BRANDON J. SUTTON
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In Defense of the Democratic Party

11/5/2025

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The Misplaced Blame Game

The narratives around the Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have gotten so absurd that they’ve forced me—someone currently frustrated with the party—to defend it. Somehow, in an era where Donald Trump and Republicans control the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court, it’s the Democratic Party that has become the primary destination for everyone’s frustrations, grievances, and anger.

“In a moment when Republicans control nearly every lever of power, Democrats are somehow blamed for everything wrong in the country.”

If you’re upset that Bernie Sanders (who is not a Democrat) couldn’t beat Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden in a Democratic primary, blame the DNC. If Republicans adjourn the House and shut down the government, blame the Democrats. Groceries, healthcare, and rent too high? Blame the Democrats. ICE agents terrorizing communities? Blame the Democrats.

Depending on your ideological lens, Democrats are either all-powerful political masterminds or hopelessly weak and ineffective.

Yes, Democrats Have Fallen Short

None of this is to say the Democratic Party is without fault or has fully risen to meet this moment. Merrick Garland should have held Trump accountable for his countless crimes long before the 2024 election. Democrats failed to eliminate gerrymandering, strengthen voting rights, and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Many Democrats did not speak out early enough against the genocide in Palestine. And the current Democratic resistance, led by Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, has been uneven at best.

“Democrats aren’t unpopular because Americans hate them — they’re unpopular because many Democrats are frustrated with their own party.”

A recent poll showed the party’s favorability at 28%, driven in no small part by disillusionment from its own base.

The GOP’s Collapse Goes Ignored

Lost in all the noise about Democratic shortcomings is the near-total collapse of the Republican Party as a governing institution. The GOP has become a right-wing authoritarian movement where the rule of law is optional, and power is the only goal. Trump has remade the party in his image, and they’ve embraced it.

“Republicans can’t govern — and no one expects them to.”

They can’t solve the nation’s problems, yet they escape real accountability. Meanwhile, Democrats are expected not only to govern, but to save democracy while doing it.

The Reality: Democrats Keep Winning

And yet, reports of the Democratic Party’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Just five years ago, Joe Biden won 81 million votes—the most in American history. In 2024, Kamala Harris received 75 million, only two million fewer than Trump.

Recent Democratic victories include:

·       Recapturing the Virginia governor’s mansion
·       Expanding control of the Virginia House of Delegates
·       Retaining New Jersey’s governor’s office
·       Zohran Mamdani winning NYC’s mayoral race
·       Winning statewide in Georgia for the first time in 20 years
·       Flipping seats in Mississippi, ending the GOP super-majority
·       Holding the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
·       Passing California’s Prop 50 to counter Republican gerrymandering

“When Democrats fight, they win.”

Democrats are also refusing to help Republicans raise insurance costs on millions of Americans — choosing principle over politics despite the pain it causes.

Imperfect, But The Only Pro-Democracy Party We Have

Democrats are far from perfect. The party needs new leaders, bold ideas, and a message rooted in freedom, diversity, and shared prosperity. But there is one critical truth:

“Democrats aren’t perfect — but they aren’t fascists.”

That matters.
Building the Party We Deserve

So, let’s focus on what matters: electing leaders willing to fight for every one of us — regardless of race, background, gender, or identity. Leaders who will speak truth and act boldly. If we want a Democratic Party capable of meeting this moment, then it’s on us to build it.

And the recent election results make one thing clear:
“If we build the movement and fight like it matters, we win.”
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The Punishment of Black Youth: When Black Children Aren’t Allowed to Be Children

9/25/2025

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To be born Black in America is to inherit a stereotype that hangs around our neck like a noose—tightening with every misstep, every choice, every breath. From the moment we enter this world, our innocence is doubted, our futures diminished. And for those who survive the earliest inequities, childhood itself is put on trial.

This truth resurfaced recently when the Republican-led House of Representatives, with Democratic support, passed a series of DC Crime Bills. Among them is a measure that would allow children as young as 14 to be tried as adults for certain offenses. Lawmakers claim this protects public safety, but history shows us otherwise: policies like these only reinforce a long legacy of criminalizing Black youth.

The age of 14 carries a haunting weight in Black history. On June 16, 1944, George Stinney Jr. became the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century. Convicted in just ten minutes by an all-white jury, Stinney, who was 90 pounds, had to sit on books to reach the electric chair and was put to death for a crime he did not commit. He was 14.

