As a person raised in FL with deep roots in the state (my Black ancestors fought with the Seminoles in 2 wars against the US) I am so pleased you wrote this piece. The US govt’s use of the sacred Everglades to dehumanize and kill is not new and well-established. I appreciate the deep dive into the history of the US using the land to advance its racist agendas. I would also argue that SW Florida has a long history of being full of vile and racist Sundown towns. Paul Ortiz’s book, Emancipation betrayed : the hidden history of Black organizing and white violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the bloody election of 1920, provides an excellent look at Jim Crow in SW Florida.
Great post by Elly and comment from Kim d. I really appreciate all the history and the details.
In 2006 to 2009 I was part of a campaign against an immigrant family prison near Austin, Texas – that in retrospect looked like heaven compared to Alligator Alcatraz. With a combination of legal action, public protest, and lots of publicity, we won improved conditions within the prison such as more education time for the children, more activities, more playtime outdoors, ending the use of prison uniforms. In 2009 we got the Obama administration to let the families with children out. We thought we had ended Immigrant family detention for good! But then in 2014, the government quietly opened a new family detention facility in an out-of-the-way location in Artesia, New Mexico. Since then there’s been a proliferation of all kinds of immigrant detention facilities around the country with bunches of them in Texas. Some have really bad conditions – but the second Trump administration is hell bent on creating camps of the most unbelievable cruelty possible.
Terrific piece, Elly. I'm sure that if you ask around, you'll find some steelworker comrades from Beaver County and Aliquippa nearby. We joke there are enough of them around there that we could have high school reunion parties. But invite them to your ranks, and give them a hello from me.
Thank you for posting this report.Trump ripped the mask off and exposed the ugly irrational truth of patriarchal white surpremist "Christian" ultranationalism. Instead of laying back, the anti MAGA majority is pushing back in all sorts of ways. This hopefully will congeal into a real united front that can contend for governing power at the municipal, state, and national scales, unencumbered by establishment democrats despised by the base.
Excellent article.
As a person raised in FL with deep roots in the state (my Black ancestors fought with the Seminoles in 2 wars against the US) I am so pleased you wrote this piece. The US govt’s use of the sacred Everglades to dehumanize and kill is not new and well-established. I appreciate the deep dive into the history of the US using the land to advance its racist agendas. I would also argue that SW Florida has a long history of being full of vile and racist Sundown towns. Paul Ortiz’s book, Emancipation betrayed : the hidden history of Black organizing and white violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the bloody election of 1920, provides an excellent look at Jim Crow in SW Florida.
Knocked that outta the park. Thank you for such a worthwhile addition to the post
❤️🙏🏻
Great post by Elly and comment from Kim d. I really appreciate all the history and the details.
In 2006 to 2009 I was part of a campaign against an immigrant family prison near Austin, Texas – that in retrospect looked like heaven compared to Alligator Alcatraz. With a combination of legal action, public protest, and lots of publicity, we won improved conditions within the prison such as more education time for the children, more activities, more playtime outdoors, ending the use of prison uniforms. In 2009 we got the Obama administration to let the families with children out. We thought we had ended Immigrant family detention for good! But then in 2014, the government quietly opened a new family detention facility in an out-of-the-way location in Artesia, New Mexico. Since then there’s been a proliferation of all kinds of immigrant detention facilities around the country with bunches of them in Texas. Some have really bad conditions – but the second Trump administration is hell bent on creating camps of the most unbelievable cruelty possible.
Terrific piece, Elly. I'm sure that if you ask around, you'll find some steelworker comrades from Beaver County and Aliquippa nearby. We joke there are enough of them around there that we could have high school reunion parties. But invite them to your ranks, and give them a hello from me.
Thank you for posting this report.Trump ripped the mask off and exposed the ugly irrational truth of patriarchal white surpremist "Christian" ultranationalism. Instead of laying back, the anti MAGA majority is pushing back in all sorts of ways. This hopefully will congeal into a real united front that can contend for governing power at the municipal, state, and national scales, unencumbered by establishment democrats despised by the base.
Great piece of advocacy reporting!
Thank you so much Elly for sharing the history we need to know that amplifies the fight we must make against this vicious racist regime.