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In today's Civitas newsletter:
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 Calendar
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Date
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Time
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Activity
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Where
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Saturday,
September 12
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11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
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ZOOM High School Student Luncheon
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Wherever You Want To ZOOM
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When I Met John Lewis
by Reece Ellis
The passing of John Lewis has meant a lot of different things to different people. For some, Lewis' death represents the approaching end of an era and the transition of the Civil Rights Movement from memory to history. For others it has brought a new profound sadness not like the loss of a political icon but more like the loss of an ever present family member. For others still the death of Lewis is just another distant but familiar tragedy that doesn't arouse any particular emotion because in a world saddled with coronavirus malaise we've all been numbed to the finality of death. I've spent the last weeks thinking about John Lewis and I keep going back to a brief moment we shared together in Washington in the summer of 2018.
I was in our nation's capital on work assignment, interviewing personnel from the Federal Elections Commission, Open Secrets, and the chief Washington correspondent for the Post-Dispatch for a larger project about money in politics. It was work that gave me an extraordinary opportunity to explore DC. I am not usually impressed by the self-aggrandizing nature of Washington with its marble palaces to bureaucracies, its monuments to mediocrity, and the many small men with large ambitions. I can also say that "The Swamp" is not simply a metaphor. Washington is humid and full of insects and reminds me of the Delta I spent so much time in as a boy visiting relatives in Mississippi. However, there is an awe-inspiring quality to being in the place where so much of America's story was written; the city simply manages to create curiosity even in the most cynical of us.
One afternoon I decided to visit the White House because in spite of my feelings about the incumbent, which range from exceedingly negative to very negative depending on the crisis, the White House is still The White House. It was an uncomfortable visit, I stuck out in a sea of red hats worn by white children (literal children, there was a field trip) so I didn't feel any desire to loiter any longer than what was needed for a quick picture. As I walked toward the Treasury Building, I noticed a mass of people in the streets singing familiar chants like "Build bridges, not walls!" and "No justice, no peace!"
It may seem like an eternity ago, but it was during this time that the public became aware of the extent of the child separation program instituted by ICE which understandably produced near universal outrage among people with consciences. I joined the protest and it wasn't for nearly a half hour until I realized who was standing directly in front of me: the congressman from Georgia, John Lewis.
We stood next to each other and during the event we laid hands on each other, a powerful symbol in black culture that calls back to Jesus laying hands on the sick. After the protest we spoke, I asked Lewis for a picture (to which he politely obliged; it was very hot outside). I thanked Lewis for his contribution to our country and I asked him "Do you ever get tired?" with the current moment in mind, referencing specifically the physical toll of the day's protest.
Lewis didn't hear the question I asked, he heard the question I should've asked and related his answer to the broader movement for justice. He thought I was asking if he was ever discouraged. John Lewis, not missing a beat, said, "I used to get tired, real tired. But not anymore because I've seen this new generation, and they are ready for the work we started all those years ago."
We shook hands, he was shuffled off by a staffer, and then he was gone but that answer echoes in my mind today. John Lewis represented an abiding optimism in the spirit of Black America that makes our subsistence possible, a belief that things have gotten better and that they will get better still and that generations of suffering have not been without purpose. I have seen that same optimism in my own grandparents who survived the horrors of Jim Crow, and I see it in myself now as I watch millions of Americans take to the streets to demand a fundamental restructuring of our society. People are beginning to finally recognize the humanity of other people and with that empathy comes action. John Lewis saw that humanity, and he helped me see it too.
