Dispatches From the Culture Wars — April 21, 2026
- Time to Tax the Rich
- May Day Deal for Chicago Schools and Teachers Union
- World War Trump
- Knights of Columbus Choose Leo Over Trump
- Trump Pulls the Teamsters’ Leash
- Reclaiming Land in the USA
- Dairy Industry vs Migrants in Vermont
- Islamophobia Today
- Organizers Address Sexual Violence in Movement Spaces
- Class Politics and Cultural Recognition
By Lawrence S. Wittner, Z
Campaigns for state tax-the-rich legislation are flourishing in California, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia, and have already succeeded in getting such legislation adopted in Massachusetts and Washington. Proposals range from increasing the tax rate for high annual income earners, to instituting a wealth tax on the richest Americans, to a combination of both.
May Day Deal for Chicago Schools and Teachers Union
By Sara Tenenbaum and Megan De Mar, CBS News
The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools have agreed to use May Day for a “day of civic action” for students and teachers. In a statement, CTU said the district has agreed to “transform the school day to one focused on civic engagement, student voice, and standing up to the White House’s attacks targeting our school community.”
World War Trump
• Forever War By Sarah Lazare, In These Times
• Domestic War By Dawn Marie Paley, NACLA
• Coalition Building By David C Turner III and Eric Morrison-Smith, The Guardian
• Winning By Scot Nakagawa, The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook
Knights of Columbus Choose Leo Over Trump
By Tyler Arnold, National Catholic Reporter
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly noted that many Catholics and others “have been deeply disappointed by the disparaging comments directed at Pope Leo XIV” by Trump, and that Leo “is not a politician — he is the vicar of Christ, entrusted with proclaiming the Gospel and shepherding souls.”
Trump Pulls the Teamsters’ Leash
By Danny Katch, The Indypedent
Last month, members of Teamsters Local 814 in Brooklyn passed a resolution that condemned the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and called for the abolition of ICE. Within weeks, Local 814 called an “emergency meeting” that overturned the anti-ICE resolution on grounds that the original result was the result of improper “intimidation.”
By Melissa Hellmann, The Guardian
Since its founding in 2020, the Bipoc Intentional Community Council has seen “a back-to-the-land movement”, said board member Crystal Byrd Farmer. The non-profit supports Black and brown people in creating intentional communities through providing funding, workshops on creating non-profits or land trusts, and connecting members to others who want to live in community.
Dairy Industry vs Migrants in Vermont
By Austyn Gaffney, The Guardian
As Vermont’s $5.4bn dairy industry has consolidated and farm family labor has disappeared, workers without permanent legal status have become indispensable to the dairy business, which comprises more than half of the state’s agricultural economy. But the state has refused to codify rights for any of the state’s 8,300 farm workers, including roughly 1,000 undocumented workers.
By Ryan Suto and Heba Mohammad, Current Affairs
American Muslims, Arab Americans, and other communities viewed only through the lens of national security have long dealt with being made to feel like guests in our own country. Racism absolutely plays a role in manifestations of anti-Muslim bigotry, compounding the impact of prejudice.
Organizers Address Sexual Violence in Movement Spaces
By Victoria Valenzuela, Waging Nonviolence
Within movements, there is sub-movement to address sexual harm in organizing spaces. Many people who have done this work say a culture of putting the cause above oneself, or not wanting to make the movement look bad, results in movements becoming spaces rife with abuse. However, there are people who are working to empower survivors.
Class Politics and Cultural Recognition
By Evelina Johansson Wilén, Jacobin
Capitalism is only too happy to accommodate and absorb cultural challenges that don’t alter its foundations. Without economic transformations, the gains of identity-based politics are narrow — and reversible.