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Dispatches From the Culture Wars – September 24, 2024

Natives and settlers: The original culture war

Karoniaktajeh Louis Hall designed this flag for the Mohawk Warrior Society in the 1980s. It has become a well-known symbol of Mohawk resistance. Credit, Ian Willms
  1. Word Drop from Trump: ‘Remigration’
  2. Scapegoating Haitians
  3. Registering Voters in Coachella Valley
  4. Inclusion, Exclusion and Social Movements
  5. Akwesasne Mohawks Stand Up to NYS
  6. “Free Hostages” Poster War
  7. Frankie Beverly and the Meaning of Black Music
  8. Election: Key States for Abortion Rights
  9. Trump’s Anti-Semitism: No More Dog Whistles
  10. Labor and the Election

 

Word Drop from Trump: ‘Remigration’

By Christopher Mathias
HuffPost

Last weekend, former President Donald Trump posted another anti-immigrant screed to Truth Social. It would have been unremarkable ― at least, graded on the Trumpian curve of extreme xenophobia ― except for one word. Many people might have glossed over his use of “remigration.” White nationalists did not.

Scapegoating Haitians

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By Ayendy Bonifacio
NACLA Report

Old racist tropes demonizing Haitians as uncivilized practitioners of barbaric or mysterious rituals have been revived, once again casting immigrants from Haiti as dangerous outsiders unworthy of protection or empathy.

Registering Voters in Coachella Valley

By Maggie Miles
The Palm Springs Post

The Courageous Resistance of the Desert is a local grassroots activist group formed in 2016 that focuses on social justice, human rights, and civic engagement initiatives like voter registration drives throughout the Coachella Valley. Through partnerships with local businesses like the Mary Pickford Theater, the group has registered more than 1,500 voters in Riverside County over the past six years.

Inclusion, Exclusion and Social Movements

By Colin Greer and Eric Laursen
CounterPunch

Malignant social movements aim to overthrow a political order built—at least notionally—on principles of inclusion and goodwill, which the movement blames for its followers’ loss of status within their societies. This takeover is seemingly inexorable, due to the failure of parties of the center and left to offer coherent alternatives—resulting in steady normalization of extreme positions.

Akwesasne Mohawks Stand Up to NYS

By Brandi Morin
The Narwhal

Today, Akwesasne elected governments in two provinces and one state negotiate with two federal, two provincial and one state government over harvesting rights, consultation and, of course, land claims. And in 1958, it was the elected Akwesasne tribal governments that filed a land claim against the State of New York, arguing the signatories to the Treaty of Paris did not represent them.

“Free Hostages” Poster War

By Solomon Brager
Jewish Currents

In the streets of New York, a few posters in particular recur: most feature young children, some depict elderly people, almost all of them Israeli citizens. I am later surprised to discover that there are posters available to print for more than 200 of those held as hostages. The poster seems designed to galvanize the public in support of the US’s unqualified funding for Israeli military action.

Frankie Beverly and the Meaning of Black Music

By Mark Anthony Neal
Medium

Virtually unknown to White audiences, even in the years after Beyonce’s cover of their signature “Before I Let Go,” Maze featuring Frankie Beverly was the closest thing that Black America had to the Grateful Dead. The band may not have been the most accomplished or even the most popular R&B band, but make no mistake, they are Black America’s band.

Election: Key States for Abortion Rights

By Giovanna DeStefanis
Feminist Majority Foundation

Since the Dobbs decision, voters in 6 states, California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio, have weighed in on constitutional amendments regarding abortion, and the side favoring access prevailed in every state. In 2024, abortion measures are on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota. 

Trump’s Anti-Semitism: No More Dog Whistles

By Matthew Rozsa
Salon

Donald Trump made antisemitic comments at a pair of Jewish-hosted events on Thursday. One might expect this to hurt his chances among Republican Jews, yet as historians explained to Salon, partisan loyalties may very well trump self-preservation among a substantial set of Jewish voters.

Labor and the Election

By Mark Gruenberg and Cameron Harrison
People’s World

The AFL-CIO prepared for this year’s election for months, identifying the top unions in every congressional district in the country to get them to mobilize members “and make sure people are being reached” with political issue messages, the labor federation’s president Liz Shuler says. She said the federation will send tens of thousands of volunteers, plus paid staffers, into the field prior to the voting.