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ROE V. WHITE PRO-LABOR PRESIDENT? JUDGE JUDY’S HAITIANS IN A MEN P.4 WHERE? P. 12 CLASSISM P. 32 “ROOFLESS PRISON” P. 9 What’s Next for DEFUND? A conversation between Robin Wonsley Worlobah, Makia Green, Andrew R. Hairston, Willie Burnley Jr and Kandace Montgomery Randi Love reports + on the young Black farmers who are picking up the plow FEBRUARY 2022
WHO BUILT THIS CITY HIDDEN HISTORIES OF THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PLACES “The context and perspectives to lift “An L.A. guidebook for the 99 and support grassroots organizing percent.” for decades to come.” —LA Weekly “True stories of desire and loss, of —Javier Valdés, former Codirector of Make the Road New York conflict and resistance, from Orange County’s suburban dreamscape.” —D. J. Waldie, author of Becoming Los Angeles: Myth, Memory, and a Sense of Place “A timely, intelligent, and necessary “For readers and activists who have taken part in guide.” protests and demonstrations for decades.” —The Boston Globe —CounterPunch “The stories of anti-eviction battles, Ohlone resistance, strikes, and resilient celebration.” —East Bay Yesterday www.ucpress.edu
V O LU M E 4 6 N U M B E R 2 ON THE COVER What’s Next for the Defund Movement? 14 Black Farmers Judge-y Judy A “Roofless Sow the Seeds A reboot shows that 25 years on the air didn’t teach Judy Prison” for Haitian for the Future Sheindlin a thing about justice Refugees Young land stewards BY YASMIN NAIR The crisis in Mexican pick up the plow 32 border towns BY RANDI LOVE BY CHANTAL FLORES 26 9 FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 1
“ No political movement can be healthy unless it has its own press to inform it, educate it and orient it. —IN THESE TIMES FOUNDER JAMES WEINSTEIN ” TABLE OF CONTENTS FOUNDING EDITOR & PUBLISHER JAMES WEINSTEIN (1926–2005) D I S PAT C H E S F E AT U R E S EDITOR & PUBLISHER Joel Bleifuss EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jessica Stites 6 WISCONSIN IDEA 14 R O U N D TA B L E WEB EDITORS Miles Kampf-Lassin, Last Resort Abortion What’s Next for the Sarah Lazare ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sherell Barbee BY SAM STROOZAS Defund Movement? ASSISTANT EDITOR Nashwa Bawab A conversation between WISCONSIN IDEA EDITOR Hannah Faris 7 Farmers Reject Robin Wonsley Worlobah, INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Erin Donaghue Nicor’s Pipe Dream Makia Green, Andrew R. LABOR REPORTER Hamilton Nolan CONSULTING EDITOR Bob Miller BY ZOE PHARO Hairston, Willie Burnley Jr PROOFREADERS Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, and Kandace Montgomery Amelia Diehl, Martin French, Thomas 9 A “Roofless Prison” for Gaulkin, Rochelle Lodder Haitian Refugees 26 Black Farmers Sow the SENIOR EDITORS Patricia Aufderheide, Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim BY CHANTAL FLORES Seeds for the Future Muwakkil, Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) BY RANDI LOVE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kate Aronoff, Frida Berrigan, Michelle Chen, S. Doyle, VIEWPOINT Jude Ellison, Kari Lydersen, Moshe Z. Marvit, Jane Miller, Shaun Richman, Slavoj Žižek D E PA R T M E N T S CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Dean Baker, 12 Pro-Labor President? Rebecca Burns, Barbara Ehrenreich, Where? 4 In Conversation Jeremy Gantz, Leonard C. Goodman, Mindy Isser, Naomi Klein, Chris Lehmann, John BY HAMILTON NOLAN Nichols, Rick Perlstein, Micah Uetricht 7 This Month in EDITORIAL INTERNS Maggie Duffey, Halsey Late Capitalism Hazzard, Jocelyn Martinez, Karim Noorani, C U LT U R E Paige Oamek, Zoe Pharo, Imani Sumbi 9 For the Win CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rachel K. Dooley 32 Judge-y Judy 10 In Case You Missed It DESIGN ASSISTANT Matt Whitt CARTOONS EDITOR Matt Bors BY YASMIN NAIR 13 The Big Idea: CARTOONISTS Terry LaBan, Dan Perkins 38 Comics Decentralized Internet ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Amy Ganser DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR 40 In Those Times Lauren Kostoglanis DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Jamie Hendry ON THE COVER DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT Tyler He PUBLISHING ASSISTANT Caroline Reid Design by Rachel K. Dooley CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Rebecca Sterner Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis IN THESE TIMES BOARD OF DIRECTORS via Getty Images M. Nieves Bolaños, Tobita Chow, Kevin Creighan, Dan Dineen, James Harkin, Anand Jahi, Robert Kraig, Paul Olsen, Rick Perlstein, Steven Saltzman, Stacey Sutton, David Taber, William Weaver The work of In These Times writers is supported by the Puffin Foundation. pms 3015 pms 130 Our staff and writers are represented by these unions: 2 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
EDITORIAL Roe v. White Men A s we brace ourselves for the enacted this punitive measure? A legislature that evisceration of Roe, let’s focus on how we is 77% male and ranks 41st in the nation for its per- got here. Of course, there’s Trump’s remak- centage of women in state legislatures. ing of the Supreme Court. But this is the Oklahoma, with its legislature just over 79% culmination of white patriarchy’s decades- male, tried to enact three anti-abortion laws that long campaign to police women’s sexuality and would have gutted access to the procedure. their bodies; in 2021, the crusade went rogue. The And, most notoriously, Texas—with just over most outrageous evidence is the record-setting 73% of its legislators men, most of them 100-plus bills passed in state legislatures vindic- white—passed a law banning abor- tively designed to restrict or eliminate wom- en’s rights to control their own bodies. The pro-choice movement has failed Media coverage typically identifies such to go local and help women see how bills as promoted by Republicans. Rarely their statehouses don’t represent is it emphasized that the legislatures that enact these laws are overwhelmingly most of them and, instead, seek to dominated by white men in a fusion of thwart their freedom. patriarchy and white supremacy. Now, as we all know, the Supremes tions after six weeks and empow- seem poised to either uphold Missis- ering anyone—anyone!