 Vanity Fair magazine interview spoke of Trump frequently reading Hitler's "Mein Kampf," but other sources suggest that it was "My New Order," a book of Hitler's speeches. Whichever book was his inspiration, the similarities between Hitler and Trump are eerily disturbing.

Only those more inclined toward conspiracy theories could have imagined the depth of deception and intrigue in Trump's attempt to illegally retain the presidency. During each of the Select Committee's public hearings, it has become abundantly clear that Trump had no reservation or reluctance to impose his own will and personal desires above the will of the American voter! More maddening is the realization of the number of accomplices who were willing to assist him in the usurpation of voter authority and the ongoing support he receives among a certain element of the population.

In the face of disclosures of sedition generated in the hearings, one could (should?) reasonably expect the rejection of support for an individual and his political philosophy that is so antithetical to the foundations of our democracy. Unreasonable as it may seem, millions ardently and unconditionally surrender their allegiance.

While my focus on the hearings is driven by curiosity and the desire to confirm my personal assessments of the "ailment" that continues to inflict our nation, I realize that the challenge of the moment is to remain forward-thinking. The damage done by Trump to our national character is self-evident. What is less obvious is the lingering impact of his elevation to the presidency. After all, it was he who unleashed what had been a subsurface and festering sense of division and latent hatred. It was he who gave the acceptance and permission for

WILLIAMS Page 42

Guest Columnist

Ben Jealous

Trump's Lies Destroyed Lives

"Do you know how it feels to have the president of the United States target you?"

Those are the words of Ruby Freeman, a Black woman and election worker in Georgia during the 2020 election. She and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss were falsely accused by Rudy Giuliani of rigging the election against Donald Trump. Their lives were virtually destroyed by the Trump team's lies.

Thanks to the public hearings being held by the House committee investigating Trump's effort to overturn the election, Americans got to hear about the racist threats that rained down on the two women after they were falsely accused. Trump supporters drove Freeman out of her home in fear for her life — and invaded the home of Moss's grandmother. They testified that they still avoid even going to the grocery store for fear of being harassed by Trump supporters.

These are just some of the harms done by Donald Trump's endless lying about the election he lost.

In the case of Freeman and Moss, two people performing an essential public service had their privacy shredded and their lives turned upside down. Other election workers were singled out, lied about and harassed.

The hearing reminded us of the alarm sounded by Gabriel Sterling, an election official in Georgia, against Trump supporters' "Stop the Steal" frenzy. A young computer technician was getting death threats based on false claims circulating among Trump's supporters. "Someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get shot, someone's

Guest Columnist

Marc H. Morial

Bring Brittney Griner Home

"For Black people keeping Griner in their prayers during this tough time, let this serve as another reminder that we should be acknowledging and accepting members within our community in all of their multitudes. Russia isn't erasing the fact that Griner is also queer; neither should we collectively. Too often in pop culture, we treat being Black and LGBTQIA as an either/or when it's BOTH for members of our community. In times like these, we're reminded that bigotry is nuanced and multidimensional. Russia has made it clear that it's after Muslims, LGBTQIA people, Black and brown people, and more. Let this serve as an opportunity to protect those among us who live in multitudes as well." — Ernest Owens

It's hard to imagine the feeling of dread Cherelle Griner experiences each day that her wife, WNBA star Brittney Griner, is wrongfully detained in a hostile nation with a long history of persecuting LGBTQ people.

When a scheduled call on their wedding anniversary last went unanswered 11 times over several hours, Cherelle was devastated. "This would have been the first time for me to actually just hear her in real time and to truly know if she's OK or to know if she's seconds away from not being in existence anymore," she told The Associated Press.

This week, as Brittney Griner's detention in Russia surpassed four months, the National Urban League joined more than 40 other civil and human rights organizations to call on President Biden and Vice President Harris to strike a deal for her release.

In a letter to the president and vice president, we acknowledged Griner as an American hero, wife, daughter, sister, teammate, anti-bullying advocate, Olympian and WNBA superstar who is enduring inhumane treatment, deprived of contact with her family. "We join Brittney's family, friends, colleagues, and loved ones in deep appreciation of your Administration's ongoing efforts to secure her freedom," we wrote. "The U.S. Government has acknowledged that Brittney is essentially a political pawn in

going to get killed," he warned. "It has to stop," Sterling demanded. But it did not stop. Trump has never stopped lying about losing the election.

Others who testified about the consequences of Trump's lies were high-ranking Republican officeholders. By now, most of us knew about the phone call Trump made to demand that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger "find" the number of votes needed to throw the election to Trump. At the public hearing, we learned more about the threats and harassment experienced by Raffensperger and his family when he refused to break the law on Trump's behalf. Some Trump supporters broke into his widowed daughter-in-law's house.

Rusty Bowers, speaker of the Arizona House, testified that Trump and Trump's attorneys urged him to abuse the power of his office to overthrow the election, while failing to provide him with any evidence of widespread voter fraud. Giuliani appealed to the fact that they were both Republicans. But Bowers refused to violate his oath to the Constitution.

In return for his courage and integ-

JEALOUS Page 42

MORIAL Page 42