A decade later, another 14-year-old boy, Emmett Till, was lynched in Mississippi. Unlike Stinney, Till was not killed by the state, but it was the state’s silence, its racist courts, and its indifference that allowed his murderers to walk free. Till, who would be 84 today, never had the chance to live beyond boyhood.

The message has always been clear: Black children are denied the grace of innocence. Black girls are often viewed as less in need of care and more sexually mature than their peers. Black boys are perceived as older, angrier, more threatening even when they are the same size or age as white boys. Hairstyles, clothing, and music—mere expressions of youth, are treated as markers of criminality when they belong to Black children.

The numbers are staggering. According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice:
  • Black youth are placed in juvenile facilities at nearly five times the rate of white youth.
  • Though they make up only 15% of the nation’s youth, they account for 46% of those incarcerated.
  • In every state with at least 5,000 Black youth, they are at least 2.5 times more likely to be in custody than their white peers.

And in Washington, D.C., a city known as Chocolate City, who do we think will face the brunt of these new laws?

Shame on the lawmakers, Republican and Democrat alike, who have ignored the devastating lessons of the 1994 Crime Bill. Instead of investing in schools, health care, and safe communities, they reach again for punishment and prison cells. Instead of offering our children care, they offer cages.

If America truly cared about its youth, it would nurture them, not condemn them. But for Black children, childhood has always been conditional, innocence always revocable. The noose of stereotype and suspicion has never loosened, only changed shape. And until this country chooses to see Black children as children, that noose will continue to tighten, one generation at a time.
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Charlie Kirk and the Politics of Tragedy

9/11/2025

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Former Representative Rahm Emanuel once said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” He meant that moments of crisis provide political opportunities. After the violent assassination of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk, the Trump movement wasted no time turning tragedy into strategy, using it to inflame division and accelerate the country’s drift toward authoritarianism.

Democrats, from Barack Obama on down, quickly condemned the shooting. But their denouncements didn’t matter to Republicans intent on weaponizing grief. Within hours, right-wing commentators, lawmakers, and Trump himself blamed “the radical left.” On the House floor, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna shouted at Democrats, “Y’all caused this.” Rep. Nancy Mace piled on: “Democrats own what happened today.” At the time of this writing, no one has been arrested, and no motive has been established.

The Trump family quickly joined in. Eric Trump went on television claiming bullets were “only going one way.” On Truth Social, his father declared that the left’s rhetoric was directly responsible for Kirk’s murder: “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Trump then recounted examples of violence against conservatives: Rep. Steve Scalise’s shooting, an alleged assassination attempt against himself, and Kirk’s killing. Conveniently missing from his list were the shooting of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, the January 6th insurrection he incited, the hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the attempted kidnapping of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home. Selective outrage is the point: violence is intolerable only when it targets his side.

The truth is, Trump has long seen political violence as a tool, not a threat. From January 6th to his recent fantasies about invading Chicago “Apocalypse Now” style, he has encouraged violence when it benefits him. Kirk’s death is not being used to heal or unify it is being exploited to rally his base, silence dissent, and advance authoritarian goals.

But this is bigger than Trump. America has always been a violent nation—founded on stolen land, built on slavery, expanded through conquest, and sustained by force. At home, we tolerate mass shootings as routine; abroad, we use military might to advance our interests. Violence, in many ways, is as American as apple pie.

The country now faces a choice: keep walking the path of division and bloodshed, or elect leaders willing to lower the temperature, build bridges, and bring people together. History suggests which road America usually takes. The question now is whether it has the courage to choose differently.
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Black Joy in the Face of white supremacy

9/4/2025

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They’ve tried to kill us for centuries and failed every time. The whip, the noose, the firebombs, the drug war, mass incarceration, and police brutality were all meant to break us. Yet here we are. And not only are we here—we are joyful.

Black joy is more than happiness. It is the pride, confidence, and resilience that radiates from Black Americans despite centuries of oppression. It is knowing that our ancestors endured unspeakable evils and that their courage runs in our veins. It is the freedom to move in our Blackness with love, creativity, and strength even when the world insists that we should not exist.

That joy terrifies white supremacists. They cannot understand how we continue to thrive after every system built to destroy us has failed. Fearful of what they cannot comprehend, they punish Black Americans for the “crime” of being Black.