—to sue sippi’s law—which bans abortion after anyone else they allege helped a 15 weeks of pregnancy, about two months ear- woman get the procedure. lier than Roe allows—or gut Roe altogether. And Not only are these (and most other) legisla- what people should be especially infuriated about tures male-dominated, they pander to evangeli- is that white patriarchal institutions, which do not cals (only 25% of the population) while typically remotely mirror our country’s demographics, are ignoring those claiming no religious affiliation the ones seeking to impose their toxic masculin- (26%), not to mention the 59% of U.S. adults ity on more than half the population. who support abortion rights. State legislatures firmly controlled by older Let’s get back to the Supreme Court, two- white men have been in an arms race to see who thirds male, which refuses to block the Texas can regulate women’s bodies most severely. Let’s law. It’s now also two-thirds (conservative) start with Mississippi. Its state legislature is 83% Catholic; meanwhile, only 20% of the overall male and 57% white, and its median age is 57. population is Catholic, and of those, 56% believe One third of its legislators are white men aged 55 abortion should be legal in most cases. Clearly, or older, representative of just 9% of the state’s an out-of-kilter court can no longer protect a population—not a group that will ever have to woman’s right to choose. wrestle with the decision to have an abortion or All this data about male-dominated institutions the life-altering impact of being unable to get one. drives home what The Nation’s Amy Littlefield With only 17% of Mississippi lawmakers being emphasizes: The pro-choice movement has failed women, 52% of the state’s population have virtu- to go local and help women see how their state- ally no voice at all (unless, of course, they are houses don’t represent most of them and, instead, patriarchy’s fellow travelers). seek to thwart their freedom. Now, a long-term Not to be outdone, Arkansas passed a law which and inclusive movement for reproductive justice would have banned abortions in all cases except to must be truly engaged at the state level. The ob- save the life of a pregnant woman in some vaguely stacles—gerrymandering, insufficient fundraising defined “medical emergency.” Doctors who per- for women (especially women of color), bias and form the procedure would be subject to up to 10 entrenched power — are not insignificant. But this years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000. (This toxic patriarchy must be dismantled. law has been blocked by the courts—for now.) Who — SUSAN J. DOUGL AS FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 3
IN CONVERSATION IS HUNTING THE ANSWER? the U.S. Constitution provide the freedom to from all threats, foreign fight capitalism. In his piece “In Defense of and domestic! And they The misperception Hunting” (InTheseTimes. break that oath when- of fascism as no differ- com), Joseph Bullington ever they put the interests ent than capitalism is to rehashes the rational- of wealthy corporations consign one to certain izations I’ve heard for ahead of those of the gen- defeat—or, perhaps worse, decades. For example, eral citizenry. irrelevance. he writes that hunting is Today, our country is —Marilyn Katz something humans have more of an oligarchy or Chicago done for thousands of corporatocracy than a years. Except, hunters democracy, thanks to the SETTING PRIORITIES of the past were “good” corruption of our politi- Some 30% of election predators; because they NATIVE INTELLIGENCE cal/electoral process by workers in Pennsylvania used primitive weap- “David Graeber’s Mic vast amounts of money. have recently resigned ons, they only took the Drop” (January) tells you I, for one, consider that their posts. The reason sick, diseased and old a lot about what we don’t un-American. was death threats, not individuals. For animals learn regarding Native —Judith Roen the Constitution. Ham- like elk, humans were Americans and Indigenous Rochester, N.Y. ilton Nolan needs a little like wolves—they helped societies. People don’t concrete analysis to go make the herd stronger by realize “freedom and de- WHAT’S THE with his critique of the culling the weak. But now, REAL THREAT? mocracy” have been the U.S. Constitution. We are with high-powered scoped natural state of most hu- If Donald Trump is no more well aware of the elitist rifles, there is little to no man beings for hundreds of a threat to democracy structures, like the Sen- selection, except perhaps of thousands of years. than the Constitution, as ate and Electoral College. to find the biggest elk. We —Linda Cree Hamilton Nolan writes in But what is under fire at are doing the opposite of Michigan “Big Panic for a Democracy the moment, and needs what a good predator does. that Never Was” (InThe- to be defeated, are the Hunting is generally DEMOCRATIC seTimes.com), then how state-level GOP efforts to more ethical than buy- PARTY SOCIALIST is the Texas abortion law a suppress voting and hijack ing factory-farmed meat, I may be a very long- “setback,” as Chris Walker counting and certify- but that does not make standing member of the writes in “Wisconsin Abor- ing votes. To defeat all it good or necessary. So Democratic Party, but I’m tion Rights Could Be Set these current efforts will there’s the challenge: Can also a democratic socialist Back Nearly 200 Years” require our organization hunters become decent who believes the country (InTheseTimes.com)? at the base on a massive predators by taking the is us—we, the people. What’s more, why is ev- scale. We will deal with weakest prey species? If The weird stigma at- ery Black activist, writer, the Electoral College and they haven’t done that tached to the label “demo- politician and would-be such in due time, but first on their own by now, is it cratic socialism” comes revolutionary fighting the things first. likely to happen at all? from corporate inter- GOP’s attempt to disen- —Carl Davidson —Glenn Wahl ests who are terrified of franchise voters of color? Aliquippa, Pa. Via Facebook citizens organizing to bal- It’s because they recog- ance between economic nize that, though funda- interests and the well-be- mentally flawed and built ing of the citizenry. in a colonialist/white su- Q TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL Elected politicians premacist society, exercis- Tell us what you like, what you hate and what you’d like to swear an oath upon tak- ing the right to vote is one see more of by emailing letters@inthesetimes.com or tweeting ing office, promising way to redress grievances, @inthesetimesmag, or reach us by post at 2040 N. Milwaukee to uphold and protect expand democracy and Ave., Chicago, IL 60647. 4 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
