Tuesday, October 22, 2024
New to URL Media? Subscribe below to get our weekly newsletters.
A View From the Ground
News and information about politics, government, civic participation and engagement from URL Media's network of Black and Brown publishers.
Good evening. We’re covering stories about the political discourse surrounding Black male voters, a Virginia-registered foundation spreading disinformation about a border invasion, the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 and more.
Plus, URL Media has been at the forefront of issues affecting Black and Brown voters this election season all year, and we continue to closely follow matters related to the big election, just two weeks away. If you’re looking to better understand policy issues or how to cast your vote (on Election Day and before), we have a dedicated section on our homepage and Instagram to help you navigate this current election season.
On November 30, 1898, white armed rioters set fire to The Daily Record office and killed between 60 to 300 Black people that day. Credit: Wikipedia
Trump’s long standing campaign against immigrants echoes historic white supremacist tirades: Milton Coleman's opinion story for The Oklahoma Eagle draws a striking parallel between Donald Trump’s current anti-immigrant rhetoric and the racist propaganda that fueled the 1898 Wilmington insurrection. The Wilmington insurrection of 1898 was a violent coup d'état in Wilmington, N.C., carried out by white supremacists in a majority-Black city, with a legitimately elected Fusionist biracial government. It is considered one of the few successful instances in U.S. history where a duly elected government was overthrown by force.
Trump’s inflammatory remarks, including claims that immigrants are “animals” and have inherently "bad genes," echo the dehumanizing language used by white supremacists during that violent coup. Trump's tactics of blaming immigrants, particularly from African countries, resemble the racial targeting seen in Wilmington, where African Americans were demonized and stripped of their rights.
"Demonizing those from countries, nations and communities of color is a central tenet of the Trumpist political creed – a veritable ideology that is broader and deeper than the person, the party or any candidate in next month’s elections," he writes.
Border911: The misinformation network profiting off the ‘Invasion’ narrative: palabra., and a team of journalists from Lighthouse Reports, the Texas Observer and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, presents this investigation of Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who is leading Border911, a Virginia-registered nonprofit foundation promoting that the U.S.-Mexico border is under invasion and the Biden-Harris Administration are admitting “illegal aliens” so that their party will “be in power for years to come.” The outlets report that Homan and his peers could have prominent posts if Trump wins next month — and they say the retired federal employee is helping lay the groundwork for challenging the election if he doesn’t.
“Trump comes back in January, I’ll be on his heels … and I will run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen,” Homan vowed during a July immigration panel in Washington, D.C. “They ain’t seen shit yet. Wait until 2025.”
Border911’s policy agenda foreshadows Trump’s most extreme immigration proposals, which include mass deportations and deploying troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. (Homan’s foundation is also connected to the American Project, a 501(c)(4) group that is a major funder of election conspiracy efforts.)
The nonprofit has already had an impact in Arizona, they report, where several Border911-backed bills have been introduced, as well as a Republican-backed controversial November ballot initiative that would formally declare a border invasion and empower state and local officials to become immigration enforcers.
Plus: Armed in “Gun Paradise” (palabra.)
There is an uptick in political discourse on Black male voters: In the final stretch of this high-stakes election, Harris has been taken to task by political commentators and potential voters regarding how her presidency would provide Black men with the tools to build wealth, support their families and lead in their communities. In last week’s civics newsletter, we shared stories from Capital B, TANTV and Watch The Yard about Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan for Black voters through the Democratic candidate’s "Opportunity Agenda for Black Men" platform — an economic proposal that includes loan forgiveness, cryptocurrency regulation and the launch of a National Health Equity Initiative focused on addressing health challenges (e.g., sickle cell disease, diabetes, prostate cancer) affecting Black men.
With this nine-page proposal, the Harris-Walz campaign aims to show Black male voters that their concerns are seen, heard, and valued by the administration if they win the election. The proposal comes after months of polls and headline stories suggest that Black men have been drifting away from the Democratic Party. And with just two weeks left until Election Day, some opine the proposal ignores the realities of capitalism and that the Democratic presidential elect and her running mate should instead craft a platform that tackles the realities of racial capitalism.
"What do you [make] of this political moment?" was the question posed by WURD Radio host Dr. James Peterson during his interview with Maryland Governor Wes Moore on the airwaves last week.
Have you had a chance to listen to their conversation?
More from WURD Radio 🎧 →
Your Voice Matters: Affordable housing, caretaking, and immigration: As Election Day approaches, URL Media partner Epicenter NYC and PBS station THIRTEEN WNET have been gathering voter concerns on issues like affordable housing, childcare, elder care and immigration in their digital series “Your Voice Matters.”
The first episode highlights the rising cost of living in New York City, burdening residents struggling to pay rent. Another episode focuses on the financial strain of childcare for families before no-cost pre-K begins at age 3, as well as the rising costs of elder care.
Immigration, central to New York City’s identity, is another critical topic. The series examines candidates’ immigration policies and reports from neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, where large migrant shelters have recently opened, and Queens, where Epicenter NYC connects with a basketball team looking to make immigrant children find community.
The Postcard: A grandma supports democracy (India Currents)
Why local voter turnout in Trenton matters more than ever (Trenton Journal)
Check out our Currency of Impact dashboard, a new tool designed to revolutionize media buying conversations and put community impact on the foreground. Dive into our impact tracker and case studies highlighting demonstrated impact across the URL Media network. This project was co-produced with the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Visit it here.
