The History of the United States of

America Part 11 (2008 - The Present)

This work quintessentially describes the components, the culture, and

the events of our time in the present. The present is all about influences
from the past, and innovations of the present. From historic elections to
new music, there is never a dull moment in the decade of the 2010’s. We
have witnessed monumental social changes, and old debates coming
alive. Not to mention that new smartphone technology has been
astounding from IPhone X to Oculus. Today, we deal with a corrupt,
racist, sexist, and lying President whose name is Donald Trump. Also,
we realize that there is a powerful progressive movement today that
seeks social justice. Albums like Lemonade, shows like Breaking Bad,
and movies like Black Panther fully outline complexity, diversity, and
the interconnected nature of modern day life in the United States of
America. Democratic Presidential candidates like Kamala Harris,
Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders express views on health,
education, and the environment that were taboo during the Clinton
years. Nearing a new decade, we appreciate the sacrifice of our
ancestors, and we are renewed in our spirits to achieve the Dream. In a
time of controversies, political polarization, racial tensions, and
debates, we have to make sure that our eyes are on the prize.
This image is from Washington D.C. where people were protesting
the bigotry found at the Unite the Right Rally at Charlottesville,
Virginia. The image is found at the following source: Ted Eytan
from Washington, DC, USA - 2017.08.13 Charlottesville Candlelight
Vigil, Washington, DC USA 8050.

Contents
1. Prologue 2. The 3. Continued 4. New Reforms
Inauguration of Domestic
Barack Obama Terrorism

5. Historic Societal 6. The Issues of 7. The 2016 8. The Trump

Changes Race, Police Presidential Presidency
Brutality, Etc. Election

9. Turning Back 10. Charlottesville 11. The Mueller 12. The Historic
the Clock and the Investigation 2018 Midterm
Resistance Elections

13. Nearing 2020 14. Appendix A: 15. Appendix B: 16. Appendix C:

and America’s The Culture of the Updates on the Defending Four
Future 2010’s 2020 Presidential Heroic
Election Congresswomen
 Prologue
This is the era of the United States of America history his centrist streak on many issues, and his expansion of
that we currently live in today. It has been filled with the American Empire in overtly sophisticated ways via
triumphs and tragedies. Debates and polarization drone strikes, extrajudicial assassinations, suppression
consume this time. Not to mention that a new of whistleblowers, etc.).
generation of progressive people have rose up to
advance the principles of democracy, equality, and During this era of many events, there was the 2016
justice. During the age of 2008, we saw the housing Presidential campaign. The overtly bigoted
bubble and Wall Street corruption which contributed businessman Donald Trump defeated the former
to the late 2000’s recession. This was one large reason Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump started his
why Barack Obama was elected and inaugurated in campaign by going down an escalator back on the date
2009. President Barack Obama, as the first African of June 16, 2015. Trump promoted a border wall, an
American President, enacted large loans and economic executive order that promotes a ban on citizens from
stimulus packages aimed at improving the economy. many Muslim-majority countries, and a hostility
The economy grew slowly but surely. Also, in our towards the media. People know about Donald
generation, we have witnessed the massive reform of Trump's racism, sexism, xenophobia, and his
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This narcissistic personality. Many in the Women’s Marches
was the first law at a major attempt in creating a brought five million marchers worldwide to oppose the
national health insurance program in America. agenda of Trump. Populist movements from across the
President Barack Obama withdrew combat troops political spectrum manifested from Brexit, Occupy
from Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan continued. The Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, etc. By late 2018,
year of 2010 saw the Tea Party movement develop, and Democrats gained control of the House, while
it caused the Republicans to gain control of the House Republicans added a slighter Senate majority edge. By
and reduce the Democratic majority in the Senate. the 2010’s, the country has experienced more racial
There were economic uncertainty, unemployment, and problems. The rise of the alt-right movement came
federal spending. Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 after the 2016 election. It is a white nationalist, racist
by U.S. forces in Pakistan. After the re-election of movement that wants to expel or suppress the rights of
President Barack Obama, new social changes happened sexual and racial minorities from America.
involving marriage and other issues. Extra emphasis on Charlottesville saw confrontations and the murder of
climate change existed during this time with the Heather Heyer. Since the mid-2010’s, the Department
growth of greenhouse gases. In both Obama terms, the of Homeland Security and the FBI consider now the
epidemic of mass shootings transpired in Aurora, threat of white supremacist and alt-right violence as the
Sandy Hook, Charleston, Orlando, etc. The issues of leading threat of domestic terrorism in America. There
race and policing were on center stage during the 2010’s is no question that Trump is a threat to democracy
when there are killings of many African Americans by with his lies and corrupt political actions. We embrace
cops. These African Americans are Eric Garner, empathy. Also, we saw a new progressive movement
Michael Brown, Philando Castille, and the names of so fighting for social and racial justice. Another revolution
many other human beings. These events sparked the of technology came about with I-Pads, I-Phones XR,
development of the Black Lives Matter movement. Oculus Rift, Uber, Netflix, Hulu, and the growth of
Protests, discussions, and rebellions against racism, social media platforms from Instagram to Snapchat. As
police brutality, racial profiling grew. The strengths of the 2020 presidential election continues and new
the Obama Presidency transpired along with his movements flourish, the same goal of liberty is
weaknesses (like his embrace of respectability politics, embraced by many Americans.
The Inauguration of President Barack Obama
The 2009 Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America was a historic time.
It occurred on January 20, 2009 just after 10 years ago. I was 25 years old on that day. The event set a record
attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C. Barack Obama’s wife and the First Lady in 2009 was Michelle
Obama. The Vice President was Joe Biden. Barack Obama had to resign from the Senate on November 4, 2008 in
order for him to be sworn in as president. The inauguration was planned by mostly 2 committees of: the Joint
Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Although the
election was scheduled for November 4, 2008, the congressional committee began construction of the inaugural
platform on September 24, 2008. The District of Columbia allowed bars and restaurants to stay open around the
clock to help people celebrate the festivities. The co-chairs of the Presidential Inaugural Committee were William
Daley, Penny Pritzker, John Rogers, Patrick Ryan and Julianna Smoot. The full length of the National Mall was used
as the public viewing area for the swearing in ceremony. That extended from the United States Capitol to the
Lincoln Memorial. They used environmental friendly actions like recyclable carpet for the platform, recycled paper
for invitation and inaugural ball tickets, etc. Money raised for the event came from Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, George
Lucas, George Soros, and others. Tickets were sold. There were many pre-inaugural events. Barack Obama traveled
on a train to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln on January 17, 2009.

He rode the Georgia 300 from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. They stopped at Wilmington, Delaware where
Biden joined the tour. During his speeches to the crowds, Barack Obama emphasized the theme "A New Birth of
Freedom" using phrases associated with Lincoln such as "better angels" and "a new declaration of independence.”
Thousands of people cheered him. By January 18, 2009, there was the We Are One concert. It happened at the
Lincoln Memorial. The eve of the Inauguration Day, January 19, 2009, fell on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a U.S.
federal holiday in recognition of Dr. King's birthday. Obama called upon communities everywhere to observe the
King Day of Service, a day of citizen volunteer service honoring the human rights leader. More than 13,000
community service events took place across the nation on the day, the largest participation in the 14 years since
Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act and more than double the previous year's event. Barack Obama
and his family plus Joe Biden including his family worked in charities on that day. The Kids’ Inaugural: We are the
Future concert was held at the Verizon Center (headed by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden) on January 19, 2009.
Celebrities at the concert were Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, Bow Wow, George Lopez, Corbin
Bleu, Queen Latifah, Billy Ray Cyrus, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jamie Foxx. Michelle Obama wanted people to volunteer
in real life.

The inauguration ceremony took place at the West front of the United States Capitol. Performances existed from
the United States Marine Band. Live performances came from the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco
Girls Chorus. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and
the first woman to preside over a U.S. presidential inauguration, acted as the day's Master of Ceremonies. The
Evangelical pastor Rick Warren gave the invocation at the inaugural ceremony. After that, the great vocalist Aretha
Franklin sang “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” Vice President Biden took the oath first from Associate Justice John Paul
Stevens. President Barack Obama took his oath after noon by Chief Justice John Roberts. Michelle Obama held the
Bible, which was used by Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration, as Barack Obama placed his hand on the Bible
and recited the presidential oath. Barack Obama’s inaugural address combined the responsibility of government to
be accountable and hope for the future. The speech was traditional. He invoked the Founders in wanting change.

Obama also highlighted the United States' religious diversity, referring to the country's "patchwork heritage" as a
strength and saying, "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers." This was the
first time a United States President acknowledged American non-believers in an inaugural address. The luncheon
came after the speech. Then, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama walked the inaugural parade route.
Marching bands were in the celebration. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended 10
official inaugural balls during the evening of January 20, 2009. The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, one of six balls
held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, was the first stop of the evening for the President and First
Lady. The Obamas danced their first song as Beyoncé Knowles serenaded them with her rendition of the Glenn
Miller classic "At Last.” Etta James sang At Last too. According to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the
Neighborhood Inaugural Ball was the first ball ever with free or affordable tickets, a contrast to recent history in
which "inaugural balls generally have been closed to everyday Americans, populated instead by an exclusive circle
of dignitaries and donors.” A portion of the tickets for the ball was reserved for Washington D.C. residents.
President Barack Obama and his family plus Joe Biden and his family attended the interfaith National prayer service
on January 21, 2009 (at Washington National Cathedral). Therefore, the Presidency of Barack Obama started in
2009 with exuberance and hope.

The This was when Barack Obama and his wife

Michelle were at the Civil Rights Summit at
President Barack Obama met with UK
Prime Minister David Cameron during the

Barack the LBJ Presidential Library in 2014. 2010 G20 Toronto summit.

Obama Era
The Obamas and the Bidens embrace President Barack Obama and First Lady
following the television announcement of Michelle Obama dance during one of the
their victory. inaugural balls. In 2013.
Continued Domestic Terrorism
Immediately, Barack Obama revoked Executive Order 13233. This revocation allowed more records of former
Presidents to be seen by the public. Barack Obama said that he wanted the closure of Guantanamo Bay detention
camp. He signed an executive order banning torture and other illegal coercive techniques like waterboarding
during interrogations. He wanted the Army field manual to be used as a guide. He invested in abortion. He ordered
airstrikes with Predator drones in his Presidency. President Obama announced that companies receiving large
amounts of federal bailout money through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) must cap top executive pay
at US$500,000 on February 4, 2009. Throughout both terms of the Presidency of Barack Obama, domestic
terrorism was very common. The Tucson shooting in 2011 killed 6 people and injured Representative Gabrielle
Giffords. There was the 2012 Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting in the year of 2012. This was when on August 5,
2012; Wade Michael Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others in a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in
Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Page was an American white supremacist and a United States Army veteran from Cudahy,
Wisconsin. All of the dead were members of the Sikh faith. There was the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. On
April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs detonated 12 seconds and 210 yards apart at 2:49 p.m., near the finish line
of the annual Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring several hundred others, including 16 who lost
limbs. Kyrgyz-American brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were apprehended and claimed to
have been motivated by radical Islamist beliefs.

On June 17, 2015, there was the Charleston Church massacre. Nine African American women and men were
murdered. Their names were Clementa C. Pinckney (41), Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (54), Susie Jackson (87), Ethel
Lee Lance (70), Depayne Middleton-Doctor (49), Tywanza Sanders (26), Daniel L. Simmons (74), Sharaonda
Coleman-Singleton (46), and Myra Thompson(59). Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, went into the
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina and shot and killed nine people. Roof is
a white supremacist and owned a website where he wrote a manifesto in which he outlined his abhorrent views
toward black people, among other peoples. The sick part of this story was when the police sent Dylann Roof to a
restaurant to eat a hamburger before he was sent to jail. Barack Obama gave a funeral sermon about America and
race. He sang a song there too. Charleston united to condemn racism and to fight for justice. Today, white
supremacists are the biggest domestic threat in America. Hurd's family announced that they are establishing the
Cynthia Graham Hurd Fund for Reading and Literacy organization in her memory; it is expected to give children
easier access to books. Nine artists from across the U.S. created portraits of the victims as a tribute. The portraits
were put on display at Principle Gallery for one month, and were given to the victims' families afterwards. Artists
involved in the memorial included Ricky Mujica, Mario Andres Robinson, Lauren Tilden, Paul McCormack, Gregory
Mortenson, Catherine Prescott, Terry Strickland, Judy Takács, and Stephanie Deshpande. The aftermath of the
Charleston Massacre was the elimination of the racist Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol in
2015. The elimination of the Confederate flag was a glorious day in our history. I will show more information about
this historic event later on. Terrorism continued in the Orlando Pulse nightclub (which is known to be filled with
LGBTQIA+ human beings) on June 12, 2016 where 49 people were murdered by Omar Mateen. 53 people were
injured. At the time, this event was the deadliest mass shooting in United States history (after 1945) by a single
gunman, later eclipsed by the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Additionally, it was the deadliest confirmed terrorist attack
on U.S. soil since the 9/11 attacks.