IN CONVERSATION ɯ RIGHT ON, BRAND LETTER FROM THE EDITOR We’ve heard a lot over the past few months about how abor- tion rights are facing their greatest threat since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. But this threat has been looming for at least a decade, felt nowhere more clearly and harshly than across much of rural America and in low-income households. After years of clinic closures nationwide, one in five peo- ple in need of abortion now lives more than 50 miles from a clinic. Piling onto geographic barriers are increasingly re- strictive state laws—predominately in the Midwest and the South—such as mandatory 24-hour waiting periods, anti- abortion counseling, forced ultrasound viewings and multi- V I A YOU T UB E ple in-person check-ups. Though clinics and abortion funds attempt to make the procedure more accessible, many states also prohibit abor- L tion coverage in insurance plans for public employees and in ook who’s reading us now! piece, “Which Side Are You Medicaid. Without insurance, the abortion pill alone costs, on It’s British comedian and Democrats On?” (reprinted average, $500. activist Russell Brand, in this issue as “Pro-Labor All of these undue burdens have left people like Isabelle, a known for his pro-labor President? Where?”, page 12). 21-year-old in rural northern Wisconsin, with few options (and pro-Labour) political At press time, more than half a (see page 6). Unable to afford a child and more than 200 stances, along with his popu- million people had tuned in. miles from the nearest clinic, Isabelle was forced to self-in- list, often crass and comically As Nolan’s article points out, duce an abortion at great risk to her health. She consumed dark takes on such issues as the labor movement has seen large amounts of alcohol and smoked several packs of ciga- wealth inequality, corporate little action from the Biden ad- rettes a day until she miscarried. capitalism and climate change. ministration. “The power just We hold our breath for a decision on Dobbs v. Jackson In December 2021, Brand bends them into the direction Women’s Health Organization. If Roe is overturned, the pushed a new video on his that power tends to move in, nightmare Isabelle has been living could become a reality popular YouTube channel titled so they are kind of largely ir- overnight for people living in 21 “ ‘F*CK YOUR JOB!!!’ So THIS is relevant,” Brand says of the states. If Roe is upheld, however, I WHY Workers Are QUITTING!” Democratic Party. “I believe ask that you don’t forget about the — in which he gives a dramatic that a strong union movement millions of folks in rural and low- reading (complete with com- can be a healthy part of a nec- income homes, who will continue mentary) of our intrepid labor essary change that we re- to live where an actual choice post- Hannah Faris reporter Hamilton Nolan’s quire,” he adds. Roe was never a guarantee. Wisconsin Idea Editor IN THESE TIMES PUBLISHING CONSORTIUM SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS For subscription inquiries, address changes, back issues or classroom rates, call 800-827-0270 or email CHAMPIONS Grant Abert, Leonard C. Goodman, Collier Hands, James Harkin, subscribe@inthesetimes.com. Polly Howells and Eric Werthman, Samantha Kooney-Collins and Daniel Collins, ADVERTISING For advertising inquiries, contact Amy Ganser Chris Lloyd, Beth Maschinot, A. 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The entire stand circulation through Disticor Magazine Distribution Stein, Alisse Waterston and Howard Horowitz contents of In These Times are copyright © 2022 by the Services, at 905-619-6565. Printed in the United States. FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 5
DISPATCHES who need abortions in Wiscon- sin don’t have local access to clinics. Even with access, peo- ple face restrictions like 24-hour waiting periods and state-man- dated anti-abortion counseling, forced ultrasound viewings and parental consent (for mi- nors). Wisconsin also prohibits abortion coverage in insurance plans for public employees and those sold on the federal insur- ance marketplace. Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, an 1849 state law would immediately outlaw almost all abortions. Wisconsin is also one of 23 states to have TRAP laws on the books, short for the “targeted regulation of abortion providers,” A A R O N O F L . A . PHOTO GR A PH Y which saddle abortion provid- ers with medically unnecessary restrictions. One such law, for example, requires that health centers providing the procedure be within 30 minutes of a hos- pital. In addition, anti-abortion groups have established 55 so- Last Resort 11 weeks of the last menstrual period. And only three health called crisis pregnancy centers around the state, which claim to Abortion centers provide in-clinic proce- dures, all in cities far from most offer reproductive care but most- ly exist to intercept, delay and RHINEL A NDER , W IS. —When Is- rural residents—two Planned confuse people in need of abor- abelle started craving pickles in Parenthood clinics in Milwaukee tions. Many are located in rural summer 2021, she knew some- and Madison, and an Affiliated cities like Beaver Dam, Elkhorn, thing was wrong. She assumed Medical Services clinic in Mil- Ladysmith and Woodruff—one her late period was stress-relat- waukee. That means only three of the places Isabelle called after ed—until she took a pregnancy of Wisconsin’s 71 counties have she discovered she was pregnant. test. At 21, unable to raise a child an abortion provider. But Isabelle never had any hes- and without access to abortion Because of social stigma, Isa- itation about getting an abortion. Above: care in her rural community, belle (whose name has been “At that point in my life, I knew I A pro-life banner Isabelle self-induced an abortion. changed) told few people about could not raise a child and have hangs on the In Wisconsin, a state with her pregnancy. “I [fear] every- it be a well-adjusted human,” side of a building some of the most “severely re- one is like, ‘You’re a whore; you she says. “I was still in college; in Tomah, Wis., strictive” abortion laws in the should have seen it coming,’ ” I had no job; I had no money; I on Aug. 12, 2021, contributing nation, people in need of an abor- Isabelle says. “I did everything didn’t really have my own place to the milieu of tion have little time to lose. As of that I should have been doing to stay … it was a completely self- abortion’s social 2021, only four health centers in to prevent pregnancy and I still less act in my mind.” stigma in rural Wisconsin provide the abortion ended up in this situation.” Still, Isabelle had no way Wisconsin. pill, which must be taken within Like Isabelle, 70% of people to get to a clinic, the closest 6 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