We’ve seen this throughout history. When Black Wall Street in Tulsa thrived, it was burned to the ground in 1921. Rosewood, Florida, suffered the same fate in 1923. Even today, whenever Black-led communities gain visibility or power, they are painted as dangerous or criminal.

This is the context for Trump and the Republican Party’s obsession with Black communities. Facing unpopularity and failure across every major issue, Trump turned to an old American tactic: criminalizing Blackness. His administration stationed federal troops in Washington, D.C., under the pretext of fighting crime even though crime rates were falling. He threatened the same in Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, and New York. The common thread? These are Black-led cities.

Modern policing itself grew out of slave patrols, designed to suppress Black freedom and joy. That same legacy continues today when over-policing replaces investment, and when Black mayors and city councils are undermined by federal intervention. Just as white mobs once torched thriving Black towns, Trump and today’s Republicans seek to destabilize Black-led cities. The goal is not safety—it is control.

And yet, here we are. Still creating, still loving, still living in joy. Black musicians express that joy in music. Black children carry it into classrooms that were never built for them. Black artists, athletes, pastors, and parents embody it daily, refusing to let the weight of white hate crush their spirit.

White supremacy only fuels Black joy, ingenuity, and survival. If slave ships, chains, lynch mobs, Jim Crow, redlining, and chain gangs could not defeat us, neither will modern attempts to demonize and suppress us.

Our joy was forged in slave cabins, strengthened through prayer, served at Sunday dinners, sung throughout our communities, and embodied in every person who rises each day to fight for freedom and equality. This country did not give us our joy—and it cannot take it away.
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The Road to Victory Runs Through Black Voters

8/14/2025

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Black voters aren’t a side note. We’re the base. And Democrats are losing us.

Eight months into Donald Trump’s second presidency, Democratic hopefuls are already angling for 2028. Governors Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Josh Shapiro, former U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and others want to be the party’s next leader. But instead of fortifying their foundation, many Democrats are chasing MAGA voters who reject everything Democrats claim to stand for.

You can’t expand your base until you protect it. And the base of the Democratic Party is Black America.
In 2024, 83% of Black voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris—down from 92% for Joe Biden in 2020 and 93% for Barack Obama in 2012. Only 59.6% of eligible Black voters cast a ballot in 2024, a 3% decrease from 2020. In total, an estimated 13.9 million Black voters stayed home. Trump won the presidency by fewer than three million votes. That drop in Black support should alarm Democrats.

Black Women

Black voters are tired of being remembered only in election season. That fatigue is why many—especially Black women, have chosen to sit out marches and protests in recent months.

While Black male support for Democrats dropped in 2024, Black women remained steadfast. They saved the country from itself in 2020 by organizing and rallying against Trump, and in 2024, they held the line--92% of Black women voted against Trump, more than any other group. Yet this crucial bloc of voters continues to be largely ignored by Democratic politicians.

Malcolm X’s warning still rings: “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person is the Black woman. The most neglected person is the Black woman.”

Since Trump’s return, the neglect has only intensified. 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs. Reproductive health restrictions, cuts to SNAP, and Medicaid will hit Black women the hardest. Attacks on public education threaten Black women—arguably the most educated demographic in America—more than any other group.

If Democrats are serious about winning, they must protect and uplift Black women, invest in Black communities, and show up because history has shown us that Black women will protect and uplift this nation in return.

The Democratic Response

Instead of courting Black voters, Democrats have responded as expected—recycling consultant-tested talking points that make the party look more willing to accommodate creeping fascism than to fight for its most vulnerable voters.

Bernie Sanders continues to criticize Vice President Harris’s campaign while ignoring the misogynistic, racist, and historic headwinds she faced. Democrats are willing to sit down with right-wing podcasters like Joe Rogan, Steve Bannon, Andrew Schulz, and Megyn Kelly but avoid platforms like Jemele Hill, Native Land and Grits and Eggs. Appealing to audiences openly hostile to Black communities won’t win elections—it will depress turnout further.

The Republican Party has made its anti-Black stance clear. Whether one likes it or not, the Democratic Party remains the only political vehicle for change for Black voters. But that relationship cannot be one-sided. Black voters need to know they matter more than MAGA voters who will never support economic justice and equality.
 