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Moving Out
Wash U released their plans for the fall semester on Friday, July 31. They said we could live wherever we wanted to, but that we needed to know where we were living by August 5th. I knew I didn't want to live on campus or at home for many personal reasons, so I decided to find an apartment. After an extremely stressful weekend of searching, I found an apartment three blocks away from my high school. It's the perfect apartment for myself and a roommate, and I'm really lucky to have found it. However, being 18 and trying to rent is extremely difficult. You'll most likely need a co-signer, and even then landlords are reluctant to rent to young, first-time tenants. Also, moving into your first apartment is extremely expensive. You have to pay the first month's rent and a security deposit (which is usually around the same price as a month of rent) plus furniture, kitchen items, and bathroom items. Pro tip: look at Facebook marketplace for furniture and kitchen stuff. If you can, I would try to avoid being in this situation all together. However, times are changing and this situation may become much more common. After going through this process, I can certainly say there are things I would've done differently. First, give yourself at least two weeks to move in after signing the lease. You'll need time to pack your stuff and collect furniture. Also, don't buy expensive furniture; look on Facebook marketplace for cheap couches and tables. Lastly, make sure you're ready to move out emotionally. I didn't know how sad it would make me to move away from my parents for the first time, even though I know this is the best decision for myself and my education. To anyone moving in or out, whether in your first or thirtieth apartment, good luck! You'll need it.
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Running for Delegate
by Reece Ellis
The 2020 Democratic Primary was unprecedented in a number of different ways. There was a historic amount of female candidates, policy ideas like expanding the Supreme Court and single payer healthcare were thoroughly debated, and of course the largest field of candidates was produced which for a time stood at 29 contenders. The results were without recent precedent, the person who won the first three nominating contests and raised the most money from individual contributions did not become the nominee. I voted for Bernie Sanders who to this date has been the only person I've supported in a political campaign which didn't involve some level of "nose holding." However, that enthusiasm for Bernie was not shared by the mainstream media, the party establishment, or the power brokers and gatekeepers who all together make up the largest political machine in history. For only a brief moment, it seemed like better things were possible and that progress wouldn't be smothered in the cradle as it had been so many times before, that Bernie might win. It was February and a friend recommended that I run to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention so I could support Bernie Sanders. As someone who considers himself to be a student of the political process, I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't understand how delegates were selected at political conventions. Everyone has probably seen some coverage of the conventions, scores of sign waving people, massive balloon drops, and all the political characters (famous and infamous) you've come to know over the last several years. However the entire spectacle is just that, entirely spectacle, and quite a lot is left up to the imagination of the viewer and probably should be left to the viewer because the reality is exceedingly boring. I learned for starters that delegates are elected and it's a multi-stage process, you run to be a state delegate from your county or smaller jurisdiction in larger areas and then as a state delegate you get to vote for national delegates, the people who end up at the National Convention. Running for state delegate is the easy part, anyone who voted in the Democratic primary in your jurisdiction can vote for you and so being elected can be as simple as making sure your friends vote for you in a place where very few primary voters are plugged in (often ballots say "choose 3" with only 2 candidates present) or as difficult as an actual campaign for elected office complete with mailers and robocalls. I was blessed to deal with the former, which was made easier when my local democratic club instructed all of its members to vote for Biden delegates which left the Bernie delegate race to be decided by friends and true believers. If I'm getting too ahead of myself I should mention how delegates are apportioned, it's a proportional system based on the popular vote which meant because Biden won Missouri 2-1 he received 44 delegates to Sanders' 24. So, in my congressional district MO-6 there were two spots for Sanders delegates and three for Biden. After getting elected to the state convention, candidates have to convince a majority of state delegates in their congressional district to support them which for me meant 59 people spanning the entire Iowa border. That convincing was for the most part done with a 13 minute video detailing all my positions from the Affordable Care Act to a Zoom convention. That's not to say it was easy, there was also a lot of ink spilled over email and phone calls to strangers and some rather unique organizing strategies, but I was selected to be a delegate. At this point it's important to note that everyone who runs for delegate doesn't end up on the ballot as presidential campaigns have the "right of review" and can strike candidates from the ballot for unspecified reasons. I was not struck. While running for delegate, I also ran a campaign for DNC member, which was not nearly as successful save for the fact I ended up on an endorsed slate of candidates that included Cori Bush, the next congresswoman from MO-1. I spent about $2 during this process, mostly on postage to send my ballot voting for myself. Others spent hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars and if not for COVID, all delegates could've expected to spend a few thousand dollars to travel to the convention. However COVID did happen and all that experience and campaigning and voting and hours of delegate speeches amounted to me, sitting at my computer watching a virtual convention while Milwaukee sits empty. Maybe in 2024.