being over three hours away. self-induce an abortion. She THIS MONTH She called her local hospital, but her doctor “told me everything she could do for me if I kept it, started a daily regimen that in- cluded three packs of cigarettes, lots of alcohol and 5,000 milli- IN LATE CAPITALISM but nothing she could do for me grams of vitamin C. Within days, if I couldn’t,” Isabelle says. she started bleeding vaginally; ? THE "GENIUS, EDGELORD, VISIONARY" WHO Next, Isabelle called New two weeks later, another preg- OWNS "AMERICA'S SPACEFARING FUTURE" Daw n P reg nancy Resou rce nancy test confirmed it was over. warns his company, SpaceX, Center in Woodruff, an anti- “I thought, ‘I am getting rid is actually at risk of bank- ruptcy! (Yes, we’re talking abortion center. She knew she of this baby and that’s all I am about Time magazine’s could not get an abortion there, going to do,’ ” Isabelle says. “If “person of the year,” Elon but thought the “pregnancy re- abortion is taken away in Wis- Musk.) To help, Musk can- source center” would help. Of consin completely, people will celed holiday breaks at the course, it did not. do much worse things.” company, already known Finally, Isabelle asked her SAM S TROOZ AS is a freelance jour- for layoffs and alleged la- partner to drive her to a clinic. nalist writing about gender and sex- bor law violations. What if But he refused, and she couldn’t ual health. our “spacefaring future” is do it alone, as the 24-hour wait- Farmers just, like, still being treated i ng p er io d a nd ma ndator y poorly… but in space?? checkups would require three or four roundtrips. Michelle Velasquez, director of Reject Nicor's ? BIG COMPANIES ARE REACTING TO THE GREAT RESIGNATION BY PROMISING HIGHER WAGES, advocacy at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, says rural and low Pipe Dream but promises don’t pay the bills. Take Lauren, 23, who was promised up to $14 at McDon- income residents are often left PEMBROKE TOWNSHIP, ILL. —At ald’s but found the “starting” wage was actu- behind. Velasquez tells In These the end of a maze of dirt roads ally $11. The younger generation is leaning in, Times that because health cen- lies a 40-acre teaching farm though, and becoming their own bosses with multiple gigs, a trend known as “polywork.” ters often rent their spaces, land- called Black Oaks Center, where Or as it used to be called, “scraping by.” lord discretion and zoning laws local residents gathered on a can inhibit centers’ abilities to Sunday in November 2021 for a ? CVS AND OTHER CHAINS ARE BEMOANING move into communities. In other farmland restoration workshop A WAVE OF “ORGANIZED SHOPLIFTING.” places, anti-abortion protestors and community gathering. “If Walgreens even used it as an excuse to close gather outside of Planned Par- you all want to bust wood again, some stores. Back in reality, even the FBI re- enthoods, even the ones that do they’re out there,” said Dr. Jifun- ports larceny rates are at their lowest since not perform abortions. za Wright-Carter—who runs the 1985. Wage theft, however, is growing; the Many who need abortions center with her husband, Fred Economic Policy Institute reports workers in seek discreet options, such as Carter—to the newest arrivals. the 10 most populous states lose $8 billion Just the Pill, a nonprofit that Some joined the group clearing annually. Apparently, stealing is only “bad” if it operates virtually in Minnesota, felled trees for off-grid home- hurts the bosses. Montana, Wyoming and serves steading, while others stayed in- surrounding states. Because the side to warm up and chat. ? NOTICE ANY STRANGERS BECOMING NEW abortion pill cannot be mailed In addition to raising food and FRIENDS ON YOUR SOCIAL? If you’re underwa- ter, those “friends” might be debt collectors, in Wisconsin, for example, the hosting classes, Black Oaks has now legally allowed to personally email and group drops it off at the Minne- become a hub for organizing message you. It’s not just creepy and unpro- sota border. Regardless, as Dr. against a proposed natural gas fessional, but opens the door to new scam- Julie Amaon, medical director at pipeline some locals say threat- mers hoping to score what- Just the Pill, points out, rural res- ens the area’s farming way of ever cash you have left. idents still need transportation. life, which is rooted in environ- When in doubt, kick With time running out, Isa- mental stewardship. ‘em out. b el le’s on ly o pt ion wa s to Fou nded in t he 1860s by FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 7
RESIST SAN FR ANCISCO — United under the anti-imperialist social media hashtag #NoMore, hundreds of primarily Ethiopian American and Eritrean American demonstrators gather at Twitter’s headquarters Dec. 10, 2021. Twitter has been accused of censoring activists and enabling the spread of violent content. Since November 2020, the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia has faced civil war and thousands have died in conflict. Activists fear the civil war will be used as pretext for U.S. meddling. (Photo by Anibal Martel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Joseph “Pap” Tetter after he es- method,” says Carter, whose un- fund the pipeline in Pembroke, caped slavery, Pembroke served cle came here from the South in which is designated a “hardship as a refuge for others f leeing the 1950s and bought five acres. area,” by raising rates on all Ni- North and for local Potawatomi Now, Nicor Gas is pursuing cor ratepayers. Three weeks later, people evading displacement a $10 million plan to lay more Nicor filed for a Certificate of to reservations. It grew into the than 30 miles of gas lines to Public Convenience and Neces- largest Black farming communi- connect hundreds of Pembroke sity from the Illinois Commerce ty in the northern United States. households, despite opposition. Commission to begin installa- Farmers grew hemp there dur- Supporters claim the project tion in Pembroke Township. ing World War II and supplied will kick-start local economic Pembroke residents only found food to Chicago during the Great development, while opponents out about the request a month lat- Migration. Generations of Black warn it threatens Pembroke’s er, in October 2021, says Wright- farmers have since preserved rich ecosystem and could dis- Carter. She helped form the Pembroke’s rare three-biome place Black farmers. Pembroke Environmental Jus- ecosystem, known for its black On Aug. 27, 2021, despite lob- tice Coalition (PEJC) shortly af- oak savanna habitat. bying from Pembroke residents ter, which moved to intervene in “Regenerative agriculture was and environmentalists, Illinois court. But the lost month is em- what we did by default, because Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill blematic of how the process has we couldn’t afford any other that will allow the company to played out, Wright-Carter says. 8 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