The Road Ahead

America has always tolerated Black suffering—slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, and police brutality. Under Trump, the attacks have intensified: DEI programs dismantled, the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff removed, Confederate names restored to military bases, the first Black Librarian of Congress fired, artifacts from the African American Museum targeted, Black-run cities “occupied,” and the Voting Rights Act placed under threat by the Supreme Court.

Republicans understand the importance of Black voters to the Democratic Party which is why they are constantly attacking Black communities and our civil and voting rights. Democrats need to understand that to win and expand their support among Black voters, they must invest year-round in Black neighborhoods, show up on the platforms we trust, fund Black-led organizations already mobilizing voters, and center policies for safety, jobs, health care, affordable housing, strong schools, and justice.

Black voters are tired of promises without presence and the stakes are too high for half-measures. Democrats need to show up early. Show up often. Show up for us. The candidate that shows up for Black voters will win because without Black voters, there is no victory—just ask Bernie.
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The Main Event: Hulk Hogan vs. Terry Bollea

8/1/2025

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In The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent foreshadows his own downfall when he tells Bruce Wayne (Batman), “You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.” That quote perfectly captures the arc of one-time American hero Terry Bollea—better known to the world as Hulk Hogan.

For many of us born in the 1980s and raised in the 1990s, Hulk Hogan was larger than life. He was the main event, the must-see attraction. I had Hogan action figures and clothes, even though I personally leaned more toward Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Hogan’s storylines saw him conquer seemingly indestructible foes like Andre the Giant and Zeus the Human Wrecking Machine. He headlined legendary bouts against Ric Flair, The Ultimate Warrior, and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. When he turned heel and rebranded himself as Hollywood Hogan to lead the villainous New World Order (NWO), the wrestling world nearly exploded.

Before we knew wrestling was scripted—and long before the internet gave us a behind-the-scenes view—our perception of celebrities was shaped solely by the carefully curated personas we saw on TV and in magazines. And Hogan’s persona was crystal clear: a defender of good, a patriotic force, a “Real American” hero. Bollea used that persona to launch movie roles, television appearances, and endorsement deals. Through it all, he clung tightly to that image of truth, justice, and wholesome, old-school Americana.

Then I grew up—and learned who Terry Bollea really was.

In 1994, he admitted to steroid use, which was rampant in wrestling at the time. Over the years, fellow wrestlers have accused him of sabotaging careers, abusing his creative control, and blocking unionization efforts.

And then came the racism.

Looking back, the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) regularly pushed racist caricatures and harmful stereotypes. Black wrestlers like Bad News Brown, Papa Shango, Kamala the Ugandan Giant, Akeem the African Dream, and The Nation of Domination were often presented through a distorted, offensive lens. But it wasn’t just Black wrestlers—other racial groups were exploited too. Characters like Razor Ramon, Tito Santana, and The Iron Sheik were walking stereotypes.

In that context, Terry Bollea being a racist shouldn’t have been surprising. And I don’t use the term “racist” lightly. In a leaked sex tape, Bollea was caught on camera angrily using the n-word while expressing disgust that his daughter might date a Black man. His words:

"I don't know if Brooke was fucking the black guy's son, Hogan reportedly said. “I mean, I don't have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, fucking niggers. But then, when it comes to nice people and shit, and whatever… I mean, I'd rather if she was going to fuck some nigger, I'd rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall nigger worth a hundred million dollars!" he reportedly said. “Like a basketball player! I guess we're all a little racist. Fucking nigger."

He also reportedly used the slur in a separate phone call with his son Nick in 2008. The audio was so damaging that the WWE temporarily removed Bollea from their Hall of Fame. Bollea later blamed his upbringing for his racist beliefs and went on an apology tour.

As if that weren’t enough, Bollea publicly aligned himself with Donald Trump, endorsing him in 2024 and speaking at the Republican National Convention that year. That alignment fits neatly with the old “Real American” persona he embodied—because one of the central tenets of MAGA ideology is exclusionary nationalism rooted in racism. It's a belief system that suggests some people don’t deserve to be citizens, don’t deserve rights, services, or opportunities—simply because of their skin color.

In Florida, where Bollea has long resided, Governor Ron DeSantis went so far as to declare August 1st “Hulk Hogan Day.” Flags at the state capitol were flown at half-mast—not to honor a fallen public servant, but a fictional character. Let’s be clear: honoring Hulk Hogan is akin to honoring Batman. Neither is real. And Terry Bollea, the man behind the mask, doesn’t deserve such reverence.

