Thread by @SteveSchmidtSES

History is not science, there are no algorithms or immutable laws. There is only memory and evidence. The history we all share and our understanding of it is highly variable and dependent on the story tellers. Where I grew up, everyone I ever met shared a story. (1)

It was shaped by the story of the largest migration in human history. Nearly 30 million Europeans came to America between 1870 and 1920. They came to a rapidly industrializing country that was exploding in size and wealth. By 1900 the United States (2)

was the richest country in the world with prosperity exploding everywhere except the South. The country had moved on from the Civil War and reconstruction. There were 9 million black Americans at the turn of the century and 90 percent of them lived in the South. They were (3)

Imprisoned by hate and Jim Crow in the remnant of the American slave nation. The black population of the South was systematically terrorized, killed and brutally oppressed for decades. The ceaseless oppression of the South combined with the rapid industrialization of the North (4

Helped instigate the greatest emigration within the boundaries of the United States in our history. Between 1916 and 1970 more than 6 million Black Americans would leave the Jim Crow South for the North. During the early years of the “ great migration” southern blacks moved to 5)

Northern cities and formed communities. Blacks competed economically against European immigrants and faced profound racism and discrimination while the power of new freedoms within black communities unleashed a creative explosion of literature, music and art. (6)

The Harlem Renaissance stands as a powerful reminder about what can happen when the human soul is freed from the indignities of slavery and oppression. There is a reason why autocratic societies do not produce great art, music and literature. There can be no joy without freedom 7

and there can be no art absent joy. The overwhelming majority of Confederate monuments in this country were built as political statements in the 1920’s. They were built as assertions of White Supremacy not memorials to the war dead. The Ku Klux Klan followed Black aspiration (8)

North and continued to wage racial war against black Americans. Black success was targeted and destroyed in places like Tulsa and in a dozen other cities. The Harlem Hellfighters, the all Black US Army Unit, that brought jazz to France, tasted both respect, appreciation and a (9)

measure of equality that was unimaginable in the United States. The Hellfighters were detailed to the French Army and known for their valor and ferocity. When black soldiers returned from Europe in 1918 their hopes of returning to a more just society were crushed. (10)

Charles Lewis survived the brutality of trench warfare to be lynched in uniform, in his hometown in Kentucky by a murderous white mob. Legal segregation ended during the 1960’s and a black man served as President in both of the first two decades of the 21st century. Yet, the (11)

perpetual struggle of the American story endures. Hundreds of pieces of legislation have been filed all over the country that restrict voting rights. There are some important considerations to note when evaluating the legislation. Let’s apply a three question test: (12)

1. Would these pieces of legislation have been introduced if Trump didn’t lose the election.
ANSWER/NO. 2. Are all of these pieces of legislation based on the lie and fantasy of election fraud that stole the election from Trump? ANSWER/YES 3. Does the legislation make it (13)

easier or harder for Black Americans and other groups of historically persecuted Americans to vote and have an equal voice in the future of America? ANSWER/ YES. All of this brings us to our great national predicament and a couple of profoundly important moral questions. (14)

The moral questions can be found in the hazy spaces where the truth and lie make contact with one another. Is asserting the election was stolen a lie? It is. Is that lie immoral? It is. Why? Because, it has poisoned faith and belief in the legitimacy of our government; Of the

People, By the People , For the people. Why does that matter? It matters because democracies are the only form of government that have ever existed that place the human being in command of the state as opposed to the state in command of the human being. That distinction is (15)

a profoundly moral one inseverably tied to race in this country. At our founding the counting of Black Human Beings for the purposes of a census was arrived at by compromise. They were to count as 3/5ths a Human Being or White person. (16)

The Civil Rights act of 1866, 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, the Votings Rights Act, Civil Rights Act ect were all passed to establish the idea of equal justice under the law for everyone. We have made progress as a nation but the forces that have always been present in America (17

are emboldened and on the offense. This is @Sen_JoeManchin dilemma. His career in politics has brought him to center stage under the harshest lights of all. What is the right thing to do ? Let’s be clear about two things. 1. The use of the filibuster to prevent a Commission (18

From Investigating the 1/6 attack on America guarantees a generation of emboldened extremists and political violence. The lessons of history could not be more clear about this. 2. The insurrection was instigated by a lie that said Black American (19)

votes from inner cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta were illegal and fraudulent. The Fox News propaganda substantially drives the message that Trump’s Presidency was stolen by black people who want to wage war on “Anglo Saxon” culture. A majority of Republicans in (20

America believe they live under an occupation; ruled over by an illegitimate President. Almost EVERY elected Republican is fully committed to Trump whether through agreement, ambition, self interest, greed, fear or cowardice. It is these people that @JoeManchinWV is delusional(21

about. If he sees good faith from across the aisle, then he is a fool. There will be no bi partisanship. There will be no deals. There is only a fight and there are only two sides. The offense is the use of Senate rules to drive immoral outcomes. @Sen_JoeManchin passivity 22

In that fight is justified by high minded arguments that fall flat against the reality of history and the malice of hundreds of Bills that say to Black Americans that their voice is dependent on White magnanimity not God given rights. It’s past time to fight back against this. #