Nicor’s v ir t ual commu nit y meetings on Sept. 8–9, 2021, were investigation by the Illinois attor- ney general for $500 million in FOR THE WIN held in the morning, when many environmental damages, includ- • NEW YORK CITY OPENED ITS FIRST residents were at work, in a com- ing potential water contamination SUPERVISED DRUG-INJECTION SITES munity without reliable internet at a dozen sites. to help stop overdose deaths. access—noted Gavin Kearney, “As a farmer,” McDonald says, Trained staff at two locations senior counsel with the Chicago “I’m worried about where the line provide clean needles, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil is going to run and how it’s going to administer naloxone (as needed) to prevent overdoses R ights, who represents PEJC. affect my growth.” Some residents and provide options for “This is not the process you would also fear their land may be seized addiction treatment. The create if you were genuinely inter- under eminent domain and trees centers prevented at least two ested in whether the public wants will be torn down, and many ques- overdoses in their first day. this, and what their concerns are,” tion whether Nicor conducted an Kearney says. environmental impact study. • AMAZON WORKERS HAVE ANOTHER SHOT “We’re this close to them install- If Pembroke is going to convert AT UNIONIZING. The National Labor ing,” says Wright-Carter, “and to a new energy system, mem- Relations Board says Amazon illegally interfered with the April 2021 election in nobody knows where it’s going to bers of PEJC say there are cleaner, Bessemer, Ala., so there’s going to be a come in. No one’s seen a map.” more affordable options. The Il- redo. If a majority votes to join the Retail, Meanwhile, Mark Hodge, mayor linois Climate and Equitable Jobs Wholesale and Department Store Union, of nearby Hopkins Park, is promis- Act, passed the same session as it would establish the first unionized ing a local economic boost from Nicor’s funding bill, creates mil- Amazon warehouse in the United States. the gas lines, and the Rev. Jesse lions of dollars of incentives for Jackson, of the Rainbow PUSH low-income communities to con- • UNIONIZED WIRECUTTER WORKERS WALKED OUT Black Friday weekend Coalition in Chicago, calls the vert to renewable energy. Nicor in protest of their treatment by project a “big deal” and a “new is “locking in natural gas … at the management at the New York Times day for Pembroke, a Black farm- same time that we, as a state, are Company. Workers missed their ing community that has been left passing legislation that says we expected holiday overtime but the behind.” Jackson adds it “will help want to eliminate fossil fuels” by union's GoFundMe made up the bring business to Pembroke, and it 2045, Kearney notes. difference, with excess contributions will help others do business with Carter puts it this way: “We need going to other strike funds. Pembroke.” a long-term plan around our future Members of PEJC, however, that does not include the harm of • BARBADOS IS THE WORLD’S NEWEST REPUBLIC, removing think the burden of the project our health and our environment.” Queen Elizabeth II as its outweighs any benef it. Many ZOE PHARO is a Chicago-based writer head of state in a nod residents heat their homes with and In These Times editorial intern. She to moving beyond its a mix of propane, wood and elec- holds a degree in political science from colonial past. The new tric space heaters, and switching Carleton College. republic does remain to gas appliances would be ex- in the Commonwealth, pensive—especially in such a poor community. A "Roofless along with the likes of Australia, Canada, India “I’m a senior citizen, so it’s not like I have a whole lot of money Prison" for and Belize. • CHICAGO ORGANIZERS OPPOSE stashed away to do that,” says Di- ane McDonald, a 32-year resident Haitian THE USE OF SHOTSPOTTER TECHNOLOGY. The tech allegedly locates gunshots of Pembroke. McDonald says she wants to see reliable internet and Refugees and dispatches police before 911 calls come in, but a report from Chicago’s electricity first. M O N T E R R E Y, M E X I C O — Wilson Office of Inspector General states that, Wright-Carter also fears a natu- sits, constantly refreshing his of the more than 50,000 ShotSpotter ral gas explosion, as the nearest phone, waiting for COMAR, the alerts sent to police, only 9.1% involved f ire department is a half-hour Mexican Commission for Refugee a gun-related crime. The report also away. Nicor has a history of gas Assistance, to reschedule his ap- confirms activists’ claims that the leaks and explosions and is under pointment, originally set for Oct. technology biases police behavior. FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 9
13, 2021. A day prior he received a as they had aspired. Under the have deterred many Haitians cancelation through email. Biden administration’s Title 42 from completing their journey The Casa Indi migrant shelter policy (initiated by the Trump north, but they face another set in Monterrey, in northeastern administration under the pre- of hostile conditions in Mexico. Mexico, received 1,600 Haitian text of preventing the spread of The Mexican government has migrants in September 2021, a Covid-19), thousands of Haitian mirrored Biden administration month after a tropical storm migrants seeking asylum were policies by militarizing the coun- damaged large swaths of the simply expelled back to Haiti or try’s southern border, enforcing island and contributed to the southern Mexico. The rest, like mass detention and deportation, destabilization that has forced Wilson, remain in limbo, even and subjecting migrants to a tens of thousands of Haitians as more refugees arrive. In ad- grueling asylum process. to flee. By early November, “of dition to Title 42, the Biden ad- According to Yetzi Rosales the 1,600, there are now about ministration is also restarting Martínez, a researcher at El Cole- 800 ... t here’s now enough the Trump administration’s in- gio de la Frontera Norte in Mon- space for everyone to live inside famous Remain in Mexico pro- terrey, the chain reaction starts the shelter” rather than in tents, gram, whereby migrants must with the United States. “Histori- says José Jaime Salinas, Casa wait in Mexico until they are cally, everything depends on the Indi’s accountant. approved, and expanding it to politics of U.S. immigration,” But it’s unlikely those who include Haitians. Martínez says. “When [the Unit- left made it to the United States These aggressive U.S. policies ed States] needs population, it IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ALL THE NEWS THAT WAS FIT TO PRINT— HYPED AND WHAT GOT PRINTED INSTEAD More than 23,300 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding the media stop interviewing Will Smith The United States is crossing and Jada Pinkett Smith. Maybe they the threshold of 800,000 don't know they can turn off their TVs. Covid deaths, with older Americans hardest hit. Actor Jussie Smollett’s bizarre hoax— The not guilty verdict in the in which he staged a hate crime against Kyle Rittenhouse trial will himself for publicity—handed the surely embolden right-wing Right an opportunity to attack Black extremists and vigilantes. Lives Matter and criminal justice reform. TRIVIAL V I TA L Matthew McConaughey will not Healthcare costs pushed run for Texas governor, the more than half a billion actor announced on Instagram. people worldwide into extreme poverty in 2021. Celebrity surgeon and A new study in Nature Communications pseudoscience guru suggests rain will become more Dr. Oz is running for common precipitation than snow in Senate in Pennsylvania. the Arctic within the next 80 years. IGNORED 10 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
