It’s been 174 years since the famous abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, issued his scathing address on July 4 celebrations. The nation couldn’t handle the truth then, and it cannot handle it now. The Trump regime is giving us a harsh reality check as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday.

I often boast of being a child of the 50’s and 60’s. That’s because those years, which included the compelling Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, helped to shape my political consciousness. But I also have to admit I was a child of the Cold War and the Vietnam War, which informed my developing worldview.

Our ancestors gifted us with the concept of Sankofa, which translates to “go back and get it.” This means that we must examine the past to inform, build, and guide our future.

In Shelby v. Holder in 2013 and Louisiana v. Callais in 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court took two machete swipes at the Voting Rights Act of 1965, gutting the key elements that protect voting rights for African Americans. Black citizens wonder aloud as to why there needs to be special provisions and reauthorizations for a right that supposedly comes with U.S. citizenship.

Repression, racism, and war are features of imperialism that have consistently raised their ugly heads under the trump administration.

Today, we find ourselves without voter protections and potentially just a legislative action or court ruling away from no right to vote.

Madison residents were recently urged to take shelter from a tornado. This is a growing warning for those of us in the Midwest and Northeast. It is a warning connected to our contributions to global warming and flawed policy decisions by elected officials.

Almost daily, the MAGA monsters have violated or destroyed some part of the cultural, political, or financial fabric of this infantile democracy. By doing so, certain sectors are more impacted than others. Ultimately, the sum of the attacks affects all of us.

Opponents of the hostile, undemocratic state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) have highlighted the police budget as another gangsta tactic used to get its way.