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Beyoncé Proves Herself a Queen in her Visual Album Black is King
by Claire Shackleford
Well folks, Beyoncé has done it yet again. Through her nearly one and a half hour long visual album, Black is King, written, directed, and executively produced by the queen bee herself, Beyoncé encompasses Black excellence and its many facets. This production retells the story of The Lion King, but instead through the lens of a young Black boy. Its filming locations range from Africa to the Americans and even Europe. Throughout the album, viewers see the young boy face obstacles similar to that of Simba in the original film. There are even some audio clips used throughout the piece taken directly from the revamped 2019 version of the film. For example, listeners can hear the voice of James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Childish Gambino as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, and other characters such as Scar, Pumba, Timon, and Rafiki. Certain scenes in the production are meant to represent parallels to the film, such as the young boy's father dying and then seeing his spirit, or the boy parading in fancy clothes and jewelry singing "I can't talk for too long / got too much gold to try on," which is a modern version of the song "I Just Can't Wait to be King."
Not only is the music absolute fire, but the outfits and hairstyles of the actors and dancers are top notch quality and give the viewer a taste of afrocentrisim and afrofuturism. Perhaps one of the most noticeable of these visuals is the distinctly colored American flag which features the colors of the Pan-African flag: red, green, and black. In addition to The Lion King symbolism, there are also connections to the story of Moses, which can be seen when Beyoncé places her baby in a basket and sends it down the river during the song "Otherside." Furthermore, the film includes a painting of Beyoncé in the background of a scene where she is depicted as the Virgin Mary.
Regarding the lyrical piece of this project, there a few standout lines, and I definitely recommend that you keep the captions on, so that you don't miss things like "Our brothers and sisters are walking around with crowns in their back pockets because of an environment of repression" or "they'll never take my power" which features a performance of all-Black women. However, the absolute coolest thing (in my opinion) about the music in this project is that Beyoncé includes a snippet of the song titled "Mbube" by Solomon Linda. When I first heard it I was SHOOK! If you don't know already, this song was the inspiration for the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in the original movie. Unfortunately, in common practice towards Black artists in the music industry, Disney originally gave no credit to Linda for his song, and it wasn't until his family eventually sued Disney that the dark truth behind the song's origin was revealed. However, Solomon Linda had long passed away before then and with less than $25 to his name. The fact that Beyoncé put this original song in her film is a STATEMENT, and I am here for it!
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Trump's Interview is How Interviews Should Be
On August 3, Axios released an interview with President Donald Trump conducted by Johnathan Swan, an Australian journalist who had previously broken a number of important stories about Australian and American politics.
The interview received a lot of attention for being different than other sit-down interviews with the president. Swan's follow up questions seemed to match what many Americans were thinking as they watched other interviews with Trump. It also showed Trump's capacity to stretch the truth in order to fit his agenda. One popular clip from the interview shows Trump trying to convince Swan that the percentage of people dying out of the number of positive cases of COVID-19 was more important than the percentage of people dying out of the whole population (an area where the U.S. is way behind).
However, the interview not only showed Trump's stances on topics like mail-in voting, COVID-19, and the death of Rep. John Lewis, it revealed more about Trump's character. Through the uncut, documentary-like style of the interview, we are able to get a clearer picture of Trump as a person. For example, on numerous occasions during the interview, Trump talks over Swan, even as he tries to ask simple follow up questions. This type of interaction shows the President believes he is always right, and even when he is proven wrong, he digs in and ignores the evidence. While this can be seen in his policies, like those on masks, seeing it play out on video is far more persuasive.