opens the borders. When it does not, it starts deporting.” With the crackdown at Mex- ico’s borders , Ha it ia ns a re trapped in cities like Monterrey, where they form a “permanent” commu nit y u nder consta nt threat of deportation. Wilson, 28, would be happy to build a life in Mexico with his 29-year- old wife and 2-year-old son, but he is waiting on COMAR. “If I get [my papers], I can work,” he says. Migrants at Casa Indi have reported that some em- ployers have offered them work without papers, but the condi- tions are exploitative, with mis- treatment and little rest. The racism that Afro-Mexi- cans and dark-skinned Mexi- Haitian migrants Samuel, 32, and Louis, 29, pose with their 3-year-old daughter at a makeshift camp in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, on Sept. 22, 2021, sheltering here out of fear of deportation cans face is also experienced from within the United States. by Black migrants in accessing employment, healthcare, edu- assist the migrant population.” States has coerced market-ori- cation and housing. As African Enise Charles has had prob- ented reforms and backed the and Caribbean migration to and lems for mont hs w it h an ir- violent 1991 and 2004 coups that through Mexico has increased regular menstrual cycle that overthrew democratically elect- in the past decade, human rights sometimes makes it difficult to ed President Jean-Bertrand Aris- groups have documented in- walk. She’s still waiting for a gy- tide. That destabilization has stances of local police harassing necologist. “I want to settle in a contributed to Haiti’s present and robbing Black migrants, and place to receive the proper treat- political crisis in the aftermath a lack of adequate housing. ment,” she says. of President Jovenel Moïse’s July John Bayard, who made the Charles, 25, who taught kinder- 2021 assassination. Now, the dangerous journey from Chile garten in Haiti, left Chile with her United States has inserted itself to Mexico with his wife and boyfriend partly due to growing to support Ariel Henry as Haiti’s 3-year-old daughter, says he anti-Black and anti-immigrant leader, despite being unelected. could only find overpriced rent discrimination. They arrived in State Department Special Envoy in an insecure neighborhood— the southern Mexican city of Ta- to Haiti Daniel Foote resigned in and the municipal police took pachula, where tens of thousands September 2021 in protest of this a large amount of his savings. of Haitians await the outcome of “international puppeteering.” “[The local police] intimidate us, their asylum claims. A “roofless According to Phillips, Hai- threaten us with planting drugs prison” is how a report by Am- tian Bridge Alliance is expect- on us,” Bayard says. “Here, we nesty International and advoca- ing “tens of thousands of more PHOTO B Y PAUL R ATJE /A F P V I A GE T T Y IM AGE S have no rights.” cy group Haitian Bridge Alliance Haitians to flee Haiti.” Instead “If all the migrants were white, describes the situation. of “putting up walls and crimi- we would not be seeing this,” According to Nicole Phillips, nalizing them,” Phillips adds, says Katy Cavazos, a psycholo- legal director of Haitian Bridge “the Americas and clearly the gist and activist who has assist- Alliance, “People are desperate U.S. need to prepare for how we ed Central American migrants to leave.” can welcome the Haitian mi- for years. “In this classist and Some argue the United States grant community.” xenophobic state, it is difficult has a special responsibility to CHANTAL FLORES is an independent to make any concrete plans to support Haitians. The United journalist based in Monterrey, Mexico. FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 11
N T VIEWPOI H A M I LTO N N O L A N Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Pro-Labor President? It is a trifling sum for Bezos, who has accumulated more Where? than $100 billion while doing everything possible to ensure W that his hundreds of thousands e are told that done from the very top—where of workers are unable to President Joe Biden the agenda is set, and where organize to improve their is the most pro- symbolism matters? own lives. Bezos specifically labor president in decades. During the pandemic- asked that the donation be That seems to be true. It is wracked year of 2021, there earmarked to build a plaza in also a good demonstration was no more important or honor of Rep. John Lewis, the of the fact that looking to inspiring union story than the late civil rights leader. the Democratic Party for effort to unionize an Amazon John Lewis was a strong salvation is a surefire way for warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. supporter of unions. Imagine the labor movement to It represented an attempt to how meaningful it would get nowhere. Let’s take have been if Barack Obama a moment to reflect on had publicly supported what our Democratic the Amazon union drive in friends have done for us Alabama. He didn’t, though. lately. But he will have a “ plaza” People who view the paid for by the guy who has world through the lens become richer than god by of electoral politics tend crushing Amazon workers. to dislike the question, I hope that plaza will be “Which side are you on?” It spacious enough for John is seen as unsophisticated, Lewis to roll over in his simplistic—a black- grave. Thank you for your and-white view of a leadership, Obama. political reality in which There is another inspiring compromise is the path to crack the most influential and union drive, which began getting anything done. But powerful (and anti-union) in Buffalo, N.Y., and is the phrase has great utility. It company in the nation, a spreading across the country, acknowledges that there are battle which will have ripple happening at Starbucks. The sides, and that you have to effects on the future of billionaire former chairman be on one. Power concedes work across the country in of Starbucks—stop me if this nothing without a fight. decades to come. Though sounds familiar—is leading a HAMILTON A year into full Democratic the union lost that election, ruthless anti-union campaign NOLAN control of the federal the company cheated, and to try to stop his workers from government, and a year out another election will be organizing. That billionaire is is a labor reporter from the likely end of that held. In the fight to unionize named Howard Schultz, and for In These happy arrangement, is a useful Amazon, everyone must be on if Hillary Clinton had been Times. He has time to consider what the labor a side. elected president in 2016, she spent the past movement has gotten out of Biden himself did send a was reportedly going to name decade writing this ostensibly ideal situation. supportive, if vague, statement him as her secretary of labor. about labor Have we gotten the PRO Act, to the Amazon workers. His Joe Biden didn’t do quite and politics the number one thing labor predecessor can’t say the same. so bad. He picked as his labor for Gawker, wants and needs? No. Nor In November 2021, we learned secretary former Boston Splinter and will we, until the filibuster that former President Barack Mayor (and union guy) Marty The Guardian. is gone. So what else has the Obama’s foundation accepted Walsh—an establishment pick, Democratic establishment a $100 million donation from but one broadly endorsed by 12 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