New Reforms
One of his most important laws that he signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It promoted fair pay regardless
of sex, race, or age. Lilly Ledbetter, the plaintiff in the employment discrimination case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire
& Rubber Co. joined Barack and Michelle Obama at the signing ceremony. It was a long time coming, but the law
has protected the lives of millions of Americans. President Obama signed the Children's Health Insurance Program
Reauthorization Act of 2009 reauthorizing and expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
President Obama overhauled the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, renaming it the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. This plan included an economic stimulus plan. Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act into law. On May 20, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Helping Families Save Their
Homes Act of 2009 and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act are signed into law by President Obama to help
alleviate burdens caused by the economic financial crisis in the United States. President Barack Obama nominated
federal judge Sonia Sotomayor to take over the retiring Justice David Souter. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is the first
Latina Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize by October 9, 2009. He left the
HIV travel ban and signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009 too. Barack Obama regulated banks with the
Volcker Rule.

One of his biggest reforms was the Affordable Care Act. It has been called Obamacare. It took long debates to get it
passed and signed. A compromise allowed the bill to lack a public option while banning discrimination based upon
pre-existing conditions, it allowed young people to be on their parents plan until 26 years old, etc. The law
transformed the American healthcare system in a way that wasn’t seen since the 1960’s. Obama wanted to
increase quality, affordable, health care with better access. By 2019, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
exists with its strengths and weaknesses. Millions of Americans have health care for the first time and further
action is needed to make the ACA better. The BP oil spill in 2010 showed the world that regulation involving the
environment is necessary. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is signed by
President Obama. The Act gives regulators stronger authority when it comes to breaking up large companies and
attempts to protect the consumer by restricting practices in consumer loans and credit cards. Barack Obama
assisted veterans with the post 911 GI law. He signed Rosa’s Law that changes federal statues to use the more
respectful phrase of intellectual disability.

The October 2010 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act becomes law. It sets new standards so
that Americans who are deaf, blind, or live with a visual impairment have equal access and opportunity to new
technological innovations. The 2010 midterm elections increased the power of the Republicans in both houses of
Congress. Reforms still existed like the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that invested in nutrition programs.
He banned Don’t Ask, Don’t tell in December of 2010. This ban allowed open LGBTQIAPK+ human beings to serve in
the Armed Forces. By 2011, President Barack Obama signed laws dealing with the budget, he announced the end of
the Iraq War in 2011, and he signed the American Jobs Act. As 2011 ended and 2012 began, President Barack
Obama would not only run for President for his second term, but he lived through some of the most historic social
changes in American history. By early 2012, the Presidential election of 2012 was under way. It was a much closer
election than in 2008, but President Barack Obama would win a second term by November of 2012.

Historic Societal Changes

There is no question that massive social changes have transpired in America during the Obama era. The SCHIP
program was reauthorized in 2009 to help children. We saw more people see an expansion of social media and
Internet technology. Also, cyber security issues dominated the times of the 21st century too. It is easy to see that
President Barack Obama is the most pro-LGBTQIA U.S. President in history. Obama signed the policy to end the ban
on travel to America by those infected with HIV. He allowed transgender people to serve openly in the military via
the Pentagon by 2016. He was the first U.S. President to endorse the legalization of same sex marriage in public.
During his second inaugural address on January 21, 2013, Obama became the first U.S. President in office to call for
full equality for gay Americans. By June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same sex marriage
nationwide in America via Obergefell v. Hodges. The White House was illuminated in rainbow colors on the evening
of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling. On July 30, 2015, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
revised its strategy for addressing the disease, which included widespread testing and linkage to healthcare, which
was celebrated by the Human Rights Campaign. We see more discussions about sexual harassment and the rise of
the MeToo movement. Tarana Burke is the founder of the MeToo movement. More criminals who harassed
women or anyone else, are increasingly being charged from Harvey Weinstein to R Kelly. We witness more women
in Congress and in leadership positions. Also, we have a more awareness of black people’s concerns from criminal
justice issues to reparations. Also, there is a backlash.

There are new laws that restrict abortion in 2019. The crisis of immigration continues with migrants escaping
warzones in Central America, and separation of families. The 2010's saw basically movements evolving from the
Arab Spring to the yellow vest movement. From 2016 to the present, a neo-nationalist political backlash against
globalization existed. This movement is promoted by Trump in abhorring progressive immigration policy and
desiring free trade agreements. This movement does have xenophobic elements, and it’s found in Europe and in
America. An aging population has increased worldwide, more young people have more economic pressures, and
Europe plus Japan saw substantial population declines. Climate change is here and threats to biodiversity are ever
present. Many of the youth are changing too. In May 2014, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported those
teenage pregnancies and their uses of drugs and alcohol reached record lows. A 2013 survey showed that the rate
of teen smoking dropped to 15.7%, the rate of teenagers having unprotected sex dropped to 34% and the rate of
teenagers participating in a physical fight dropped to 25%, much lower than their counterparts 22 years earlier.

The Issues of Race, Police Brutality, etc.

The United States of America had to deal with the issue of race since its founding. Many of the authors of the
Declaration of the Independence and the Constitution wrote about liberty, but didn’t practice what they preached
in their acts as slave-owners. America is unique in the sense that we have the most diverse amount of people in
human history, and we still have to fight for rights that should have been inborn from the beginning. When Barack
Obama became President, some naively believed that we lived in a post racial nation (and that racism would be
gone soon). Back in November 2009, conservative host Lou Dobbs inaccurately stated that we live in a “21st
century post partisan, post racial society." Immediately, when President Barack Obama was in office, he
experienced racism from many people. Some racists called him a witchdoctor (on the issue of the ACA), questioned
his nationality (in claiming that he was born in Kenya, which was false), the bigots disrespected his wife plus his
children, and some called him racial slurs. That is totally unjustified. It is one thing to express legitimate critique of
his Presidency (in dealing with his drone strikes, hawkish actions, his harsh actions against whistleblowers, and on
other issues). Yet, the racism against Obama was evil and disgusting. On October 28, 2009, the Matthew Shepard
and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed to authorize federal prosecution of all racially motivated
hate crimes. In 2010, Shirley Sherrod is a black woman who was falsely accused of being racist towards white
Americans. She was from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Fair Sentencing Act was passed on August 3, 2010 that reduced sentencing disparities between crack and
powder cocaine to an 18:1 ratio. Today, we have people from across the political spectrum opposing the corruption
found in the criminal justice system. Many people in America don’t see eye to eye on many issues. In a Washington
Post/ABC News poll conducted in December 2014, about 50% of white respondents said they believed that the
justice system treats Americans of all races equally, but only 10% of African-Americans said the same. In the spring
of 2015, according to a Gallup poll, 13 percent of black Americans surveyed identified race relations as the most
important problem the United States faces, compared with 4 percent of white Americans. So, it is obvious that we
must deal with the issues of race, sex, and class in order for us to go into the Promised Land of true freedom and
justice. During the Obama era and beyond, the epidemic of police brutality continues to exist in America plus
worldwide. This is not just an American issue. It’s a global issue. In Brazil, many victims of police brutality exist. In
2015, according to a study by The Guardian, police officers in the United States killed 7.13 black Americans per
million, compared with 2.91 white Americans per million. People from many quarters have exposed the killings of
African Americans and people of every color. The Obama Presidency dealt with many of these issues of the killings
of black Americans whether by vigilantes or by the police.

Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. was killed on November 19, 2011. The death of
Trayvon Martin was caused by the racist vigilante George Zimmerman (he is a
racist since he was caught on tape using the n word, and he is pictured
celebrating the Confederate flag). Zimmerman was told by the police to not
follow Trayvon Martin, but he did anyway. He provoked a confrontation and
killed Trayvon Martin. If Zimmerman left that child Trayvon Martin alone,
Trayvon Martin would be alive today. Zimmerman has a known history of
stalking people in Sanford, Florida. Trayvon Martin’s death took place on
February 26, 2012. The country of America was divided. Debates on stand
your ground, race, class, and vigilantes existed. Zimmerman escaped justice
by being acquitted by a jury. Zimmerman later became involved in incidents
with the police, his girlfriends, and other people. He has been accused of
domestic abuse, and he is recorded on tape using a racist slur against a black Sister Aiyana MoNay Stanley-
man. Trayvon’s friend Rachel Jeantel has been slandered, but she is Jones was killed by a Detroit
multilingual and achieved great accomplishments. The documentary "I am police officer To this very day,
Trayvon Martin" documented Zimmerman’s racism and extremism with facts. that officer has not been
Zimmerman has threatened the co-executive producer of the documentary convicted of any crime. She lived
Michael Gasparro, Jay Z, and Beyonce. Zimmerman is a total fraud and a from July 20, 2002 to May 16,
coward. Malcolm Shabazz or Malcolm X’s grandson was killed in Mexico. 2010. She was only 7 years old.

One of the worst decisions in history was when the Supreme Court overturned part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in
Shelby County v. Holder. Since June 25, 2013, draconian anti-voting rights laws have been passed in the South and
in the Midwest. The Voting Rights Act is gutted of Section Five. After George Zimmerman was acquitted on July 13,
2013, tons of protested existed from Florida to NYC, Chicago, etc. By 2013, a new movement was created. It was a
combination of the old school protests of the Civil Rights Movement and the progressive side of the Black Power
movement with its emphasis on Blackness. It is the Black Lives Matter movement. It was created by 3 black women
whose names are Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. It has been loved and hated. It has been praised
and condemned, but it has existed to this very day since 2013. We can all agree with their views of police brutality
being bad, racial profiling must be eliminated, and all black lives should be protected. They condemn sexism,
ageism, and make it their mission to protect the lives of black LGBTQIA+ human beings. There is the epidemic of
the murder of black trans people, and murder should be condemned. Murder is evil period. Worse news came
about involving innocent lives in Missouri. By 2014, Michael Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson at
Ferguson, Missouri. The officer said that he used self-defense, while Brown’s family said it was a murder.
Immediately, a rebellion existed in Ferguson which never occurred in America on that scale since the 1992 LA
rebellion.
 LAWYER, AUTHOR, PHILANTHROPIST, MOTHER, JURIS DOCTOR, AND ACTIVIST

Her husband Barack Obama has The Obama family unconditionally

been with her throughout the loves their two daughters who are
times of her life for decades. Sasha and Malia Obama.
Barack Obama is her friend,
advisor, and encourager.
Michelle Obama always says that
a great relationship must act as a
loving team.

The Obama couple love each other in a

blessed way. True love deals with coming
Michelle Obama together and showing actions the
represents honor, sacrifice, and integrity.

Michelle Obama
and Beyoncé are The first black woman First Lady
friends.
in the history of the United States
of America
Michelle Obama is one of the most famous and likeable people in the world. She is well liked not only
because of her intellect. She is honest about what she thinks. She defends her family, and she is a woman
who promotes true justice and equality. For years, she promoted programs of exercise, healthy eating, and
the upliftment of girls plus women. The only way that we can go out and achieve the highest potential as
Americans (and people of the world in general) is to treat girls including women with dignity and with
respect. Her being the first African American First Lady is truly an amazing historical event. We are
blessed to live during these days. Also, we have the responsibility to help our communities, to do the
right thing, and to defend the principles of democracy including social justice. We believe in the Dream
not only for moral reasons. It’s just the right thing to do.
 Sister Bree Newsome climbed up the flagpole to take down the Confederate racist flag in order to
stand up against the racism executed against black people. She wanted to oppose oppression found in
the world, and she advances the principle of human liberation to this very day. Her words outline
power, and she has spoken in favor of the rights of the poor and all oppressed human beings in
general.

The “Hands up, Don’t shoot” movement existed. Progressives, black activists, and other people met in Ferguson to
organize, protest, and stand up for their rights. During the Ferguson uprising, many cops deployed military
weapons, some innocent journalists plus citizens were unjustly arrested, and many people suffered tea gas (from
ordinary citizens to journalists). During the funeral of Michael Brown, Al Sharpton (who was a FBI informant) made
the disrespectful comment that people shouldn't make "ghetto pity parties" when the truth is that silence is
betrayal. Through ups and down, Ferguson became the start of a new era of black youth activism. July 17, 2014 was
when Eric Garner was choked to death unjustly by a police officer. Other cops around Garner did nothing to stop it.
This was in New York City. Black children, black women, black men and the black elderly continued to be killed
across America. Nine African Americans were murdered at the Charleston Church called the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church at downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The community in Charleston came together
to fight racism and murder. President Barack Obama came to remember the victims via his eulogy about the
Charleston victims. Barack Obama has a mixed record on police brutality issues. He set up legitimate policies to
address police brutality with consent decrees, meetings, etc. Likewise, he gave middle of the road speeches that
mention respectability politics and compromise. The Say Her Name movement addresses the epidemic of black
women being murdered by the police and other criminals. Sandra Bland died in a Texas jail after a traffic stop
where the cop acted inappropriately towards her.