Bollea’s rise and fall is a cautionary tale about celebrity worship in the internet age. When we idolize public figures based solely on polished images, we set ourselves up for disappointment. None of these people are perfect—nor should we expect them to be. But if we stop worshipping celebrity personas as though they’re moral leaders, we won’t feel so betrayed when their real selves are exposed.

Let Hogan vs. Bollea serve as a final reminder: the image isn’t the man. And the man was never the hero we believed him to be.
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Cultural Gatekeeping and the Black Cookout

5/28/2025

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The days are getting longer, the heat is turning up, schools are letting out, and Memorial Day has passed which can only mean one thing: summer is here. And in the Black community, that means one thing above all else—cookout season.

Nearly everyone loves a good cookout—it’s practically a universal language, but there’s something undeniably special about the Black cookout. It’s more than just grilled meat and good music. It’s the shit talking at the spades table, kids running and laughing, those shady cousins you only see once a year congregating with uncles sipping from red cups, while churchgoing aunties patrol the food table. And of course, someone is always asking, “Who made the potato salad?” It’s a vibe, a ritual, a living piece of our cultural legacy.

As Shannon Dawson noted in her article “We Outside!: A Brief History of The Black People Cookouts”:
“In preparation for the cookout, enslaved people were often tasked with all the hard work to keep the fire going—digging trenches, monitoring coals, chopping wood, and cooking the meat. Historians believe this is why the American pastime is so deeply rooted in Black culture today.”

From slavery to segregation to now, the Black cookout has remained a vital space of freedom, celebration, and resistance. It’s such a cultural touchstone that it’s made its way into popular language. These days, when a non-Black person shows rhythm, drops some bars, or nails a dance move, some Black folks like to say that those individuals are “invited to the cookout.” It’s a kind of symbolic acceptance—a cultural nod of approval.

But here’s the thing: not everyone deserves an invitation.

Cookouts, historically, weren’t just about fun, they were necessary. Excluded from white spaces, Black Americans made the outdoors our refuge, a place to gather safely and freely. The cookout became a sacred space, a few hours to just be. No code-switching. No masks. Just music, laughter, joy, and freedom.

That’s why the casual use of “invited to the cookout” to describe anyone who can mimic our style feels off. Not everyone who imitates Black culture is a friend or ally. Some are simply using it for clout. We know them well—culture vultures. People who love the aesthetics of Blackness but want no part of its pain, history, or struggle. Folks who want our rhythm but not our blues.

Take, for instance, the “Lady in the Bathroom,” a TikTok creator who gained popularity dancing to hip-hop tracks. She built a platform on the back of Black culture—only to later reveal herself as a Trump supporter. A man who has disrespected Black communities, history, and movements at every turn. That’s not allyship that’s exploitation.

Or consider a recent moment online when someone praised a white police officer rapping in his car, saying he was “invited to the cookout.” I asked a simple question: “Who did he vote for?” The backlash was immediate. I was told cookouts aren't political (clearly by folks who’ve never been to a real Black cookout). One commenter even claimed that I was disinvited to the cookout because I questioned the intentions of the officer.

We must be better gatekeepers of our culture.

Look at what happened when Beyoncé dropped a country album—a genre Black musicians created. She was met with resistance and told she wasn’t “country enough.” Even Shaboozey, whose music is steeped in country roots was overlooked at the Country Music Awards despite chart-topping success. They kept us out of a space we helped build.

Meanwhile, we keep letting folks in. Black people are among the most welcoming, forgiving communities in America, likely because we know the pain of exclusion so deeply. But that openness has made our culture vulnerable to exploitation. People profit off our slang, our style, our sound—while refusing to acknowledge our contributions or stand with us in our struggles. Even some of our own have sold out, weaponizing or commercializing Black culture to make a dime.

I’m not saying we should deny others the chance to appreciate or enjoy our culture. What I’m saying is we need to be more discerning about who we welcome in—and why.

Because the cookout is more than just a vibe. It’s our sanctuary. It’s where we pass down stories, build community, and express our full selves without apology. So no, not everyone gets a plate. Not everyone belongs at the table. Especially not those who put raisins in their potato salad—and certainly not those who exploit our culture while disrespecting our people.