THE BIG IDEA major union leaders. Walsh has de•cen• decades.) Web3 is a vision of the internet free from the control of corporate had the good fortune to be the government’s top labor official tral• ized gatekeepers and government regulators. Like much else in Silicon Valley, it’s hard during a months-long wave of strikes that has garnered much in•ter•net to pin down exactly what web3 “really” is or how it would work, because it’s more of noun a grand vision than a specific proposal or public attention. There have been many inspirational strikes 1. a way to democratize web technology. Of course, that isn’t stopping venture capitalists from pouring billions in the past year, none more access and break Big Tech monopolies of dollars into the idea. hard-fought than that of the United Mine Workers members + Is the internet really + Do we really want an in Brookwood, Ala., who have “centralized” right unregulate-able internet, been striking against Warrior now? Not in the sense though? Probably not. A Met Coal. Theirs is a tough that any single entity “owns” lot of cryptocurrency activity, battle. It is the exact sort of the internet, but a handful of for example, looks a lot like an strike that has historically been corporations do exercise won when the government helped the union, and lost when enormous control over the bulk of the internet’s physical “ innovation, [We need] discussions about the government didn’t. infrastructure and the data and resilience, In November 2021, Marty commerce that takes place onli ne. “Decentralized internet” is an open protocols [and] data Walsh went to Birmingham to hold a news conference. It umbrella term, but the basic idea ownership ... if we want would have been a perfect is to circumvent mass surveillance and prevent giant companies (like the internet to stay free, time for him to stop by the picket line at Brookwood, Facebook, Google and Twitter) democratic and engaging.” from having any single internet —IRINA BOLYCHEVSKY, AN ORGANIZER WITH REDECENTRALIZE.ORG which is right down the kill switch, largely by running the road. But he didn’t. A couple evasion of financial regulation (which internet on peer-to-peer networks. of weeks later, Walsh went is to say, money laundering). And while to Buffalo to talk about the + Does this all have something to do decentralization might help break corporate infrastructure bill. Did he with Bitcoin? Some cryptocurrency control over our lives and protect us meet with the unionizing enthusiasts envision a decentralized against government censorship, it’s not Starbucks workers? No. I internet built around crypto and necessarily a panacea. We know that suppose those things would blockchain infrastructure, which they’re white supremacists, for example, have just be a bit too radical for the calling “web3.” (Web 1.0 generally refers been relying on peer-to-peer messaging secretary of labor of the Most to the development of the World Wide networks to continue organizing out of Pro-Union President of Our Web in the 1990s, while web 2.0 refers public view. to the internet’s shift toward mobile and + Should the Left support a Lifetimes during the Great social platforms over the past couple of Strike Wave of 2021. decentralized internet? We should What beaten-down workers want a more democratic internet, at least. really need is not a president According to the Pew Research Center, 93% who will smile and shake of American adults use the internet, so the hands with both them and question of who mediates those interactions the boss who is beating them is important. We need net neutrality and down. They need a president regulation (or nationalization!) of major tech who will shake hands with companies and service providers, and open- them and then tell their boss, source platforms to provide alternatives “Fuck you. I’m with the union.” in the meantime. But these are political We aren’t likely to see a challenges more than technological ones— Democratic president like that and, as usual, it’s best not to rush into buying any time soon. We better go whatever Silicon Valley is selling. organize some workers, so that we can save ourselves. I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y T E R R Y L A B A N FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 13
PHOTO B Y JO S E LUIS M AG A N A / A F P Protesters rally at Black Lives Matter plaza across from the White House as President Donald Trump accepts the Republican presiden- tial nomination Aug. 27, 2020. 14 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
What’s Next for the DEFUND Movement? A CONVERSATION BETWEEN ROBIN WONSLEY WORLOBAH, MAKIA GREEN, ANDREW R. HAIRSTON, WILLIE BURNLEY JR AND KANDACE MONTGOMERY F ive police abolitionists from around the country—some of them newly elected to city councils—talk about lessons from November 2021, the efficacy of the “defund the police” demand and where the movement goes from here. GE T T Y IM AGE S FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 15
MINNEAPOLIS ROBIN WONSLEY WORLOBAH: I think often in these conversations—and within our movement—it’s about policing only. And that’s also how the oppo- I n the birthplace of the summer 2020 up- sition tries to frame it. But actually, under a capi- rising over the police murder of George talist society, policing is only one piece. My city Floyd, the defund movement took a blow in council campaign put Question 2 within a socialist November 2021. Ballot Question 2, which analysis: “We have to correct the conditions under would have opened the door for major racial capitalism that cause a power imbalance structural changes to the Minneapolis and inequality that policing ends up reinforcing. Police Department, failed 44%-56%. Yet city We have to make mass investments in our public council challenger Robin Wonsley Worlobah, infrastructure, which we know actually address who campaigned in support of Question 2, crime by stabilizing people’s lives and their com- won by 13 votes in a runoff. And a progressive munities.” Neoliberals don’t want to hear anything ballot measure to allow rent control, known as about mass investments. We lead with transitional Question 3, passed 53%-47%. demands that not only improve people’s material conditions, but also shine a light on an enemy to K ANDACE MONTGOMERY: The result of the rally working-class people around—demands like summer 2020 uprising that was led by young rent control, which maintains some level of hous- Black and brown people here in Minneapolis ing security for working-class people and has a was a political opportunity