Swan's interview is an excellent example of how journalists should conduct interviews. Too often interviewers will not ask follow up questions (myself included), either because they want to cover too many topics in a short period of time or because they are just too scared. Swan shows that leaving time to ask follow up questions can produce great quotes.
Interviews also should be used to reveal more about the interviewee as a person, not just information, especially if the interview is being filmed. How someone says something is just as, if not more, important as what they say. However, there is a fine line between asking intelligent follow up questions and berating the interviewee. This is something Swan does incredibly well. He has done his homework, which means when he tries to correct the president, he knows he's right.
Swan's interview with Trump is a great example of an interview. His questions, his follow ups and the way he conducts himself let viewers into the mind of the president. Swan has a long career in journalism ahead of him. However, he is unlikely to get another interview with the incumbent president.
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Advocating for Healthcare Reform in the U.S.
by Alexia Nastasia
In the course of my activities this summer, including the discussions we had with various Missouri elected officials as part of the Civitas Internship and my participation as a Missouri state delegate in the YMCA Conference on National Affairs, one issue I have reflected on is the need for healthcare reform and specifically for adopting a universal healthcare system in the United States of America.
The United States has a highly dysfunctional health care system that provides neither access or affordability of health care to the nation's residents. Approximately 160 million U.S. Americans have health insurance through an employer; however employer-based insurance is far from affordable, as both the employer and the employee pay huge amounts of money to private health insurance companies that make billions in profits rather than investing in patients, disease prevention, and illness treatment, and also as patients have to pay significant amounts in copays and deductibles even if they are insured. Furthermore, the employer-based system proved its weakness during the COVID-19 crisis, when over 30 million people have quickly lost their employer health care insurance, at a time when they need it most, because of being laid off; and many more millions of people are expected to lose their health insurance along with their jobs in the months to come. In addition to the Americans who have employer-based health insurance, there are approximately 140 million people who pay for their own insurance plans and approximately 30 million uninsured people. Those who pay for their own plans are overcharged for both the price of the insurance and the price of medical services, and when they have health problems they often have to fight huge bills or even payment denials from greedy corporations instead of being able to fully focus on addressing the problems. Finally, those uninsured simply do not have access to a doctor or a hospital, and often die of preventable diseases, or end up in the emergency room where they incur debt that they could not pay in a lifetime. According to CNBC, uninsured Americans could be facing nearly $75,000 in medical bills if hospitalized for coronavirus.
Meanwhile, every developed nation other than the United States has a healthcare system that is accessible to all and free for all. Universal healthcare is a common practice of many nations including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Free universal healthcare can be achieved without added government expenses if a portion of everyone's taxes (for example 5% as it is in many Western European nations) is dedicated exclusively to heath care. Furthermore, free universal health care would not be more expensive for the nation's residents than it is today, as instead of paying into a failed employer-based system they would be paying directly into a national system. The intermediary organizations which profit out of people's health care would be eliminated and health care would become a not-for-profit operation. Research shows that the majority of doctors and hospital administrators in the United States support a free universal health care system, while opposition is fueled almost entirely by the lobbyists of the private insurance companies and the large pharmaceutical corporations which profit from the current system.
Widespread practice among developed nations as well as research show that a free universal health care system is effective both in regards to costs and in regards to keeping people healthy. This would be helpful during the COVID-19 global health crisis and beyond.
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Now You See Me
Although 2020 seems to have been a series of unfortunate events, there have been some notable successes. For example, the black lives matter movement has been met with a great amount of support, most likely due to the killing of George Floyd. Veteran activists have stated that the movement feels different this time around. Many may recall the uproar of the black lives matter movement back in 2014. News and media outlets shattered the movement's credibility by painting BLM as a movement in favor of violence and destruction, rather than justice.