In 2015, Freddie Gray was arrested by Baltimore police, and he died in custody while he was in a hospital
afterwards. Immediately, Baltimore had its rebellion which was its largest since 1968. We still have a system of
oligarchy, racism, and classism. That is why we have some cops acting as occupiers in poorer communities. The
system of racism/white supremacy is global. What goes on in America does happen internationally. The rebellion in
Baltimore never existed as a product of a vacuum. It existed after decades of neglect, austerity, poverty,
deindustralization, lax educational opportunities, racism, police brutality, and other evils (by the system of white
supremacy). People have been hurting in Baltimore and throughout the Americas for centuries. Police terrorism
and police occupation have been a common occurrence against black people. Baltimore Attorney Marilyn Mosby,
and former Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake worked in the city as well. Marilyn Mosby is still the
Attorney in Baltimore in 2019.

Most of the cops involved in the arrest of Gray were acquitted. This is a common pattern, because the police union
and the police institution are one of the most powerful lobbyists in America. They influence laws, they fund
politicians, they ask for donations, and it is very difficult to cause any cop to be held accountable for misconduct.
That is why many cops have gotten away with harassing, murdering, raping, and brutalizing people. As media
coverage of police shootings intensified, protests erupted in the wake of the July 5, 2016 shooting of Alton Sterling
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the July 6, 2016 shooting of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. A
respected school nutritionist, Castile was one of 233 African-Americans shot and killed by police in 2016, a startling
number when demographics are considered. African-Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population but
account for 24 percent of people fatally shot by police. According to the Washington Post, blacks are "2.5 times as
likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers." The irony is that one of the issues that those in
the March on Washington from 1963 wanted was the end to police brutality. Over 55 years later, we are still
fighting for that same end.

One of the worst disasters of this decade is the Flint water crisis. In Michigan, tons of people still have poisoned
water because of the policies of the state and local governments in Michigan. Flint is heavily made up of black
people and poor including working class people. Corporate power switched water services as a way to cut corners
economically instead of benefiting the people. Now, we have numerous people suffering health damage and the
existence of total ruin as a product of reckless policies from the powers that be. Lead is a known neurotoxin. Years
later, we are not silent on this issue. A lot of people, including unsung activists, have lend their voices to articulate
the message that clean water ought to exist in Flint including other areas harmed by vicious pollution. Lead
poisoning in buildings has been found in Baltimore, Newark, and other urban communities nationwide in America.
Conservation, animal species protection, and knowledge of our diverse biospheres should have the paramount
importance. Advocating for these progressive policies is not new. For generations, courageous men and
courageous women have stood up for the truth on these issues. We have one world. We have to do all we can to
respect it for future generations.

The former Governor Rick Snyder, who presided over the switch in the city’s water supply from the Detroit system
to the heavily polluted Flint River, was protected from liability under the “sovereign immunity” doctrine. The same
was true for the federal government, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Yet, one judge said
that both can be sued for civil liabilities.

Legal actions were initiated by residents and businesses charging Flint city officials, the state of Michigan and two
private consulting firms with 14 claims of harm, ranging from violation of bodily integrity to gross negligence.
Another action by approximately 3,000 city residents is underway in federal court targeting the EPA for its
negligence. One problem is that the money to rebuild the infrastructure in Flint has been lax. $77 million of federal
money are just loans and must be repaid without grants and outright investments to the people of Flint. This is a
national emergency and the infrastructure of Flint must have total reconstruction without delay.

On July 7, 2016, towards the end of one of these protests in Dallas, Texas, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and
fired upon a group of police officers, killing five officers and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded.
Later, the United the Right rally featured neo-Nazis, Neo-Confederates, and other extremists who support white
supremacy. They are a disgrace to real freedom loving people. One young black person was assaulted and one
white woman was murdered by a white racist. Her name was Heather Mayer. Many people of color like Native
Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, etc. do experience racism, police brutality, and discrimination. The
separation of families on the U.S./Mexico border is horrible. The stealing of Native Americans’ lands to build a
pipeline is evil. Therefore, oppression is intersectional. In 2019, debates on racism and police brutality continue
with Democratic Presidential candidates dealing with those issues too. Police brutality is not new. Back during the
19th century, many police agencies kidnapped runaway slaves. Back during the date of March 7, 1965, there was
Bloody Sunday where cops assaulted innocent protesters at Selma, Alabama. Rodney King in the early 1990’s was
viciously assaulted by crooked cops with nightsticks on tape. The difference now is that Black Lives Matter, Hands
Up Don’t Shoot, and other movements use cell phone evidence and other technologies to record such misconduct.
Cops, who terrorize innocent people, are terrorists period. Recently in June of 2019, many cops in Philadelphia
were caught showing racist, anti-protestor, and Islamophobic comments in social media. There should be no blue
wall of silence. There ought to be a total existence of justice.

In 2019, there is another police killing of an unarmed, mentally ill black woman named Pamela Turner in Baytown,
Texas. Video of the incident existed, and the officer claimed that the mother grabbed his taser and had multiple
warrants. The woman was only 44 years old, and she should have experience assistance not a death sentence.
There is no excuse to shoot the woman 5 times when medical assistance can easily be called to help Pamela
Turner. Supporters of the “All Lives Matter” phrase readily want to minimize the systemic threats and
institutionalized oppression faced by African Americans. The fatal shootings of Aiyana Jones, Laquan McDonald,
Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, and other Brothers and Sisters make us aware that we have so much more to go in seeing
a better union in America. We have to address redlining, discrimination, the prison industrial complex, and other
injustices that harm black communities. Also, we want human liberation. There is no human liberation without
black people being liberated indeed.
The 2016 Presidential Campaign

The 2016 Presidential election in America was one of the most controversial and important elections in human
history. It was filled with debates about economics, emails, social issues, and foreign policy matters. It had an
overload of media coverage, Internet discussions, and issues of tolerance. Trump presented a right wing populist
campaign with the message of “Make America Great Again” and he criticized political correctness. The term MAGA
is oxymoronic since it ignores the troubled history of America during the past and present. We don't want to revert
to a time where minorities had their rights completely violated or when slavery was legal. He or Trump opposed
free trade agreements not for economic rights reasons, but for xenophobic reasons. Hillary Clinton called many of
Trump supporters bigots, which is true. Hillary Clinton wanted to expand President Obama’s policies. She wanted
progressive policies on racial issues, women rights issues, LGBT issues, and she wanted an “inclusive capitalism.”
Capitalism without any regulations is abhorrent. Capitalism, historically, has been involved in exploitation and
human suffering. The 2016 Presidential election allowed people to witness many candidates competing to lead
America in the post-Obama era. The result of the election was a great tragedy. The results came about because of
both financial angst (and populist acceptance) and the massive embrace of racism found in certain segments of the
American people. Many Trump supporters are overt racists since they voted for a racist xenophobe Trump. We
have to analyze the election from 2016 chronologically in order to see it for what it was. The election was
emotional and very personal from the beginning. As early as November 2014, the moderate Jim Webb of Virginia
started an exploratory committee for a positive run for President. Former Governor from Florida Jeb Bush formed a
political action committee or PAC for a possible run the Presidency.

As 2015 continued, many more candidates rose up from Democrats and Republicans like Chris Christie, Martin
O’Malley (a former Governor of Maryland), Lindsey Graham, Mitt Romney, George Pataki, Ben Carson, and other
people. By March 5, 2015, Mark Everson, former Commissioner of Internal Revenue, formally announced his
candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party. On March 18, 2015, Donald Trump, CEO of The
Trump Organization since 1971, formed an exploratory committee in preparation for a possible run for president
on the Republican Party ticket. Ted Cruz ran for President on March 23, 2015. In early April of 2015, Rand Paul
(who is known for his non-interventionist foreign policy views) and Lincoln Chafee ran for President. Rick Santorum
decided to have an exploration to see a possible run for President. On April 12, 2015, former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton formally announced her candidacy for the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. She sent
out a video to outline her goals and her story. She went into Iowa to campaign. Immediately, Hillary Clinton
received tons of support. On April 30, 2015, Bennie Sanders officially launched his campaign.
Sanders went after oligarchs, lobbyists, super PACS, and economic inequality. He wants a political revolution to
transform America in many ways. From the start, neoliberals and the far right hate him because of his progressive
views. Bernie Sanders did the right thing in promoting economic justice. He did the right thing in allowing society to
witness the economic, health, and educational disparities among the poor and the super wealthy in order to
advocate for progressive change in the United States of America. His weakness was that he struggled to connect
the intersectionality of economic injustice, racism, and sexism. Oppression comes in many forms, and you have to
make that complex connection in order to make the plan of action work more comprehensively. For example, the
criminal justice disproportionately sends harsher sentences to black people, poor people, and other people of color
more so than white Americans (as proven by numerous sociological studies). Hillary Clinton had many strengths in
her campaign, and her weakness was that on some issues, she aligned with the establishment from a hawkish
foreign policy to other moderate positions. Many Wall Street interests funded the Hillary Clinton campaign. Also,
Hillary was critiqued fairly, and criticized unfairly via sexist attacks against her from many quarters (from far right
Republicans to some Bernie Bros members).

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida officially ran for President by April 13, 2015. In May of 2015, Carly Fiorina of
California, Ben Carson of Maryland, former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, George Pataki,
and others ran for President on the Republican side. Martin O’Malley increased his campaign race. Lindsay Graham,
Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, and Jeb Bush ran for President in June of 2015. On June
16, 2015 was when Donald Trump of New York officially declared his candidacy for President. From the start, his
campaign was filled with hated, bigotry, and lies. His first campaign speech slandered some undocumented
immigrants as rapists and heinous criminals. The Republican side had more people like Scott Walker, John Kasich,
and Jim Gilmore from Virginia. Republican candidates debated each other by August of 2015. They discussed about
many issues. By August of 2015, Republican candidates debated on C-SPAN in New Hampshire (at the New
Hampshire Institute of Politics in Goffstown, New Hampshire), and later at FOX News. Simi Valley California was
where another Republican debate existed. At first, many Republican candidates didn’t take Trump seriously.

Later, that would change. Trump would disrespect the Republican candidates personally about their wives, their
fathers, and on other issues. Trump would disrespect Jeb Bush's wife and Ted Cruz's father. The first Democratic
debate was held in Las Vegas, Nevada at Wynn Casino on October 13, 2015. From the start, the race had the two
front runners of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Sanders attacked Clinton as too moderate, and Clinton attacked
Sanders as promoting unrealistic proposals. For a time, the campaign was very personal as Hillary Clinton said to
Bernie Sanders to say those criticisms about her to her face. To this day, many Hillary supporters can’t tolerate
Bernie supporters (and vice versa). By the end of 2015, the Presidential race was unlike any other before 2016. By
early 2016, more Democratic and Republican debates existed. Hillary Clinton won the Iowa Democratic caucus on
February 1, 2016 and Ted Cruz won the same caucus on the Republican side in Iowa. Older Democratic people
supported Hillary while Bernie Sanders had massive support among progressives including younger Americans.
Super delegates supported Hillary Clinton massively in 2016. It is no secret that members of the Democratic
establishment didn’t like Bernie Sanders since he criticized capitalist exploitation and wanted democratic socialism
to be praised. Hillary Clinton was criticized for calling black children “super predators” and voting for the Iraq War.
Bernie Sanders has his imperfections, and Bernie Sanders opposed the Iraq War. Also, it is important to note that
many of the Bernie Bros. have issued sexist remarks against Hillary Clinton, and that is wrong period. Sexism is
totally evil. Bernie Sanders was the more progressive candidate than Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

By February of 2016, many Republicans candidates ended their campaigns like Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, and Mike
Huckabee. While Bernie Sanders won many primaries in Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado, etc., Hillary
Clinton won more primaries in more states like Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama,
etc. Bernie Sanders had large rallies in the Bronx and in other places nationwide. While this was going on, Trump
continued to spew division, hatred, and ad hominem attacks on his opponents. Bernie Sanders fought until the
end. By July of 2016, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump won the Republican primary and
decided to get Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his Vice Presidential running mate. Mike Pence makes no bones
about his very conservative views. Hillary Clinton chose Virginia governor Tim Kaine as his Presidential running
mate. Tim Kaine was the mayor of Richmond too, and he has a center left side. Donald Trump had his Republican
convention in Cleveland, Ohio. It was filled with paranoia, xenophobic rhetoric from Trump, and fear mongering.
The reactionary Alex Jones was at RNC to agitate and slander progressives. The Republican speakers there loved
the extreme rhetoric from Trump. It is no secret that Donald Trump provoked violence at his rallies or violence
occurred at his rallies. Trump explicitly said that he wished for protesters to be beaten up. Protesters were
opposing Trump’s agenda on July 12, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. On August 25, 2015, during a press conference,
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos began to question Trump since before being called on. After being told "Sit down!
you weren't called" and "Go back to Univision", Ramos continued to protest Trump's plan to deport undocumented
immigrants and their children born into citizenship in the U.S. Trump motioned to his security, with Keith Schiller
removing Ramos from the event. Trump later met with Ramos alone. Keith Schiller also punched a protester on
September 3, 2015.