Let’s protect the cookout. Let’s protect us.
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Faith, Silence, and the Christian Church in America

5/1/2025

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I grew up in church—my mother made sure my siblings and I were there every Sunday. We were taught about God’s love, mercy, and the importance of following His Son, Jesus. Emulating Jesus meant treating others as we wished to be treated and loving our neighbors as ourselves. The Sermon on the Mount, and its lessons of kindness, empathy, charity, and forgiveness, shaped our moral compass.

As an adult, I sought a deeper understanding of those teachings and enrolled in seminary, where I earned a divinity degree in Biblical studies. Seminary was enriching—but also unsettling. The more I learned, the more I realized I had absorbed flawed doctrine. In trying to shed bad theology and uncover the true nature of God, I was met not with clarity, but with disappointment.

I became disillusioned with the mainstream Christian church in America. At a time when we are witnessing unprecedented levels of lawlessness, corruption, greed, and intolerance, the church should be the loudest voice for justice. Instead, the church has responded with deafening silence—or worse, complicity.

To be fair, there are some churches and leaders who are courageously speaking out. Pastor Zach Lambert of Restore Austin preaches an inclusive Gospel. Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church teaches a Gospel rooted in social justice. Dr. Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has led a boycott of Target in protest of its anti-diversity policies, echoing the activism of past civil rights leaders. And who could forget the bravery of Mariann Edgar Budde, who publicly rebuked Donald Trump for his lack of compassion. Yet these leaders are the exception, not the rule.

Most prominent church leaders—the ones with national platforms—have chosen silence. Some support Trump and his policies. Others fear upsetting congregants. Many hide behind claims of being “nonpolitical.” Yet white evangelicals overwhelmingly voted for and supports a man whose policies and rhetoric contradict nearly every teaching of Christ. While they claim to stand for “Christian values,” many uphold a version of Christianity that reinforces white supremacy and punishes the marginalized.

This is not the faith of Christ. Jesus stood with the poor, the oppressed, the outcast. He did not shrink from injustice—He confronted it.

American Christianity has long fallen short of its calling. It was self-proclaimed Christians who justified slavery, committed genocide against Indigenous peoples, and enacted racist laws. Today, many of the same forces target Black and brown Americans, attack LGBTQ+ communities, and strip away the rights and dignity of immigrants, women, and the poor. All while claiming divine authority.

If your faith is threatened by immigrants seeking a better life, by women making personal health decisions, by the teaching of Black history, by pronouns, or by how others live and love—then it’s not your faith you’re protecting. It’s your prejudice.

This is a moment when the church should be a force for justice and love, ensuring that all of God’s children live free from fear and discrimination. Instead, those in power claim persecution as a cover to enact cruel, discriminatory policies.

And this is why more people are leaving the church. They want no part in a religion that has come to symbolize hate rather than hope.

If the mainstream Christian church refuses to step up and speak out, then we, as children made in the image of God, must carry that mantle. We must continue to work and fight for those in marginalized communities. We must fight for a world where everyone—Black, brown, yellow, white, straight, trans, immigrant—is free to live fully and abundantly. That’s the Gospel. That’s the call.

Let us show the world that we are followers of God not by how much we condemn, but by how deeply we love.

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The Democrats Need a Wartime Consigliere

3/7/2025

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One of my favorite movies is The Godfather (Parts I and II—we don’t talk about III). When Michael Corleone takes over the family business from his father, Don Vito Corleone, he replaces his father’s consigliere (senior advisor), Tom Hagen. Michael tells Tom that he is not a "wartime consigliere… [because] things may get rough." Tom was capable and had served honorably, but he was not suited for the battles ahead. Today, the Democratic Party finds itself in need of wartime consiglieres—individuals who are willing to confront Republicans head-on and who are unafraid to champion Democratic ideals.

Democratic Weakness in the Face of Republican Extremism

The current Democratic Party is listless. As a lifelong Democrat and someone who believes that government can be used to improve people’s lives, it is frustrating to watch the party I love shrink in the face of Trump and radical Republicans instead of fighting for democracy and Democratic values.
 
After an election loss, every political party takes time to regroup and strategize a way forward. However, the Democrats’ postmortem of the 2024 election focused more on finger-pointing than on acknowledging the historical challenges stacked against Vice President Kamala Harris, particularly the racial and gender biases she faced. Many within the party concluded that the lesson to be learned was to move to the right, attempting to attract Republican voters—voters who had demonstrated they would rather support a man they likened to Adolf Hitler than a Democrat.
 
