Resisting White Supremacy: A Long Arc Toward Liberation
By Jeremie Greer and Emanuel Nieves
Dear Community,
Ten days ago, a devout white supremacist assumed the office of President of the United States. Through our sadness and disappointment, we are reminded that Donald Trump is not the first white supremacist to occupy the White House. We are also reminded that the alarming and dizzying array of actions he has taken in such a short time — declaring a national emergency at the Southern Border, eliminating DEI initiatives across government, targeting the trans community, ending birthright citizenship, making expansionist threats to international partners, abdicating our responsibility for advancing a cleaner environment, enacting a mass deportation program designed to instill fear and chaos (potentially reaching a half a million people a year), pardoning January 6 defendants, and pausing all federal grants and loans — are not aberrations of our current political and economic realities. Rather, they are manifestations and continuations of a long arc of oppression, built on the theft, exclusion, and exploitation of Black and Brown people for a small group of elite individuals, families, and corporations to amass wealth and power.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. In the months and years ahead, we can expect to see more attacks chipping away at fundamental rights, needs, and guarantees that have long been with us, particularly in times of need. We can also expect Trump to pursue a second round of tax cuts aimed at showering the elite with trillions in new benefits. These will be funded directly from our pockets through potentially trillions in increased costs on goods due to his soon-to-be-implemented tariffs, as well as cuts to critical programs and supports. And, unsurprisingly, we can also expect corporations to grow and further consolidate their power over the economy — and their owners to see their wealth skyrocket even more.
Yet, even with all of these headwinds, at Liberation in a Generation, we’ve adopted the teachings of Norma Wong and her Long Arc Strategy. Our Long Arc Strategy seeks to dismantle the Oppression Economy built by white supremacists and replace it with a Liberation Economy built by people of color. In the face of last week’s disappointment, we must, as Norma encourages, be good ancestors. We choose to fight (hopefully with you!) the long arc battle to deliver liberation to the next generation.