In Richmond, Virginia, people clashed among protesters and Trump supporters on October 14, 2015. On February
29, 2016, at a rally, veteran photojournalist Chris Morris was grabbed by his throat and thrown to the ground by a
member of the Secret Service. On March 1, 2016, a black woman named Kashiya Nwanguma attended a Trump
rally in Louisville, Kentucky, with two anti-Trump signs. She reported that Trump supporters ripped her signs away
and shouted insults at her. On March 10, 2016, as Trump was being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North
Carolina, an African American protester was punched by a Trump supporter. Charges of assault and battery were
filed by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office. A protester being led by police from a rally in Fayetteville, North
Carolina, was sucker punched by John McGraw, a Trump supporter. McGraw later told the media that the next
time he saw the protester, "we might have to kill him.” McGraw was subsequently charged with assault and
battery and given 12 months of probation. That assaulter receiving only probation exposes the brutally racist
criminal justice system. On Meet the Press, Trump said that he had instructed his team to look into paying
McGraw's legal fees and said, "He obviously loves his country." On March 11, 2016, during a rally in St. Louis, at
which Trump was "repeatedly interrupted by protesters, violence broke out between supporters of Trump and
protesters, resulting in 32 arrests.” A planned event for later that day in Chicago drew confrontations between
supporters and protesters in the arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago before Trump could come out to
speak, due to an unusually large number of protesters, and the campaign cancelled the rally due to safety
concerns. Trump stated that he made the decision himself, commenting, "I didn't want to see people get hurt [so] I
decided to postpone the rally." Protests existed in New York City and all over America.

Later, The Democratic National Convention has held in July 25-28, 2016. It was held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The atmosphere was completely different than the RNC. Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination as the first
woman to win the Democratic nomination in American history. The Convention had a large amount of diverse
human beings. It was a ground breaking convention. The Green Party and Libertarian Party existed with their
candidates. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka were part of the Green Party. Evan McMullin ran as an independent. The
first presidential general election debate was held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (The first debate
was originally going to be held at Wright State University, but the location was changed due to rising security costs
that were being incurred by the school). Hillary Clinton ends up taking the majority support after the debate. By
October 7, 2016, Trump’s campaign almost ended with the tapes leaked out from Access Hollywood. It showed
Donald Trump and Billy Bush talking about exploiting women in vulgar, sexist terms back in 2005. Trump bragged
about grabbing women by their private area. Criticism was fierce. Trump has been accused of sexual harassment by
many women. Later, WikiLeaks began publishing thousands of emails from the personal Gmail account of Clinton
campaign manager John Podesta, revealing excerpts from Clinton's paid speeches to Wall Street. The Hillary email
scandal hurt the Hillary Clinton campaign too. Hillary Clinton was a better debater than Donald Trump. Trump used
personal insults. Gary Johnson ran on the Libertarian ticket. One event that contributed to the defeat of Clinton
was when on October 28, 2016; James Comey announced that the FBI will be investigating newly discovered emails
pertinent to its previous investigation of Hillary Clinton's private server.

Hillary's lead in the polls dropped heavily within days. From that point onward, it was the beginning of the end. By
November 6, 2016, James Comey told Congress there is no evidence in the recently discovered emails that Clinton
should face charges over handling of classified information. By this phase of the election, scholars and journalists
questioned whether Russians and Putin are influencing the election. We know now that Russian intelligence is
complicit in election meddling during the 2016 election.
On Election Day on November 8, 2016, it was a shocking event. Hillary Clinton won the majority of the popular
vote, but Donald Trump won most of the Electoral College. Therefore, Trump won the 2016 Presidential election.
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan voted for Trump while Virginia voted against Trump since Virginia has a
large minority population. Also, Virginia is a more progressive state politically than 20 years ago. When you look at
demographics, most liberals and moderates voted for Hillary Clinton while most conservatives voted for Trump. 58
percent of white people voted for Trump, 88 percent of black people voted for Hillary Clinton, 65 percent of Asian
people voted for Hillary Clinton, and 65 percent of Hispanic people voted for Hillary Clinton. The vast majority of
white men and white women voted for Donald Trump. The vast majority of people from 18-39 years old voted for
Hillary Clinton while people 40 and older voted for Donald Trump. The election results was a product of the
paradox of many Obama supporters supporting Trump, since they believed in his right wing populist message, and
Trump appealed to the latent (plus overt) xenophobia plus racism found among many Americans. Donald Trump is
a billionaire demagogue whose policies would lead into class war, national chauvinism, militarism, and the
expansion of police state power. Trump hypocritically claimed to be for the common people, but he had elected a
cabinet of far right ideologies, corporate leaders, criminals, and those who endorse oligarchy. That is why Trump
passed his massive tax cut for the super wealthy. Donald Trump is a racist, white supremacist. Since 2016, we have
seen the growth of radical, far right movements and the resistance against such evil being advanced too.

The Trump Presidency

After the 2016 election was over, tons of Americans were shocked. Many people were massively dismayed at some
xenophobic, sexist, and racist liar being selected as President by the Electoral College (not by the majority of voters
as the majority of the American voters voted for Hillary Clinton). This is the new reality. The Vice President is Mike
Pence of Indiana. Trump lied and said that massive voting fraud existed up to 5 million illegal votes in favor of
Hillary Clinton. Multiple studies have shown that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Mike Pence after
Chris Christie headed up the Trump transition team. President Barack Obama spoke with Donald Trump on
November 10, 2016 on giving him advice. Allies of Trump early on were Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, retired
Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former presidential candidate Ben
Carson, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. His wife,
Melanie Trump accompanied him, and he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump’s speech during his
inauguration was filled with fear mongering rhetoric. He promoted the concept of America First. He wanted
policies to benefit American workers and American factories without realizing that Americans aren’t islands.

We are interconnected with the human family globally, and what benefits America should benefit the world
positively without xenophobia. At the age of seventy, Trump surpassed Ronald Reagan and became the oldest
person to assume the presidency, and the first without any prior government or military experience. His original
cabinet has been changed so much since many of them quit, resigned, fired, or convicted for criminal wrongdoing.
The Trump cabinet is the most corrupt cabinet of any Presidency in over 35 years old. Rex Tillerson was once the
Secretary of State until Mike Pompeo took over in 2018. Jeff Sessions was once the Attorney General until William
Barr replaced him. Ryan Zinke left the Secretary of Interior by 2019 and David Berhardt is the acting one. The
Trump administration has been characterized by record turnover, particularly among White House staff. By the end
of his first year in office, 34 percent of Trump's original staff had resigned, been fired, or been reassigned. As of
early March 2018, 43 percent of senior White House positions had turned over. Many members of his own officials
have privately gone against his agenda.

Turning Back the Clock and the Resistance

During the first year of the Trump administration, he turned back the clock on many issues. He did so not only
because of his hatred of Obama’s policies. He did so since he arrogantly believes in a far right view that
individualism matters above the common interests of the collective people. Power is meant for the people not for
the select few in an oligarchy. He permitted the confirmation of the conservative Neil Gorsuch as an Associate
Justice on the Supreme Court. He tried to end the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He
repeatedly wanted to repeal the ACA or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He failed to repeal the
ACA. He labeled China as a currency manipulator and issued tariffs on China. He promoted the 2017 Shayrat missile
strike in Syria without congressional approval. He opposed NATO on the grounds of nationalist reasons not on
imperialist reasons. Trump used many executive orders to get his agenda going. Presidential historian Michael
Beschloss said that "based on a legislative standard"—which is what the first 100 days has been judged on since the
tenure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who enacted 76 laws in 100 days including nine that were "major"—
"Trump is really pretty low down on the list."

By December of 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. It cut taxes on the super wealthy. It cut the
corporate tax rate to 21 percent. It lowered personal tax brackets, increased child tax credit, and doubled the
estate tax threshold to $11.2 million, and limited the state and local tax deduction to $10,000. Most people
benefiting from that law are the rich. Households in the lower or middle class would also see a small tax increase
after the tax cuts expire. The bill is estimated to increase deficits by $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Trump watches FOX
News, and FOX News is one of his biggest allies. He doesn’t read much. He mainly works from only 11 am. to 6 pm.
on many occasions He is known for making tweets constantly and using false statements. There is no question that
he has an issue with the rule of law. He has contempt for the First Amendment that goes against his views. He
wanted the Justice Department to investigate his critics. He refuses to agree to submit to lawful subpoenas. He
restricted access of one journalist illegally. In spring of 2018, Trump told White House counsel Don McGahn that he
wanted to order the DOJ to prosecute Clinton and Comey, but McGahn advised Trump that such action would
constitute abuse of power and invite possible impeachment. Any press entity that exposes Trump has been
criticized by Trump as "fake news.” He has called the media the enemy of the people.

On his first day in office, Trump falsely accused journalists of understating the size of the crowd at his inauguration,
and called the media "among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” He has supported law enforcement to
crack down on crime, and he is silent on the epidemic of police brutality in America. He wants to overhaul
programs from the Obama administration that fight police brutality. In July 2017, the Department of Justice
reinstated the use of asset forfeiture, which is the practice of seizing the property of crime suspects who have not
been charged or convicted with a crime. This meant that local authorities in the 24 states that banned the practice
or limited its use so that it could now seize property from individuals who have not even been charged with a crime
if the property is forwarded to the federal government. Previously, in February 2017, when a sheriff complained
about a state senator who proposed legislation to end asset forfeiture, Trump responded, "Who is the state
senator? Do you want to give his name? We'll destroy his career." Trump in a July 2017 speech to police officers
said that he wanted officers to rough up suspects in the police car. Even some law enforcement agencies criticized
Trump over that statement.

Donald Trump met with Kim Jong- Here, Putin is talking with Trump
un at the Singapore summit on at the G20 Hamburg summit on
June of 2018. Both of these July 2017. For years, people have
leaders like each other. Trump understood Putin’s promotion of
appreciates the authoritarian oligarchs and his suppression of
ruler. democratic rights in Russia.
Trump has praised Putin on many
occasions.

Recently, Trump has used the token talk of the First Step Act in order to obfuscate criticism of his evil policies. We
know that prisoners need rehabilitation, job opportunities after they leave jail, and nonviolent drug offenders don’t
deserve the same time as rapists. In August of 2017, Trump pardoned the felon Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He pardoned
former black heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson (I have no issue with that pardon), Dinesh D’Souza, Scotter Libby,
and other people. One of the administration's first actions was to indefinitely suspend a cut in fee rates for HUD
mortgages implemented by the Obama administration. The cut in fee rates would have saved individuals with
lower credit scores around $500 per year on a typical loan. In September 2017, the DOJ announced it would not
defend in courts a mandate that would have extended overtime benefits to more than 4 million workers. From the
Muslim ban based upon nationality to his radical immigration policy that harmed the lives of even migrant children,
Trump is just an authoritarian extremist. In 2017, he put a freeze on hiring federal civilian employees, he
withdrawn from the TPP, he revoked the Mexico City policy, he endorsed the Keystone XL Pipeline, and issued
other policies. One of the most disgraceful actions of Trump was his response to the Hurricane disaster the harmed
Puerto Rico in 2017. Instead of showing empathy towards the victims, Trump scapegoated a Puerto Rican mayor,
was lax with sending resources to Puerto Rico, and threw towels to the people in a patronizing, bigoted way.
Puerto Ricans are Americans, and they are entitled to the same dignity and respect just like any other group of
people worldwide.

The Resistance is a movement created by women (especially women of color) to fight Trump’s agenda. From the
moment that he was selected President, Resistance movement members have fought for progressive views. They
protested worldwide by January of 2017 in America, Europe, Asia, and throughout the world. Donald Trump is one
of the most controversial Presidents in American history. From his demonization of his critics, to his vulgar slander
of peaceful NFL protesters (who oppose police brutality), and to his habitual lying, Trump is infamous for his
abhorrent views. The Women’s March of 2017 motivated the world to see that freedom is not to be taken for
granted. If you want to be free, you have to fight for it. Many leaders of the movement are Carmen Perez, Bob
Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, Teresa Shook, Vanessa Wruble, Evvie Harmon, etc. The Resistance opposed
the aim of a border wall along the Mexico-United States border, efforts to end the ACA, the withdrawal of the Paris
Agreement, the evil acts of the Unite the Right rally, repeal of neutrality regulations in the Internet, etc. The White
House wants changes to the census to strife votes from Democrats. The Trump administration permitted the
separation of immigrant families near the U.S./Mexico border while placing many migrants in internment camps
(filled with harsh conditions. That is disgraceful). So, the Resistance is here to stay. Many members of such
progressive movement want the impeachment or resignation of Donald Trump and his administration.
Charlottesville
The August 11-12, 2017 Charlottesville tragedy was one of the most melancholy times in American history. It
showed the face of evil hate, and it showed the courage of anti-racist activists who stood up against fascists. The
racists in the Unite the Right rally included white supremacists, neo-fascists, the Klan, militias, alt right extremists,
and neo-Confederates. These evil people wanted to maintain the Confederate monuments and memorials of
Robert E. Lee after the decision of the city of Charlottesville to remove such abhorrent images. Confederates were
dedicated to maintain slavery and racism in America. Anyone who supports the Confederacy is a racist period.
Before the rally, numerous Confederate monuments were removed from public places nationwide in America after
the Charleston church shooting massacre of 2015. Many streets were renamed after removing the name of figures
from the Confederacy. These victories caused a far right wing backlash. These racists wanted to protect what they
deem "Confederate heritage," but a heritage based upon oppression is no true heritage at all. Charlottesville Vice
Mayor Wes Bellamy was heroic to stand up against evil. Before the rally, there was the Spencer march on May 13,
2017 to protest the city’s plans to remove the statue of Lee.