Democratic leadership has failed to grasp that the Republican Party is no longer the party of fiscal responsibility (if it ever was), compassionate conservatism, or democracy. The modern Republican Party is fueled by grievance, cruelty, hatred, and racism. It is singularly focused on gaining and wielding power. Republicans are not good-faith actors and have no interest in maintaining a multiracial democracy. In fact, one could argue that they do not believe in democracy at all, as evidenced by their voter suppression laws, the January 6th insurrection, and the attempted election theft of a state Supreme Court justice seat in North Carolina. Yet, Democrats continue to pretend that there is a way to work with a party that has long abandoned compromise.

Trump’s National Address: A Missed Opportunity for Resistance

Consider the Democratic strategy regarding Trump’s cabinet confirmations. Instead of painting these extremists as unfit and dangerous for the offices they were nominated for, Democrats joined Republicans in confirming Trump’s early cabinet picks, hoping that some Republicans would later vote against the more extreme nominees. Spoiler alert: that strategy failed. Now, we have an unqualified Secretary of Defense whose own mother called him an “Abuser of Women”, a Russian sympathizer overseeing national intelligence, an anti-vaxxer in charge of Health and Human Services, and a weak and ineffective bootlicker as Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Republicans have already stated they will not work with Democrats on immigration, even though Democrats voted for the Laken Riley Act, which facilitates discrimination against migrants.
 
I thought Democratic fecklessness had reached rock bottom during the confirmation hearings, but I was wrong. The lowest point came during Trump’s national address—an address riddled with lies and hatred. Instead of boycotting the speech, Democratic leadership encouraged members to maintain decorum, even as Trump and Republicans continue to shred the Constitution. Only Representative Al Green demonstrated any real resistance to Trump’s address before being escorted out of the chamber. Then, 10 House Democrats joined all House Republicans in voting to censure Green—yet another display of Democratic spinelessness.
 
While some Democrats walked out and a handful skipped Trump’s address altogether, the majority remained, lending legitimacy to a lawless president. To make matters worse, in their official Democratic response to Trump’s address, Senator Elissa Slotkin invoked Ronald Reagan to try to shame Republicans, as if anyone today truly cares about Reagan—the very man who laid the groundwork for the destruction we are witnessing now.

A Bold Democratic Agenda

As corporations, insurers, and the Trump administration exploit more and more Americans, Democrats should be running on a care economy—an economy where Americans have access to universal childcare, free school meals, paid family leave, an expanded child tax credit, free community college, affordable at-home care for seniors, and Medicare for All.
 
Democrats should also champion federal judicial reform, including advocating for expanding the Supreme Court with term limits, implementing an ethics code for justices, and calling out bad actors who stand idly by as their constituents lose jobs and services due to the decisions of unelected bureaucrats.

Democrats must stand firmly for democracy at home and abroad—supporting our NATO allies and Ukraine, advocating for the regulation of big tech, and pushing for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy. They should not collaborate with Republicans on legislation in the House and must filibuster every bill in the Senate even if it leads to a government shutdown (unless Republicans are willing to negotiate in good faith). Legal action against this administration should continue wherever possible, alongside strong support for independent journalists and platforms like Meidas Touch and Democracy Docket, as well as grassroots organizations like Indivisible.

Democrats need to be bold, build from the ground up, and stand for something—unapologetically and consistently—just as Republicans do, regardless of criticism from detractors or the compromised mainstream media.
​
A Call to Action

People want to support candidates and a party that are willing to fight, not ones who back down in the face of a bully. Some Democrats, like Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Maxwell Frost, Representative Jasmine Crockett, Senator Chris Murphy, and Senator Elizabeth Warren have risen to the occasion. However, far too many—including House and Senate leadership—have shrunk in this moment.

Democrats, it’s time to step up. Prove that you’re ready for the fight ahead. Energize the base, inspire freedom-loving Americans, and act. If you don’t, this country will be sleeping with the fishes.
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The GOP Assault on Black Education Wants to Take Us Back to Separate and Unequal

3/5/2025

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Malcolm X once said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” It is no wonder, then, that political movements seeking to revert society to a time of segregation and inequality often target educational opportunities for Black students, attempting to deny them that proverbial passport.