to create systemic very clear class enemy in corporate developers, and transformative change in the ways po- who generate millions if not billions of dollars of lice hold power and how resources are moved wealth from working-class people through ever- within the city to support public safety. Many expansive rents. So then we link these issues by of us understood it as a step toward abolition. saying, “You are going after our localized enforce- For others, it felt like a necessary step to actu- ment structure of capitalism, the police.” ally ensure folks’ safety. I think the movement backing Question 2 made So the Yes On 2 campaign looked to change a mistake of not naming the enemy. Because then the city charter—our city’s constitution—to the opposition was able to say, “You hate the police remove a requirement to keep the police de- chief, this upstanding Black man.” Or, “You hate partment as it is. Then, it could be replaced by Black people, you want them to live in communi- a Department of Public Safety that would take ties riddled with gun violence.” The mayor, these KANDACE a public health approach to our safety. That de- corporate-backed PACs like Operation Safety Now, MONTGOMERY partment would include police officers but also the Downtown Council, the chief of police and is a Black and a breadth of other things, like mental health the police union literally went on four months of a queer organizer responders and nonpunitive social workers. speaking tour. Almost every weekend, out over in in Minneapolis I’m still processing lessons learned. I think north Minneapolis, where a baby has just got shot and a national our opposition made the conversation very and killed, they would basically say, “Look at these leader in the much about abolition or not. That created a lot grieving parents, look at these grieving Black folks, Movement for of fear for people who are not quite there, who we can’t afford to try something experimental.” Black Lives. She have some really real concerns around their We didn’t have a narrative to counteract that at is co-executive physical safety and intercommunal violence. that scale. And that’s fine—but if we don’t have director of Black And so the conversation became very narrow. the narrative, then we damn sure have to have the Visions, which But my experience of talking to folks on ground game. Because, I mean, we’re only run- co-issued the doors, talking to our canvassers, being on the ning on people power, we ain’t got none of these May 2020 de- phones, is that once you are able to actually corporations sponsoring us. mand to defund have the conversation of, “Here’s what a De- I think there was a missed opportunity to have a the Minneapolis Police Depart- partment of Public Safety could look like—it strong ground game in the places that the corpo- ment. She was could include youth programming, it could rate elite targeted, which was working-class Black board chair of include all of these things”—I found, over- folks. It was a great testament to the signature the Yes 4 Minne- whelmingly, that even people who were still campaign [to get Question 2 on the ballot] that they apolis coalition very committed to the idea of still having reached 1,400 Northside residents, but what if we to remove the police were able to embrace this vision. They had joined forces with the rent control coalition city’s mandate just needed more time to let go of the policing [backing Question 3] to do joint canvasses across for a police thing. And that was OK, as long as we were north Minneapolis? To say, “This is your better of- department. consistently doing that work. fer. Not only will you get a quality, equitable public 16 IN THESE TIMES + FEBRUARY 2022
Yes 4 Minneapolis volunteer Tira Howel (right) garners support for Question 2 on Election Day, Nov. 2, 2021, which would have allowed Minneapolis to restructure its police department. safety system, but you’ll stop paying all your money of 2020. Folks were exhausted, living through to the slumlords. This is how you don’t got to work a pandemic. Our organizations were all very two jobs in order to take care of your kids. And then much pulled. Multiple organizations, including you’re missing out on your kids, and they’re being Black Visions, were dealing with internal con- pulled to get involved in other things.” flict. And a lot of organizers were experiencing Another point the opposition said was, “You pro- a lack of activity from community members— gressive abolitionists, y’all ain’t got no plan. This because of the economic conditions, because of public safety department ain’t gonna do nothing.” the pandemic, because of isolation. I’ll be very frank, the coalition had internal debates Some opportunities had to be missed be- ROBIN about this. Very early on, we knew the opposition cause people just literally didn’t have the ca- WONSLEY was going to weaponize the language of the bal- pacity to pick them up. I name that because WORLOBAH lot amendment. And I think there was a missed I think our movements need to really think is Ward 2 city opportunity of putting out that proposal Kandace about how, in these low moments, we are forti- councilor-elect mentioned, around alternative responders. fying our organizations and our bases and our in Minneapolis. My campaign made our own democratic so- relationships. How are we actually developing She has been cialist public safety plan. We made zines of it that Black organizers so that it’s not just 10 of us active in Black we distributed when we were door knocking to who are brilliant, radical Black strategists in Lives Matter since 2015 and say, “What if we actually invest in what Kandace the city? Because, to be real, it’s hardly much JO S HUA LOT T/ T HE WA S HINGTO N P O S T V I A GE T T Y IM AGE S backed the 2021 named—unarmed responders, first responders, more than that. ballot measure mental health providers, social workers?” To the rent control piece: The rent control to restructure In our ward, we turned out more than 50% of reg- coalition was a bit broader, and it was not nec- policing. A istered voters, and Question 2 won [56% to 44%]. essarily aligned on policing. Some of the leader- democratic And I know Kandace wants to throw in some- ship intentionally decided not to sign onto our socialist, she thing, too. question. And so those collaborations weren’t was endorsed by really possible. Again, it speaks to the ways we the Democratic KANDACE MONTGOMERY: I agree with a lot of those have to build alignment, shared vision. I think Socialists of offerings, Robin, and I’m excited to sit down to de- everybody should understand how police aboli- America and brief. Just adding, I think it’s important to see the tion gets us to housing justice gets us to these Socialist Alterna- conditions in which we were fighting, coming out other things, but it’s long-term work. tive MN. FEBRUARY 2022 = IN THESE TIMES 17
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