A counter protest took place at the same night too. The Ku Klux Klan held another rally in Charlottesville on July 8,
2017. About 50 Klan members and 1,000 counter protesters gathered at a loud but nonviolent rally; the Klan
members left the park after about 45 minutes. In opposition to the rally, the Charlottesville Clergy Collective
created a safe space at First United Methodist Church, which was used by over 600 people. On the evening of
Friday, August 11, a group of white nationalists—variously numbered from "dozens" to "about 250” gathered for
an unannounced (and unsanctioned by the city) march through the University of Virginia's campus. They marched
towards the University's Lawn chanting Nazi and white supremacist slogans, including "White lives matter"; "You
will not replace us"; and "Jews will not replace us.” The Nazi slogan "Blood and Soil" was also used. Mostly white
men were there, and many of them used tiki torches. Later, a fight happened at the Rotunda, and Virginia State
police broke it up. Meanwhile, progressive, anti-racist clergy led a pre-planned ecumenical Christian and interfaith
prayer service at St. Paul's Memorial Church on University Avenue in opposition to the Unite the Right rally. The
Cavalier Daily reported, "While waiting for rides at Nameless Field after the march, several of the 'alt-right'
protesters hurled anti-Semitic, homophobic and misogynistic slurs at several reporters and community members
asking them questions. One man asking questions was thrown to the ground and surrounded by marchers after a
brief physical altercation." Mayor Michael Signer condemned the alt right gathering, writing the following: "When I
think of candlelight, I want to think of prayer vigils. Today, in 2017, we are instead seeing a cowardly parade of
hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance march."
The Unite the Right rally was organized by Jason Kessler and Richard Spencer. The bigots in the rally had
semiautomatic rifles, Nazis symbols, Confederate battle flags, Deus Vult crosses, and they spewed hate. The racists
encountered anti-fascist and anti-racist groups. By August 12, 2017, more racism erupted. Some waved
Confederate flags, and others held posters targeting Jews that read "the Goyim know," and "the Jewish media is
going down.” Protesters also shouted racial slurs and "Jew" when Charlottesville mayor Michael Signer was
mentioned, and they waved Nazi flags and signs claiming, among other things, that "Jews are Satan's children."
Dozens wore Donald Trump's red "Make America Great Again" campaign hats. Saturday morning worshipers at
synagogue Beth Israel, faced with men in fatigues with semiautomatic rifles across the street, and a call on Nazi
web sites to burn their building, felt it prudent to exit the synagogue through a back door, carrying their Torah
scrolls with them. Progressive religious clergy people sang “This Little Light of mine.” They prayed and linked arms.
Harvard professor Cornel West, who organized some of the counter-demonstrators, said that a group of "20 of us
who were standing, many of them clergy, we would have been crushed like cockroaches if it were not for the
anarchists and the anti-fascists who approached, over 300, 350 anti-fascists". West stated, "The neofascists had
their own ammunition. And this is very important to keep in mind, because the police, for the most part, pulled
back."

Violent clashes happened among protesters and counter protesters. Virginia then Governor Terry McAuliffe
declared a state of emergency. Those in the location in opposition to the racists were the National Council of
Churches, Black Lives Matter, Anitifa, etc. Before the rally, counter protesters obtained permits to gather at
McGuffey Park and Justice Park, both less than a quarter-mile from Lee Park. Charlottesville City Council
spokeswoman Miriam I. Dickler later stated that counter protesters did not need permits to protest the rally at Lee
Park. The Virginia State Police called the rally an unlawful assembly. Street brawls existed throughout August 12,
2017. At around 1:45 pm, a self-identified white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. deliberately rammed his car into
a crowd of counter-protesters about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) away from the rally site, killing Heather Heyer and injuring
nearly 40 other people. Heyer was at the location to oppose bigotry and intolerance. Fields fled the scene in his car
but was arrested soon afterward; he was tried and convicted in Virginia state court of first-degree murder,
malicious wounding, and other crimes in 2018, with the jury recommending a sentence of life imprisonment plus
419 years. The following year, Fields pleaded guilty to 29 federal crimes in exchange for federal prosecutors'
agreement not to seek the death penalty. At the rally, one black young person named DeAndre Harris (who was a
former special education instruction assistant) was assaulted by racists in a parking garage too. He received a head
laceration requiring stitches, a concussion, a knee injury, a fractured wrist, and a spinal injury. The people who did
this were Alex Michael Romas, Jacob Scott Goodwin, Daniel P. Borden, and Tyler Watkins Davis. Donald Trump’s
response to the tragedy was offensive and disgraceful. He did not initially denounce the marchers explicitly, instead
condemning "hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides."
While Trump later stated that he condemned neo-Nazis, his first statement and his subsequent defenses of it, in
which he also referred to "very fine people on both sides." There are no fine people on both sides. Neo-Nazis,
white nationalists, and Neo-Confederates aren’t fine people. They are evil people. Unite the Right held an
anniversary rally on August 11–12, 2018, in Washington D.C. Like the original, the rally was expected to draw large
protests from religious organizations, civil rights groups, and anti-fascist organizers. The rally's turnout consisted of
20–30 protesters amidst thousands of counter-protestors. At August 12, 2017, there was a police helicopter crash
too. Citing an FBI source, Virginia Representative Tom Garrett has stated that racial divisions fomented by Russian
agents contributed to violence at the rally. The Heaphy report criticized the city’s handling of the rally. The report
found that the Charlottesville Police Department had failed to adequately prepare for its events, had a flawed plan
of response, and was not properly trained. The report also criticized actions by the Charlottesville City Council,
attorneys from the city and state, the University of Virginia and the Virginia State Police. Law enforcement failed to
break up fights or take an active role in preventing fights and was instructed not to intervene except in cases of
"extreme violence." This decision represented "a tremendous tactical failure that has real and lasting
consequences." University of Virginia officials were aware of plans for a torchlight rally by white nationalists but
"took no action to enforce separation between groups or otherwise prevent violence." Charlottesville police and
Virginia State Police failed to operate under a unified command and did not even use the same radio channel.
David Duke defended Trump’s remarks. Nationwide and worldwide, people led candlelight vigils to condemn
racism in Washington, D.C., Cambridge, Massachusetts, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Former Governor Terry
McAuliffe and Michael Signer wanted the racists to leave Charlottesville. Signer blamed Trump for fueling racial
hatred in America. Beinart wrote that unlike the alt-right, the members of Antifa are not practitioners of an
ideology that advocates the ethnic cleansing of other racial and religious groups nor do they "celebrate regimes
that committed genocide and enforced slavery", and Antifa promotes egalitarianism unlike the alt-right.

University of Virginia Center for Politics director Larry J. Sabato, who lives on the university grounds and saw the
march on August 11, said that the weekend was among the university's saddest days, stating: "I hope people will
put it into context and understand that we had no control over the individuals organizing it, nor the people who
showed up. What we can control is our personal and institutional reaction to it. What I saw was pure evil." Atlanta
mayor Kasim Reed called for city flags to be flown at half-staff, and indicated he favors renaming Confederate
Avenue. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the violence "horrifying" and "evil" and said: "It is racist, far-right
violence and clear, forceful action must be taken against it, regardless of where in the world it happens." German
Justice Minister Heiko Maas similarly condemned the violence, antisemitism, and racism of the neo-Nazis at the
rally. Trump’s statement to make a moral equivalence of protesters and counter protesters is evil by him. Domestic
white supremacist terrorism is the issue. Trump believes that removing Confederate statues was about changing
history, which is a lie. Removing statues deals with dealing with reality, and many resources document the evil
history of the Confederacy. More than 60 Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House of
Representatives and the United States Senate condemned Trump's remarks. Among those were Senators Bernie
Sanders, John McCain, Tim Scott, Susan Collins, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Flake, Orrin
Hatch, Heidi Heitkamp, Claire McCaskill, Joe Manchin, Dean Heller and Tammy Duckworth, and House members
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Don Beyer, Barbara Comstock, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Will Hurd and Gerry Connolly, as well
as Ohio Governor John Kasich and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, "The president's continued talk of blame 'on many sides' ignores the
abhorrent evil of white supremacism ..." Speaker of the House Paul Ryan stated, "We must be clear. White
supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on August 17, that he would introduce articles of
impeachment against President Trump for his remarks in the press conference, stating that Trump had "failed the
presidential test of moral leadership." The racist, anti-Semitic members of the Rise Above Movement had members
arrested for evil acts. Many people from the Presidential advisory councils resigned, but they resigned because of
pressure knowing full well that Trump have said racist statements long before the events of Charlottesville. A
progressive movement in Charlottesville has inspired people to fight for justice. Nikuyah Walker, one of the local
activists who charged into a city council meeting days after the rally to confront the city leadership, was elected
mayor in January 2018. She is the first black woman mayor of Charlottesville. Also, she has a long legacy of activism
in real life and is from Charlottesville, Virginia. So, the future legacy of the city will not be the past. Justice is our
goal like always.
The Mueller Investigation
The Mueller investigation caused a total of 34 people to be indicted. Eight of them pleaded guilty to or been
convicted of felonies. These included five Trump associates and campaign officials. None of the convictions or
indictments were for collusion by the Trump campaign with Russians to influence the election, nor were any such
charges suggested. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who had been appointed as National Security Advisor by the
incoming Trump administration, was convicted of making false statements to FBI investigators about his
conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition, and he was dismissed
from his position. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight felony counts of tax
evasion and bank fraud, pursuant to his earlier lobbying activities for the Party of Regions of former Ukrainian
president Viktor Yanukovich. He later pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud and obstruction of justice; in total, he
was sentenced to over seven years in jail. In February 2018, Mueller's team indicted thirteen Russian citizens and
three Russian entities, including the Internet Research Agency (IRA), for conducting social media campaigns about
the U.S. elections, and twelve members of the Russian GRU cyber espionage group known as Fancy Bear, for
hacking and leaking DNC emails.

In June 2018, Konstantin Kilimnik, Manafort's business partner in Ukraine, was indicted for witness tampering at
the behest of Manafort; Kilimnik is suspected of working for Russian intelligence. Trump’s former personal lawyer
Michael Cohen pled guilty to making hush payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougals. This was in violation
of campaign finance laws. He was also convicted for several unrelated counts of bank and tax fraud. Cohen had a
change of heart to expose Trump as a narcissist, a racist, and a corrupt person. Campaign adviser George
Papadopoulos was convicted for making false statements to the FBI. Russian gun activist Maria Butina was
interviewed by Special Counsel investigators, then prosecuted by the National Security Law Unit and imprisoned for
spying. Longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone, who had met with a Russian person offering to sell derogatory
financial information about Hillary Clinton, was indicted on seven charges and has pled not guilty. Dozens of
ongoing investigations originally handled by the Special Counsel's office were forwarded to district and state
prosecutors, other Department of Justice (DoJ) branches, and other federal agencies. When the Mueller
investigation ended at March 22, 2019, the Mueller Report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr.
Barr acted as the President’s personal attorney instead of an unbiased individual. He defended Trump and said that
there was no collusion and no obstruction of justice. That is a lie, because the Mueller report said that it doesn’t
exonerate Trump on the issue of obstruction of justice. The report found no collusion of Trump and the Russians,
but it did state that Congress has the responsibility to charge Trump with obstruction of justice. The report cited
many examples of obstruction. A redacted version of the report was released to the public on April 18, 2019. The
report concluded that two forms of Russian interference occurred and "violated U.S. criminal law." Mueller later
said that the investigation's conclusion on Russian interference "deserves the attention of every American.”
Mueller refused to indict Trump because of an Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion. Barr and Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein refused to charge Trump on obstruction of justice.