Separate and Unequal

In just his second week in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating that officials develop plans to eliminate federal funding for schools he claimed were indoctrinating students with “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.” 
This vague language has left school districts and universities scrambling to interpret the order. Even Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, was unable to definitively say whether public schools offering African American studies courses would lose federal funding.
This is part of a broader effort by conservative politicians to erase Black history and limit educational opportunities for Black students — including nonbinary students. 

In 2023, Florida banned an AP African American History course, claiming it indoctrinates students. The state also revised its educational standards to suggest that some Black people benefited from slavery. In 2023, Arkansas declared that AP African American Studies would not count toward graduation requirements, and in 2024, South Carolina went so far as to cancel the course altogether. In total, since 2021, 44 states have introduced bills, and at least 18 have passed laws restricting or outright banning Black studies and related literature. With Trump’s latest decree, this will only get worse.

The assault on Black education is not confined to K-12 schools; colleges and universities are also under attack. In 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, effectively ending race-conscious admissions policies which were put in place to combat systemic discrimination. That same ruling is now being used to challenge minority scholarships. Since the decision, Black enrollment at some top colleges and universities has declined.

Discrimination in education is not new for Black Americans. Enslaved Africans were forbidden from learning to read and write, and even after emancipation, Black schools remained underfunded and neglected throughout the Jim Crow era. Today, majority-Black school districts continue to suffer from severe underfunding, significantly impacting the quality of education Black students receive.

HBCUs: A Legacy of Excellence

The persistent lack of educational opportunities for Black Americans led to the establishment of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Richard Humphreys established the first HBCU (the African Institute now Cheyney University) in 1837 to teach free African Americans reading, writing, and basic math. The majority of HBCUs were established during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era from 1865 – 1900. These institutions provided higher education access to the formerly enslaved and their descendants. 

HBCUs have long been hubs of Black academic excellence, producing Civil Rights leaders such as Stokely Carmichael (Howard), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Morehouse), Ella Baker (Shaw), and Bayard Rustin (Cheyney). They have also educated Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (Howard), Vice President Kamala Harris (Howard), Hall of Fame athletes, prominent lawmakers, and award-winning entertainers. Additionally, HBCUs have been a training ground for Black activists.

Today, HBCUs are as crucial as ever. While they represent only 3% of all colleges and universities, they enroll 10% of all Black students and produce 20% of all Black graduates. Additionally, 70% of Black physicians have attended HBCUs.

Despite their critical role in Black education, HBCUs face significant challenges. Sixteen of the country’s 19 historically Black land-grant universities have been underfunded by their respective states by a combined total of $13 billion. Only two states, Ohio and Delaware, have properly funded their HBCUs. 
The funding disparities range from $172 million to as high as $2.14 billion compared to predominantly white institutions. In 2024, the Tennessee state legislature took control of Tennessee State University by stripping its board of authority. In January of this year, the Governor of Indiana revoked funding from the state’s only predominantly Black university. As more Black students turn to HBCUs for their education, these institutions will likely continue to face increased scrutiny and political attacks.

As a proud graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), I can attest that my time on campus was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. As a Black American, I know that much of my life will be spent navigating predominantly white spaces, but my years at FAMU allowed me to be surrounded by Black excellence. 

I studied alongside Black scholars who became teachers, doctors, activists, lawyers, lawmakers, scientists, theologians, and business executives. FAMU provided me with a safe space to mature and discover my purpose. For a Black man in America, there is nothing more important than understanding one’s identity and purpose.

HBCU campuses are not just safe spaces for Black Americans — they are inclusive communities welcoming to individuals of all races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Their mission remains the same: to educate and produce graduates who are committed to positively impacting their communities and the world.

The Fight for Black Education Continues

Civil Rights leader Marcus Garvey once said, “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.” Racism and white supremacy attempt to convince Black students that they have no past, no origin, and that they are nothing more than the harmful stereotypes perpetuated in the media. 

The current anti-Black movement seeks to erase Black history and culture, but these efforts are not new. As we have done in the past, HBCU graduates will continue to lead the fight against lawmakers attempting to erase our history. 

Organizers like FAMU graduate Marie Rattigan are stepping up to confront this challenge and fight for what we have always demanded: to be treated with dignity, to have our history and struggles acknowledged, and for America to fulfill its promises of freedom, justice, and opportunity. We will stand strong, because our roots run deep, and we refuse to be denied a future that is just, prosperous, and equitable.
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