Liberal expressions of unity defang the true radicalism of antiracist and anticapitalist movements. Real solidarity is understanding that your struggle is my struggle and that our greatest allies are each other.
Both the calamity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the scourge of systemic racism are inextricably intertwined. If we are to cast off the political and social ineptitude that has marked our policies for generations, we must take this moment of large-scale societal change to implement progressive political change.
To strike a better balance between driving and living, cities and towns must commit themselves to human-oriented planning and the urban design to support it.
To combat the sexism that stands between women and the presidency, we must encourage women to run for office and vote for the women we believe in, so that it becomes normal to see a woman on the campaign trail — and, hopefully, in the White House.
Institutional racism poses a serious danger to the health and safety of Black people. But the crowded and chaotic character of these protests poses a similarly lethal threat to the lives of immunosuppressed Americans.
With change and action, Juneteenth has the potential to be more than a symbol of injustice and cruelty. But if America does not address this bloody history, and supplants real action with merely a day off from work, our "sounds of rejoicing" will remain "empty and heartless."
A Harvard Open Data Project offers compelling evidence that BLM protests decrease police violence against Black individuals as well as the population at large.