Upon the abolishment of his position on May 29, 2019, Mueller stated that: "the Constitution requires a process
other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.” In other words, he
wants Congress to deal with the process of indicting Trump with obstruction of justice charges. To this day,
members of Congress want the whole unredacted report to be released. Some people want Donald Trump to be
impeached. I believe that he should be impeached too because of various reasons. There is no question that Trump
committed obstruction of justice. Trump has called on people to lie for him, fired people because of the Mueller
report, resisted subpoenas, and refused to allowed officials to testify in Congress. Impeachment means that after
an investigation, the President is charged with high crimes and misdemeanors (by the House). The Senate
ultimately can remove a President from office. Recently, the Presidential candidates of Kamala Harris and Elizabeth
Warren want Trump to be impeached. When you have Republicans and numerous progressives making the case for
impeachment of Trump, then Trump is having a real problem. We shall see what the future holds.

The Historic 2018 Midterm Elections

The 2018 United States mid-term elections was one of the most important elections in American history. It caused
the House of Representatives to be run by a majority of Democrats. That never happened in years. It was an
election of history making in an unprecedented level for women, black people, people of color, and other
minorities. It allowed progressives to show their voices. It prevented a total Republican domination of the
Congress, and it made people aware that social change is still a concept to promote. The Republicans controlled
the Senate with a gain of 2 seats. The 2018 elections had the highest voter turnout in midterm elections since
1914. It saw many firsts. In various referenda, numerous states voted to expand Medicaid coverage, require voter
identification, establish independent redistricting commissions, legalize marijuana, repeal felony
disenfranchisement laws and enact other proposals. It saw the first people in various groups like race, sex,
sexuality, etc. The Democrats issued a message that focused on health care to galvanize their base of supporters to
vote for them. Many candidates opposed the tax cuts for the rich, immigration policies from Trump, and Russian
interference in elections. It was a blue wave election. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
became the first Muslim women elected to the House of Representatives, Ayanna Pressley became the first
African-American woman elected to the House from Massachusetts; Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of
New Mexico became the first Native American women elected to Congress, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New
York became the youngest-ever woman member of the House at age 29. Jared Polis, who was elected governor of
Colorado, became the first openly gay man to be elected. Governor Kevin Stitt, who was elected governor of
Oklahoma, was elected the first Native American governor in the nation. Black women are anchors of the
progressive movement in America, and they heavily were involved in the blue victories.

Over 20 black women serve in Congress as a result of the historic 2018 election. Lauren Underwood is part of the
House from Illinois and she is a black woman. Lucy McBath, a gun control advocate whose son was murdered in
2012, won in Georgia’s Sixth District, flipping a seat that had been in Republican hands for nearly four decades.
Jahana Hayes, a 2016 National Teacher of the Year, is the first black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress.
These women’s victories in the 2018 midterm elections will make them part of the largest women congressional
class in history next January — overall; more than 100 women will become members of Congress. Almost exactly
50 years to the day that Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) became the first black woman elected to Congress, the results of
Election Day 2018 meant that the number of black women in Congress will climb above 20 for the first time in its
history. The lesson is that if you want real change, you have to speak to the concerns of black women. That is just
the truth. You can't be for human liberation unless you show unconditional support to black women. Letitia “Tish”
James became the first black woman, first woman, and first African American elected to the position of New York
attorney general. Illinois House of Representatives member Juliana Stratton was elected lieutenant governor of
Illinois. At the local level, a group of 19 black women dubbed the “Houston 19” all won election to judgeships in
Harris County, Texas. Rachael Rollins became Massachusetts’s first black district attorney. Georgia’s Stacey Abrams
may have lost the election in 2018, but her call for change (especially involving voting rights) resonates today.
Andrew Gillum’s Florida campaign for governor ended not for his victory. Yet, we still know that 2018 was a turning
point to make sure that Trump is held accountable for his policies. With a majority Democratic House, you have a
check. Nearing 2020, we see a new era of history.
Nearing 2020 and America’s Future
Now, the United States of America is experiencing a crossroads period in its history. We have come a long way, but
also, we have such a long way to go in seeing the Dream made real for all people. We live in a paradox too. Many
people are rich currently, while other human beings in America experience homelessness from the large urban
centers to rural communities. In real life, I have seen the homeless in Los Angeles, in Baltimore, and in Virginia. We
also have massive access to advanced technology from the Internet to I Phones. Likewise, there are those in
positions of power who spew xenophobia, racism, and unnecessary divisiveness too. One example is how Trump
claims to be for the people, but he vulgarly disrespects peaceful NFL protesters, women, and anyone who disagrees
with his reactionary views. The essence of a true follower of righteousness isn't about bragging about much you
have (or shaming others for their situations). It is about living out the creed of tolerance, human justice, kindness,
and community solidarity. That creed has been embraced by people of many walks of life.

We are not naive either. We have seen the negative consequences of unfettered, unregulated capitalism. We have
seen oligarchs receive record profits at the expense of the suffering of the working people and the poor. It is
certainly not right to witness millions of Americans who struggle to go to the doctor for fear of hospital care being
too expensive. Some are forced to work 60-80 hours a week, because they lack a living wage. Some areas now in
the United States have no paid family leave. We have the right to the fight legitimately for reparations for black
Americans, and we must confront police brutality too. Veterans sleeping in the streets, massive homelessness, and
other injustices represent the reality that we are not truly free in the world now. Getting freedom means to
demand for it and fighting for it. We want transformative change. It is no secret that the some sections of ruling
class (which includes many Republicans and even some centrist Democrats. Corporate interests dominate the
prison industrial complex and the military industrial complex) and reactionaries back then opposed FDR's Social
Security plan, and LBJ's Medicare plan. Now, they oppose even a $15 an hour minimum wage. When monopolistic
big business interests have more power than some countries and advance corrupt policies, then it is the time to
reclaim our desire to combat oligarchy and economic injustice. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. praised democratic
socialism, he was right.
As we near 2020, we continuously realize what is really important. Those things consist of caring for family and
friends, growing in a more mature, forthright fashion, and standing up against injustice. We know about the evil in
the world. Police brutality, migrants placed in internment camps, a hostility towards the freedom of the press,
massacres in Sudan, etc. are abhorrent. That is why I reject red baiting, racism, xenophobia, and any form of
bigotry. We recognize the heroes working day in and day out who contribute their time to save lives, to follow
honor, and to develop institutions that enrich society. The American Civil War taught us that intervention is
necessary to eradicate slavery and the nefarious Confederacy. The Civil Rights Movement (filled with heroic men,
women, and children) taught us that social activism is a key way in getting results. The recent 2019 Supreme Court
decision that promoted partisan gerrymandering to continue is wrong. The Florida governor recently signed a
Florida poll tax. This harmed Amendment 4 which restored voting rights to felons in Florida. The poll tax law
required those convicted of felonies to pay all fines, court costs, and fees before they have a chance to vote. That
is why the ACLU rightfully is suing the state of Florida to eliminate the poll tax. In the 21st century, various
movements now teach us that caring for our neighbors without exceptions represents the best in ourselves. I do
believe in reparations. Ta-Nehisi Coates recently gave an eloquent speech about the necessity to bring about
reparations. Here are some of his historic statements in front of the House on June of 2019:

"...The method of cultivating this asset was neither gentle cajoling nor persuasion, but torture, rape, and child
trafficking. Enslavement reigned for 250 years on these shores. When it ended, this country could have extended
its hallowed principles — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — to all, regardless of color. But America had
other principles in mind. And so, for a century after the Civil War, black people were subjected to a relentless
campaign of terror, a campaign that extended well into the lifetime of Majority Leader McConnell.

It is tempting to divorce this modern campaign of terror, of plunder, from enslavement, but the logic of
enslavement, of white supremacy, respects no such borders, and the god of bondage was lustful and begat many
heirs. Coup d’états and convict leasing. Vagrancy laws and debt peonage. Redlining and racist G.I. bills. Poll taxes
and state-sponsored terrorism.

We grant that Mr. McConnell was not alive for Appomattox. But he was alive for the electrocution of George
Stinney. He was alive for the blinding of Isaac Woodard. He was alive to witness kleptocracy in his native Alabama
and a regime premised on electoral theft. Majority Leader McConnell cited civil rights legislation yesterday, as well
he should, because he was alive to witness the harassment, jailing, and betrayal of those responsible for that
legislation by a government sworn to protect them. He was alive for the redlining of Chicago and the looting of
black homeowners of some $4 billion. Victims of that plunder are very much alive today. I am sure they’d love a
word with the majority leader.

What they know, what this committee must know, is that while emancipation deadbolted the door against the
bandits of America, Jim Crow wedged the windows wide open. And that is the thing about Senator McConnell’s
“something”: It was 150 years ago. And it was right now.

The typical black family in this country has one-tenth the wealth of the typical white family. Black women die in
childbirth at four times the rate of white women. And there is, of course, the shame of this land of the free
boasting the largest prison population on the planet, of which the descendants of the enslaved make up the largest
share..."

It is important to promote morality, integrity, honor, and fidelity to the truth. That means that we reject adultery,
murder, rape (we know that over a dozen women have said that Trump raped them), harassment, racism,
xenophobia, and other sins that harm the soul. It is important to note that being born in this world as you are is not
a sin. Love is not a sin. You have the right to live on this Earth just like anyone else. All human beings are created
equal; therefore all human beings are entitled to liberty, equality, and justice regardless of background. Any human
should never experience murder, discrimination, or injustice. Oppression is a sin. Donald Trump is a threat to
democracy and humanity. Trump has been accused by at least 22 women of rape and sexual assault (plus sexual
harassment), he said perverted things about his own daughter Ivanka, he defended neo-Confederates, he called
peaceful protesting black athletes profane words, he is documented to have lied over 10,000 times (according to
the media), allowed asylum seekers to be placed in cages with deplorable conditions, called a black women a
"dog," and is a disgrace. Trump is not respected by me. Anyone supporting Donald Trump is being disrespectful to
democracy and human freedom. I do believe in the development of the black community, the growth of black
children, Black Love, and black Pan-African unity forever and ever. Therefore, we don't give up. We are steadfast in
our commitment to real, progressive change. We desire America's future to be better than its past and present.

In the end, we shall overcome.

Appendix A: The Culture of the 2010’s

The 2010’s is all about covering as much of the human family as possible in the realm of literature, television, the
arts, movies, technology, culture in general, etc. It is the time of an expansion of independent, internet streaming
services that outline more accessible shows for the people worldwide. It is also a time of music being influenced by
the growth of new social movements from BLM to MeToo. The world is in the midst of economic issues too from
the start of the 2010s seeing global recession to the superpower competition among America and China. One facet
of the 2010s culturally is the rise of popularity of smartphones, tablets, and other IoT devices. This has grown by
the Internet, mass media, mobile apps, social networking, and videotelephony. By the 2010’s, we saw the first
quantum machine, scientists created the synthetic genome, the Curiosity rover landing on Mars, and further
research of cells. Fashion dealt with skater fashion, revival of fashion of the 1970’s plus the 1990’s, and young men
wearing full beards. Many men wore goatees and mustaches. Women wore the athleisure tend with more formal
dress. Many Sisters are showing gorgeous afros too. There is the increase of gluten free diets, veganism,
vegetarianism, and food photography. Energy drinks and sprinkling water is popular in the 2010’s. Music of the
2010s is completely different. People can use 32 or more tracks in real time. More globalization and music
streaming services are commonplace. Dance and pop music developed in the 2010’s. EDM, sythpop, indie, trap,
and mumble rap are very influential. R&B and hip hop have power. Hip Hop and R&B surpassed Rock and Pop
music as the most consumed form of music in the United States in 2017. K-Pop from South Korea and other
international forms of music have grown too including dubstep (plus drum step from the UK). Music streaming
services such as Sound cloud, Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora Radio became the preferred music delivery
systems, similar to movie and television streaming services such as Netflix. Music from gospel, country, pop, rock,
etc. has been alive today as well.

By the early 2010’s, singers like Rihanna, Tyler Swift, Lady Gaga, and others continued to make records. In hip hop,
new artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Young Thug, Migos, and 21 Savage dominated the charts. By 2010,
Teddy Pendergrass passed away at the age of 59 years old. Teddy Pendergrass revolutionized singing. In 2010,
artists united for the Hope for Haiti Now telethon to give aid to the victims of the Haitian Earthquake. Artists from
Wyclef Jean to Keith Urban plus Rihanna participated in it. The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles, California on January 31, 2010. Beyoncé breaks a record, winning 6 Grammys in one night, including
Song of The Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". Taylor Swift wins 4 Grammys, including Album of The Year for
Fearless. At just 20 years old, Swift became the youngest ever winner of Album of the Year. Beyoncé increased her
popularity. The charity single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" debuted at No. 2 on Billboard Hot 100 singles chart
with 267,000 digital downloads and debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart. Justin Bieber shows his
music. Carrie Underwood won the Entertainer of the Year at the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
On May 4, 2010, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony released their reunion album with all original five members entitled Uni5:
The World's Enemy. Macy Gray releases The Sellout to critical acclaim. It is her first studio album in over three
years. By 2010, songs like Bad Romance and Telephone (with Lady Gaga and Beyoncé) receive massive rotation.
ITunes show music from the Beatles after years of disputes on November 16, 2010. Kanye West’s his album My
Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy came out in 2010. 53rd Grammy Awards nominees announced from Los Angeles'
Club Nokia with Eminem leads with ten nominations for his album Recovery. Bruno Mars scored seven nominations
and Lady Gaga, Jay-Z and Lady Antebellum with six nominations each. The ceremony was held in the Staples Center
on February 13, 2011.

