History Being Made...and Erased
But I Digress...February 2026
Today marks the beginning of Black History Month, although as I prepared this newsletter, I wasn’t certain if the current administration has cancelled it.
We are living in surreal times. As a resident of Minnesota and former long-time resident of Minneapolis, I fear my capacity to tolerate what’s been happening here and nationally is approaching its limit.
Is this what death by a thousand cuts looks like?
In March 2025, the President issued an Executive Order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which you can read HERE. Warning: you’ll get a pop up that says “WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN AGE!” I recently watched a PBS documentary on the Gilded Age, and based on what I saw, it would appear our federal government is celebrating a return to an era where few had everything and most had very little.
But I digress…
“The Scourged Back” shows the scarred back of escaped slave Peter Gordon in Louisiana, 1863. There was talk that this photo was being removed and as of the time of this newsletter, I’m not sure whether or not said removal has occurred. Rachel Pawlitz, the spokesperson for the National Park Service, had this to say back in September when the story first came out: “Interpretive materials that disproportionately emphasize negative aspects of U.S. history or historical figures, without acknowledging broader context or national progress, can unintentionally distort understanding rather than enrich it.”
As a wordsmith, I focused on the word “disproportionately.” It feels subjective. I know white supremacists feel differently about Black History Month than do descendants of slaves. Just last week, a National Park Service slavery exhibit in Philadelphia was removed. I know this because Mike, my friend since fourth grade, shared this photo he took last year on his historical road trip, when he visited Philadelphia.
I’m glad he did, because now it’s gone.
Ours is a nation with a complicated origin story. My Russell immigrant ancestors came from the Birmingham, UK area and, as best as I can tell, worked as miners and machinists. They settled in Massachusetts and went to work in the Springfield Armory. I haven’t identified any slave owners so far, but I would not be surprised to learn that some—if not many—of my ancestors were racist. John Audubon, someone I held in very high regard, contributed to a racist scientific study of skulls. There was, not that long ago, a pervasive belief that white people were superior to any other race or ethnicity. That belief is now amplified by many in the current administration.
In the 1960s, violence broke out against Black Americans as they marched for their civil rights under the 14th Amendment. While I learned about some of these events in school, I only became aware of the Tulsa race massacre within the last decade. The Gilded Age, which our president seeks to recreate, came after reconstruction and predated the Tulsa race massacre. Our country has enjoyed minimal stability since the Civil War, as white supremacists have worked tirelessly to suppress Black advancement.
Now, as the administration seeks to erase Black achievements from federal museums, parks and monuments, it is simultaneously coming after black and brown immigrants in frightening ways. The federal occupation in Minnesota has resulted in two executions of U.S. citizens, as well as significant harm to countless others of varying legal status, who have been swept up randomly, in extremely violent ways, some disappeared, all to fulfill arrest quotas that have been set by our nation’s government.
Thanks to local journalism, courageous observers, social media, and videos and photos like these, we’re all able to witness the cruelty, not to mention the Constitutional violations, in real time.
From my perspective as a former prosecutor and law student who was required to study the Constitution, I’ve been shocked at this government’s ability to violate it repeatedly without consequences. I’m also aware that it’s all part of Project 2025.
Only time will tell how our country will look a year from now.
Until next month,
~ Debbie
Three good things I read this month:
Beloved Minnesota author William Kent Krueger posted on Facebook in opposition to the ICE occupation. By doing so, he acknowledged he might lose readers. He inspired me to share his post on my author page and to start speaking up more clearly and urgently.
I found this bit of advice about how to engage with those close to me who might not be seeing things with the same urgency that I am to be quite helpful.
This piece on DEI, from the perspective of Jason Parham, a senior writer for the magazine WIRED is profound.
FEBRUARY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
NONFICTION: Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino
I started this as part of a proposed online book club with some friends, but succumbed to a deep, deep depression. I still hope to have that discussion.
BONUS NONFICTION BECAUSE WE NEED IT: White Fragility: Why it's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin Diangelo
Thanks to the current administration, any mention of DEI in corporate and university culture has been effectively abolished. But the work continues. This book is an important part of understanding our history.
Thank you!