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This Week in People’s History, Feb 5–11, 2025

Portside
Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis. Philly Garment Workers Shut It Down. From Bad to Worse for Unions. Hollywood Gives Racism a Big Boost. “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been . . .” Petition Denied, But Not for Long.

The Reckless Creation of Whiteness

Erin L. Thompson The Nation
In The Unseen Truth, Sarah Lewis examines how an erroneous 18th-century story about the “Caucasian race” led to a centuries of prejudice and misapprehension.

Make America 1897 Again

Jamelle Bouie and Aaron Retica Produced by Derek Arthur The New York Times
Trump, Musk, Zuckerberg and MAGA’s new Gilded Age.

Another Way Out: In Fighting Fascism, We Must Choose Our Fights Wisely

William C. Anderson Prism
We have to answer something. Who is fed, housed, given health care, safety, and security by what we’re fighting about? Does the fight we’re in lead to a change that can alter people’s lives for the better or advance us toward a revolutionary shift?

Trump’s Latest Anti-Trans Actions and How We Can Fight Back

Kelly Hayes Organizing My Thoughts
"When they're going after trans people, with their right hand they're picking the pocket of American workers, they're fleecing seniors, they're undermining unions. And this is all part of that politics of misdirection and distraction and division.”