In 2011, Britney Spears released new music with Hold It Against Me. Lady Gaga released Born This Way. Nate Dogg
passed away at 41 on March 15, 2011 from a stroke. Chris Brown released music. Watch the Throne came out
which featured Jay Z and Kanye West. Rock artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blink 182, Korn, and other artists
released music. Etta James and Whitney Houston passed away in the year of 2012. Whitney Houston was an icon
who had the greatest singing voice in our generation. Adele's single "Set Fire to the Rain" reaches #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, (by February of 2012) making her album, 21, the first album in history to have three #1
songs from the same album by a British female artist. Nicki Minaj, Madonna, M.I.A. Madonna, LMFAO, and Cee Lo
Green performed at the 2012 Super Bowl. Donna Summer passed away from cancer at the age of 63 in 2012 too.
Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco, and her voice was incredible. 2012 saw pop artists like Tyler Swift, Rihanna
(with her Unapologetic album), The Weeknd, etc. achieve monumental success. In 2013, Cher returned to music.
Jay Z released his Magna Carta Holy Grail album. By December 13, 2013, Beyoncé released her visual album called
Beyoncé. It was historic and filled with creativity. It was filled with themes about intimacy, sex, monogamous love,
relationships, feminism, and self-worth. It was an honest album. Pretty Hurts is one of Beyonce's great songs on
the Beyonce album since it taught the lesson of self-acceptance (and showing the world that beauty is truly from
within). This album increased Beyoncé’s icon status. In 2014, Bruno Mars was a very popular artist including Katy
Perry. Michael Jackson’s second unreleased posthumous album of Xscape was released. Linkin Park released new
music. In 2015, we saw Shania Twain tour. Janet Jackson released Unbreakable in 2015. It was very powerful.
Janet's music is just universally loved by all. Kendrick Lamar’s popularity grew as well. In 2016, Beyoncé released
her Lemonade album. Lemonade was a visual album too. It focused on blues, reggae, rock, hip hop, soul, country,
trap, electronic, and other forms of music.
Lemonade was historic and touched on black culture, religion, family, and it was very honest. With songs like
Formation, Sorry, Hold Up, Freedom featuring Kendrick Lamar, All Night, Daddy Lessons, etc., she didn’t hold back.
Lemonade was nominated for nine awards at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in 2017, winning Grammy Awards
for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video. "Formation" received nominations for Record of the
Year, Song of the Year, and Best Music Video, while "Hold Up", "Don't Hurt Yourself", and "Freedom" were
nominated in pop, rock, and rap categories, respectively. The album won a Peabody Award in the Entertainment
category. Lemonade celebrates Blackness as beautiful and powerful. In 2016, David Bowie released his album
Blackstar, and Rihanna showed her eight studio album called Anti. Ciara performed the National Anthem at the
second College Football Playoff Championship. 3 Doors Down shown their album, and Gwen Stefani expressed
music in 2016. Lady Gaga released her fourth studio album, Joanne, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard
200, making her the first woman of the 2010s to have four number one albums. JoJo released her first album in ten
years titled Mad Love.

More Current, 21st century Musicians

Janelle Monae Fantasia Monique Barrino- Alicia Keys Kendrick Lamar

Taylor

Ariana Grande Lady Gaga Leona Lewis Jennifer Hudson

 Iconic Movies of the 2010’s
These films defined history, represented new technological feats, outlined social issues, and outlined the
diverse composition of the human race. These modern day movies truly are a microcosm of American
society and world society in general.

The Social Network (2010) Inception (2010) Black Panther (2018) 12 Years a Slave (2013)

La La Land (2016) Moonlight (2016) The Wolf of Wall Street Get Out (2017)
(2013)

Marvel’s The Avengers The Revenant (2015) Avengers: Endgame (2019) Cloud Atlas (2012)
(2012)
 Prominent TV shows of the 2010’s
Unique social realties, science fiction, mysteries, and themes of espionage are found throughout the
television shows of this generation. Not to mention that TV has been decentralized into platforms like
Netflix, Hulu, and other Internet based entities. Still, we are fighting corporate monopolization. Movies,
shows, and videos games are more accessible to people worldwide.

The Walking Dead Breaking Bad The Good Wife

Homeland Broadwalk Empire This is US

Luther Black Mirror Orange is the New Black

A Tribe Called Quest released We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, their first studio album since 1998
and also their final studio album. In 2017, Chance the Rapper won a Grammy. The iHeart Radio Music Awards took
place at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Jay Z in 2017 released 4:44. 4:44 was about Jay Z having self-reflection
on his life, on his marriage, on economic empowerment, and about his hometown of New York City. Linkin Park’s
Chester Bennington passed away at LA in the age of 41 at 2017. Tom Petty and Troy Gentry passed away too. In
2018, new artists and old ones rose up. There was the popularity of artists like J. Cole, Cardi B, Lenny Kravitz,
Janelle Monae (with Dirty Computer), Christina Aguilera, etc. In 2018, XXXTentacion passed away in Florida, and
Mac Miller passed away as well. In 2018, Aretha Franklin passed away. Aretha was a rare talent who had the
greatest singing voice involving soul of all time. She was a civil rights activist, and a woman who desired total
Respect involving her life. By October 26, 2018, the Black Eyed Peas released their first album in eight years,
Masters of the Sun Vol. 1. This is their first album without Fergie since her departure from the band in early 2018,
and their first album as a trio since their 2000 album Bridging the Gap. Mariah Carey released her album called
Caution in 2018 too. Ice Cube released new music.

Hootie and the Blowfish reunite by the end of 2018 too. In 2019, creative music still flourished. Nipsey Hussle
passed away at the age of 33 in late March of 2019. Nispey Hussle loved his community of Los Angeles, and he
wanted to stop gang violence plus poverty. Ciara released her first album in four years, Beauty Marks. Rap, pop,
rock, hip hop, gospel, jazz, and other forms of music are still expressed globally. Cloud gaming, virtual reality, and
3D gaming existed. Movies and TV shows in the 2010’s are dominated by superhero and science fiction movies.
From Despicable Me to the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, these animation films inspired our minds. In April–
May 2019, Avengers: Endgame grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing superhero film
of all time and the second highest-grossing movie of all time, only surpassed by 2009's Avatar. Black Panther
inspired a new generation of people to promote their black consciousness. Dramas existed too like All Eyez on Me.
More shows existed on Amazon prime, YouTube, Netflix, and other streaming services. New shows like Snowfall,
Pose, This is Us, Black-ish, etc. outlined the diversity of human beings.
The ICON Beyoncé
She is an iconic artist. Also, when you think
about music from the 21st century, you think
about her. She is Sister Beyoncé. Right now,
she is 38 years old. Third Ward, Houston, Texas
is the place that she was born and raised. Her
parents back then were upper middle class.
From a child, she wanted to perform dance
routines and sing music with passion plus
energy. Her life long friend Kelly Rowland was
with her in the Girl Time group and in the
Destiny Child's era. She exploded into the stage
with Destiny's Child by the late 1990's. Her
messages have been diverse too. She can sing
about dance, romance, love, conscious issues,
Blackness, infidelity, beauty standards, and
other topics. Her solo career took off by 2003
with the Crazy in Love song. Her strength is
about how she makes powerful, relevant ballads
like Pretty Hurts, Superpower, I Care, Freedom,
etc. Her husband is Sean Carter, and the couple
has many children. In our time, she has been
loved and hated. Yet, no one can deny her
talent. She can sing, dance, write songs, and
act.

Some of her greatest albums have been

Beyoncé and Lemonade. Lemonade will be
talked about and analyzed for decades to come
for its content, video creativity, and excellent
imagery. Always a hardworker, Beyoncé
pursues what she wants. Ironically, she is
expressive on stage with a genius mentality,
and, she has a more quiet personality off stage.
She has sold over 100 million records
worldwide. She is one of the most famous
musicians of all time. She won 23 Grammy
Awards. In 2014, she became the highest-paid
black musician in history and was listed among
Time's 100 most influential people in the world
for a second year in a row. She has inspired
girls and women to follow their aspirations in the
realm of equality and justice. The Recording
Industry Association of America recognized
Beyoncé as the Top Certified Artist in America
during the 2000s decade. Beyoncé has been
involved in philanthropy in real life too. She
loves humanity and is unashamed of her
Blackness as it should be.
In terms of sports, legends continuously existed. Usain Bolt in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in London and Rio
became the most successful sprinter in human history. He has records in the 100m, 200m, and the 4X100m relay.
Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian ever after winning his 22nd medal in the 2012 Summer
Olympics. In 2012, the women’s USA track and field team made the record of the 4X100m relay. The names of the
winners are Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter. These women ran an exciting race.
Carmelita Jeter pointing at the time with the balon was a classic moment of pure joy. New England Patriots, the
Seahawks, and other NFL teams won the Super Bowl during the 2010's. The Heat, the Cavaliers, and other diverse
teams won the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers won their first championship in the 2016 NBA Finals. The
Cavaliers were the first in the NBA history to come back from a 1–3 series deficit. The Chicago Cubs won the World
Series, erasing a 108-year championship drought, defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 of the World Series on
November 3, 2016. In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots 41–33,
ending their 57-year championship drought and bringing home their first ever Super Bowl. Nick Foles wins Super
Bowl MVP. The Rio Olympics was historic too. The Raptors won the 2019 NBA Finals in beating the Golden State
Warriors in a 4-2 game series.

It is important to note that

the great athletes of
Carmelita Jeter, Allyson
Felix, Bianca Knight, and
Tianna Madison. These
women broke the 4 X 100m
relay record in the 2012
London Summer Olympics
with the time of 40.82
seconds.
Lebron James is the greatest basketball player of this generation. He has worked in his
community and used his own money to invest in a new school for children in Ohio.
Lebron James was born in Akron, Ohio. His mother always loves him. He worked hard
and came into the NBA from high school. Massive pressure was on him, but he excelled
all expectations. He became NBA Champion in the Heat and in the Cavaliers three
times. He is a friend to NBA legends like Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo
Anthony, and other human beings. He married a great woman whose name is Savannah
Brinson. They have three children together. Also, he has 4 NBA MVP awards. He is the
youngest NBA player to score 25,000 points. Lebron James has spoken out about the
Darfur crisis in Sudan, Trayvon Martin's tragic murder, Eric Garner's tragic death, and
other important issues in our generation. He won 2 Gold medals in the Olympics back
in 2008 and in 2012. Additionally, he is a philanthropist who helps out his community
all of the time. He is outspoken and he isn't afraid to talk about real social issues going
on in our communities. Investments in businesses relate to his life as well. In 2016, he
donated $2.5 million to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American
History and Culture to support an exhibit on Muhammad Ali. Lebron James has
changed the world in inspiring the youth to pursue their dreams, and he represents what
is real without apology.
 (image from Reuters)

Appendix B: Updates on the 2020 Presidential Election

Today, the 2020 Democratic Presidential race has the most diverse field of candidates in the Democratic side in
American history. The candidates with the most popularity running now are of course Joe Biden, Kamala Harris,
Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and Bernie Sanders. I took my time to listen to many voices to see the truth. The
truth is obvious. Kamala Harris is a very intelligent woman of color who has policies that I do agree and other
policies that I don’t agree with. The problem in the Democratic Party now is that it is battling an ideological war
between sincere progressives and Wall Street corporate Democrats who are more concerned with the status quo
than real liberation. Real liberation is about ending structures of oppression and forming monumental solutions to
the people not moderate policies that only benefit the few. Kamala Harris is known for being a prosecutor. His
father is a Jamaican man (whose ancestors owned slaves) and his mother was an Indian woman. Her mother was
involved in civil rights causes. Kamala Harris was a prosecutor, and now she is a Democratic Senator. Her campaign
rally to announce her candidacy in Oakland, California was huge, she gave an eloquent speech, and she is a
powerful debater. The question about her is her policies involving criminal justice issues and other matters. The
two extremes must be rejected. One extreme promotes sexism and racism against her. We must be clear to
condemn any racist or sexist attacks against Kamala Harris. She should be treated with fairness and with respect.

