Beyond the Messy Truth by Van Jones

Author:Van Jones [Jones, Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2017-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

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*1 In the wake of the civil-rights movement that dismantled Jim Crow segregation laws, Republicans developed what they called the Southern Strategy, which Richard Nixon popularized during his 1968 and 1972 campaigns. The Southern Strategy utilized a backlash method of bringing together Southern white conservative voters to realign the party. In effect, this racialized strategy galvanized white Southern voters.

*2 Pepe the Frog was a harmless cartoon associated with typical frat-boy culture—playing video games, smoking pot, eating pizza—in 2008. Over the course of many years, Pepe evolved into a symbol of hate, his smug expression the perfect canvas for racial invective and Hitler costume changes. Now recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate symbol, Pepe’s use on sites like 4chan, Reddit, Imgur, and Tumblr promotes racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist, and anti-LGBTQ sentiments.

*3 During Donald Trump’s campaign, he encouraged his supporters to “knock the crap out of” protestors—often black protestors. In fact, Trump himself said he would cover the legal costs at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, a promise he would later rescind when white supremacist Matthew Heimbach faced an assault-and-battery suit. What’s more, the Ku Klux Klan has been emboldened by Trump. Will Quigg, KKK’s California Grand Dragon, told 60 Minutes, “With Donald Trump as our president, it has given the white people, especially the white Christian people, a voice.” Pastor Thomas Robb, a KKK member, said that Donald Trump’s election has given white people “the courage to be more bold,” and Robb’s daughter, Rachel Pendergraft, also a KKK member, confirmed, “He helped legitimize this message.”

*4 During Reconstruction in the nineteenth century, black men and women who were former slaves now seeking paid employment were suddenly seen as competition by white workers, especially poor whites. By the turn of the century, Jim Crow laws were being enacted to protect white economic interests, using race as a factor to segregate black Americans and block them from gaining more political and economic freedoms.

*5 As I finalize the pages of this book, my phone alerts me that the cop responsible for the murder of Philando Castile, the unarmed black man whose murder was broadcast on Facebook Live by his brave and terrified girlfriend, was acquitted of all charges. Castile, when he was pulled over in his car, told the cop he was reaching for his wallet. He was shot and killed anyway—and the cop who murdered him was cleared of all charges. Castile’s family left the courtroom barely able to hold themselves up, so heavy was their grief. Castile is remembered by the students at the Montessori school where he worked as a cafeteria worker and was beloved by all.

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