This time we've seen corporations and large organizations fight to be the most politically correct by removing racist symbols or donating money. Whether CEOs truly support the movement or are trying to please consumers who support the event, we may never know. Nevertheless, there is something different about the reception of BLM to the American people. Yet, when I hear opposition to the movement, it seems eerily the same to the remarks made back in the 1930s.
I just finished the novel Invisible Man. Throughout the story, the main character struggles to find his identity in a society where everything he does is viewed through a racial lens. Taking place in the 1930s, legalized racism is running rampant. In the south, the narrator is a token black character who is allowed to succeed so far as he does not surpass white people. In the north, he is treated as a token black character only to be used when needed. It seems as though everyone only 'sees' him when it's for their own benefit.
As I read I thought about the countless organizations who have come out with black lives matter statements. I wonder do they really value black lives, or do they value the political clout that now comes with supporting BLM. Of course, it's better to have large organizations come out in support rather than stay complacent as in 2014. But I can't help wonder whether we have made true progress. Too many actions these days are purely symbolic. Such as removing Aunt Jemima symbol from syrup. The inventions are good, but the results are empty. To me, it seems as though corporations are more worried about how people see them, than making sure black people are being seen. 2020 has been a wild ride to say the least. As you reflect on the year and all that has come about, take a second to reflect on your actions regarding the BLM movement. Be sure not to just look, but see.
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Reflections on the 1619 Project
by Daria Nastasia
This summer all of the Civitas interns read The 1619 Project, which was created by The New York Times to discuss African American struggles from slavery to the present day. After reading this project, I began to think about the topic of reparations in the United States and whether or not they are needed. I personally believe that reparations are needed, and in my argument I will include information gathered from The 1619 Project as well as additional sources.
In late August 1619, the ship carrying the first African slaves brought to North America arrived at Point Comfort in Virginia. For the next 250 years, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade transported over 450,000 Africans to what was initially the British Colonies and eventually became the United States. During these 250 years, until 1865 which constituted the end of the Civil War, Africans brought to North America endured numerous hardships, during the long voyage across the Atlantic, while they were waiting in chains to be sold as slaves upon arrival, as well as on the plantations on which they worked. Slaves would face harsh punishments for any form of disobedience from their masters and overseers, including whipping, shackling, beating, mutilation, branding, and imprisonment. However, slaves were not only treated this way due to insubordination, sometimes these actions were carried out against them in an effort to establish dominance or simply out of cruelty. In regards to the tasks that slaves were given to do, men and dark skinned women often spent the entire day working in their master's fields, while the lighter skinned female slaves worked in the house, sometimes with the master's wife. Women were often raped by their masters and overseers, in addition to having their children and other family members torn away from them as they were sold to other plantations, often to never be heard from again. Even after the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Jim Crow laws were put into place primarily throughout the South, which legalized segregation, allowed African Americans to be denied the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education, or have equal opportunity in regards to housing. In addition, lynching and a loophole in the 13th Amendment which allowed slavery as a form of punishment for a crime, continued to make life difficult for African Americans, long after slavery had ended, including today to an extent. Due to this long history of injustice which took place for 250 years during slavery, it continued to take place for the 155 years since the abolition of slavery, African Americans should receive reparations in the form of massive investments into their communities in areas where Black Americans still face discrimination and disparity in opportunity. African Americans in the United States have been treated as inferior for far too long and this social trend needs to be forever stopped. Giving reparations to African Americans, especially in the form of community investments, would be an acknowledgement of the United States government and especially of its white citizenry that slavery was horrendous and that racism will no longer be tolerated in this country. Reparations would allow for the wealth gap in this country to narrow and would increase career and education opportunities, affordable housing, and fairness in the legal system.
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Picture of the Week
Poll worker Debra Moore sanitizes her workspace during a primary election in Detroit on Tuesday, August 4.
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This past week at the United Nations
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