Historically Black Community Leadership

2/10/2025

Surviving the trump administration, A Daily Thread. Episode 19: Historically Black Community Leadership

On Friday, a group of citizens in Lincoln Heights near Cincinnati surrounded and shut down a white supremacist demonstration on an overpass – the neo nazi group had been waving swastikas at the oncoming cars; and the citizens of Lincoln Heights forced the neo nazis to leave and quickly affixed signs of love, peace, and “all are welcome here” to the overpass rails.

It's important to note that the police played no role in stopping the hateful demonstration. While this is distressing, it’s not surprising. Police in our country were originally formed as slave patrols; and the cops have a long history of white supremacist connection and infiltration. Policing is one of the American systems that needs a massive overhaul.

It’s also important to note that Lincoln Heights was the first African American self-governing community north of the Mason-Dixon line. Lincoln Heights is about two miles from Reading, Ohio, which was one of the country’s more than 10,000 sundown towns: regions that required Black people to leave before sundown under threat of violence. Sundown towns existed in nearly every state but were most common in the Midwest, with the laws and policies enforcing them lingering into the 1970’s and 80’s. Make no mistake – the resurgence of white supremacist hate we’re seeing from the trump administration has direct connections to our country’s inception and the battle to atone for our collective white sins of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.

AND, despite the barriers of white supremacy and lack of police support, the brave citizens of Lincoln Heights showed up to reject hate and embrace love and community.

My reminder today is for us to stay focused on solutions, progress, and positive actions we can take. It’s ridiculously easy to get sucked into the energy of negativity, hopelessness, blame, and despair. Instead, we need to look to these positive examples being set by our neighbors, and follow their leadership with brave actions of our own.

#survivingthetrumpadministration #fightfascism #notmypresident #standupspeakout #strongertogether