The other extreme desires no critique of her and promotes the lie that any legitimate critique about Kamala Harris’
policies is akin to sexism or racism. That isn’t the case as people have the free speech right to fairly critique her
record. I reject the ADOS movement as xenophobic and anti-African, but I don't view all of them as Russian bots.
That’s wrong for some to assume so. First, I will show where I agree with her and where I disagree with her. Kamala
Harris opposed the death penalty of one person. She believes in teaching nonviolent inmates and some juvenile
offenders skills for employment. She filed a brief in the Supreme Court encouraging public universities to consider
race in admissions. She went after illegal dumping and air pollution which is an honorable act by Kamala Harris. She
went after companies like BP, Chevron, etc. who polluted. She supported single payer health care and free college
tuition for families earning less than $140,000. Here is where I disagree with her on. She never actively challenged
the death penalty when she was Attorney General. She defended the three strikes law. She wanted voters to reject
Proposition 66 (which was a ballot initiative that would have made only serious or violent felonies trigger life
sentences). When she ran for attorney general, her Republican opponent actually ran to her left on the issue. She
was wrong to promote a cruel truant law that threatened parents of truant children with a $2,000 fine and a year
in jail. By October 2012, mothers had been imprisoned under the law.

“We are putting parents on notice,” she said in her inaugural speech as attorney general. “If you fail in your
responsibility to your kids, we are going to work to make sure you face the full force and consequences of the law.”
Daniel Larsen’s case was truly concerning. Larsen’s release was challenged by Harris when he didn’t commit a
specific crime, and Larsen is back at court. She did back a bill that required reports on officer-involved shootings to
be posted publicly online and mandated bias training and that justice department agents wear body cameras. Yet,
as district attorney, she refused to hand over the names of police officers whose testimonies had led to convictions
despite the officers’ arrest records and histories of misconduct. As attorney general, she also opposed instituting
police body cameras statewide and stood against a bill requiring her office to investigate fatal police shootings.
Harris was likewise a firm proponent of the nefarious policy of civil asset forfeiture, sponsoring a bill to allow
prosecutors to seize profits before charges were even filed. Years before that, she opposed AB 639, a bill that
aimed to reform asset forfeiture. Black people today aren’t buying the situation where a candidate talks about rap
or speaks in an accent, then everything is cool. Just because a candidate went into Howard, is an AKA, or listens to
Snoop doesn’t mean we will ultimately vote for you. Although, we respect the HBCU Howard University.

We want tangible policy positions that will help our people or African Americans directly. Therefore, Kamala Harris
is a politician with a mixed record (which includes some great things that she had done like during the housing
crisis, and she won a historic mortgage settlement case that helped more than 84,000 California families). Her
greatest challenge is her disturbing record involving criminal justice issues (especially refusing to release prisoners
under a judge’s order to ease overcrowding. She supported the Broken Windows policy).

Now, it is important to evaluate all candidates not just one. Cory Booker has officially won for President too. He
was born in Washington, D.C. and is now a Senator from New Jersey. He is the first African-American U.S. Senator
from New Jersey. He was once the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013. Cory Booker is known as a social liberal.
He believes in affirmative action, single payer healthcare, same-sex marriage, and women’s rights. He has been
involved in the bipartisan movement to end the War on Drugs and have replacements. Booker has spoken in favor
of criminal justice reform (including him proposing legislation like his new clemency plan in 2019. Author Michelle
Alexander classified the prison system as the new Jim Crow. In my view, she is correct). Many people’s major
questions about Cory Booker deal with his ties to corporate interests. For example, he took the most contributions
from Wall Street for his 2014 campaign than any other candidate including Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. He has
received donations from Big Pharma. He recoiled against the campaign's criticisms of Mitt Romney’s private equity
firm, Bain Capital. “I’m not about to sit here and indict private equity,” said Booker, on NBC’s Meet the Press. As he
explained in a 2011 speech, “disparities in income in America are not because of some ‘greedy capitalist’ — no! It’s
because of a failing education system.” You can’t fight oligarchy without exposing greedy capitalists. Yet rather
than improving this system by increasing school funding or building public “community schools,” Booker made a
hard case for charter schools as well as school vouchers , i.e., state funding for parents to pay for private schools.
The truth is that greedy capitalists do contribute to income inequality. Also, school vouchers only deal with a
minority of students not the majority. Booker has opposed gun violence and desires legitimate gun reform
measures.

Pete Buttigieg is running from President. He is the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and he was born in South Bend,
Indiana too. He is a military veteran of the War on Afghanistan as a U.S. Navy Lieutenant. Julian Castro from San
Antonio, Texas is running for Texas as well. He was the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas and he worked as the 16th
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017.
Castro wants balanced budgets, free trade, universal pre-K, universal health care, a Green New Deal, and campaign
finance reform. He certainly wants tighter gun control like the assault weapons ban and limiting access to high
capacity magazines (and closing the gun show loophole). He wants a pathway to citizenship for most
undocumented residents in America. He doesn’t want a border wall and desires ICE to be reconstituted. Julian
Castro have talked about reparations for African Americans. He is the first Texan in the 2020 race, and would be
third-youngest President if elected. In his announcement, Castro emphasized Medicare-for-all, universal pre-K, and
a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as part of comprehensive immigration reform. Julian Castro
is probably the most underrated candidate in the Democratic race, because he was very progressive policy
positions while he wants to grow in the polls at the same time.

There is controversy with Joe Biden. The reason is that Biden said that he was willing to even work with a
segregationist like Eastland in order to get civil rights policy passed. Cory Booker called for Biden to apologize. To
his credit, Booker is one of the first Presidential candidates (along with Kamala Harris and Beto O'Rourke) to do so.
It is one thing to work across the aisle to get laws passed, but Biden used a bad example of him citing terrible
racists in citing his points. Therefore, he should apologize in my opinion in making sure that people have to show
respect to our community. America isn't just made up of white American moderate voters. Black voters exist in the
millions. Our voices matter, and our concerns ought to be respected. Joe Biden gave an apology about his
statements later.

John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Bernie Sanders, Beto O'Rourke (he has an inspirational message, but his weakness is
that he lacks major policy goals and ways on achieving his goals. O'Rourke must bring in more specific content), and
Kirsten Gillibrand are running for President too. Elizabeth Warren is running for President and promotes a wealth
tax, banking regulation, environmental protections, and other progressive measures. She announced her run for
President at a rally in Lawrence, Massachusetts. She wanted to promote labor rights as a major theme in her
speech. She talked about race, class, women, immigrants, union members, and other issues. Her speech talked
about homeownership, the criminal justice system, and exposing racism as evil. There is the Native American
controversy where she apologized for claiming to have a significant Native American ancestry in her family tree
which isn’t the case at all. U.S. Senator from Minnesota Amy Klobuchar ran for President in the snow. She is the
woman who believes in many progressive principles too. Other people running for President include Michael E.
Arth, Harry Braun, Ken Nwadike Jr., Robby Wells, Marianne Williamson, and Andrew Yang. Elizabeth Warren has
been praised for showing details in her proposals in dealing with education, the prison system, economic justice
issues, race, sex, etc. She believes in a wealth tax to tax the super wealthy in order to fund social programs. The
Presidential race of 2020 is never dull. It is an exciting time for Americans and people throughout the world. At the
end of the day, we want detailed proposals and solutions to the real problems found in the United States of
America. The choice is ours.
The first Democratic debate in Miami is over. My impression of the debate is that it was a battle between the
moderates and the progressives. They rarely talked about Trump, but they certainly debated among each other
about a diversity of issues. That is one way to put it. Most of them agreed on the core issues, but they disagreed on
how to approach the methods to achieve the same goal. Many of them spoke the Spanish language. There were
interruptions. Elizabeth Warren won the start of the debate and the other candidates asserted themselves by the
middle and the end of the debate. Elizabeth Warren used specific debates on how to fix the economy, how to deal
with corporate monopolies, and how to fund programs. There was a little discussion about Trump's chaotic
administration filled with corruption, lax empathy, and other evils. I find that de Blasio wanted his voice to be
heard. He interrupted many times. His strength was that he was showing his progressive views (and he exposed the
centrists for their capitulation to the status quo), but he interrupted a little too much at times. de Blasio was
powerful on the issue of progressive values. Conversely, many New Yorkers have criticized him for issues of income
inequality, housing, and other issues in New York City. Tim Ryan talked about the working class in Ohio and in other
places of America.

Amy Klobuchar offered unique answers about many issues. Tulsi Gabbard spoke against the neo-cons and a
reckless foreign policy embraced by Trump. She disagreed with policies related to the Iraq War. Beto O'Rourke was
targeted by many candidates, and he tried his best to keep up. Beto's weakness was that while he issued great
overarching themes, but failed to offer specific details on what to do in solving problems. Delaney was the
moderate who is wrong to assume that massive change is impossible. Delaney interrupted at times too. Delaney
needs to realize that placing the man on the Moon, creating Social Security, and the Dodd-Frank law aren't centrist
policies. They were progressive policies. If America put a man on the Moon (funded by billions of dollars), then we
can have the resources to fund investments, education, health care, etc. Cory Booker wanted people to respect the
experiences of African Americans and urban community members. He talked passionately on guns especially with
his policy proposals. Castro was strong on immigration with a mentioning of policy. All of the candidates in both
debates were right to condemn Trump's draconian policies against migrants seeking asylum (many of these
immigrants lack toothpaste, soap, and basic sanitary items). Many of the immigrants in the detention camps are
kids who are treated cruelly. John Kelly also is financially benefiting from private for profit prisons. So, we have to
reject xenophobia and racism. The Supreme Court rejected a Trump citizenship question on the U.S. Census for
now. The candidates focused on what they would do if Trump isn't the President in 2021. Hopefully, Trump won't
be the President in 2021.
In the second Democratic debate, the one major theme is that all of the candidates targeted Donald Trump
specifically and by name. It was a complete 180 from the debate on Wednesday. It had little infighting among
moderates vs. progressives. The most passionate debates was between Harris and Biden along with Bennett and
Sanders. They expressed what they agreed with. Kamala Harris spoke like a poet. Bernie Sanders had great points
on macro level points about inequality and oligarchs. Biden used details in his responses. Bennett was passionate
on immigration issues. Hickenlooper was a moderate who talked about not following big government, but his
policies in Colorado from methane regulation to other items are representative of big government. In fact, he
ignores the fact that big government is part of American society from the interstate highway to the FDA regulating
foods. The debate allowed the candidates to discuss more issues in a diverse range than yesterday. Andrew Yang
did a good job in talking about automation and other tech issues. The problem with his VAT tax is that it's
regressive. Andrew Yang wanted more time to express his views on the debate stage, and he is right, since he has a
lot of legitimate policy positions. Andrew yang promoted his UBI (or an universal base income) of giving every
American $1000 a month constantly. Swalwell targeted Pete and Sanders on gun issues and policing. Williamson
called for reparations, and I do agree with reparations for African Americans. Williamson focused on spiritual
themes. Every candidate on the stage wanted solutions as it pertains to climate change from using green
technologies to resigning the Paris Climate Agreement.

In the beginning, there was no one clear winner in the debate, Later, the complete victor of the debate was of
course Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris is the person that helped herself the most. She did her thing as being
prepared, and she expressed her experiences from her life. She was the most eloquent candidate on the stage. The
strongest people in the debate were Kamala Harris, Kristen Gillibrand (who talked about women's issues), Joe
Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttegieg, and others. Kamala Harris' experience of busing is very similar to other black
Americans' experiences from decades ago. Bernie Sanders did a very good job, but Bernie has to issue a little more
details. In other words, I respect his speeches about exposing income inequality, but he must issue more specific
details about living wages, how to invest in our communities, etc. That was his problem in the debate (Although,
Bernie Sanders’ website does have great debates on various issues). Bernie acted better in his speeches in front of
thousands of people than during his first 2019 Democratic debate. Bernie Sanders' closing argument in the debate
was powerful. It is important to reiterate the point that economic inequality is real. The top 0.1% of taxpayers (or
170,000 families) control 20% of American wealth. That is the highest share since 1929. The top 1% control 39 % of
U.S. wealth, and the other 90% at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale have only 26% of wealthy. The bottom
half of Americans in the socioeconomic scale combined has a negative net worth. While corporate profits are
running high, we see many urban and rural residents struggling to survive including climate change impacting
habitats globally. When Amazon CEO will pay no federal income tax while making 11.3 billion dollars in profit, then
that should tell everyone that the current system must be changed.

It is no secret that numerous Democratic

centrists don't like Bernie Sanders (even some October 2019 CNN poll
centrists in MSNBC, CNN, and including
conservatives at FOX don't respect Bernie (on Impeachment)
Sanders as a person. It is what it is. Charlie
7% Support of Americans
Sykes makes no bones about his desperate, for Impeachment of
futile defense of moderation. Mimi Roach said Trump and Removal
that Bernie Sanders makes her skin crawl from office
50%
without giving a reason. We shouldn't worship 43% Against Impeachment
Wall Street. We should represent the interests
of the common people). The neo-con Bill
Kristol doesn't want Bernie Sanders to win the Undecided
Democratic nomination, and he is the one who
was involved in promoting the unjust Iraq War.
Now, he's on MSNBC. There is that slick More and more Americans are waking up about
alliance among neo-cons and neo-liberals, the impeachment issue without question.
especially on foreign policy. For the record, I
reject the views of neo-liberals and neo-cons.
Gillibrand acted like a peacemaker, and focused heavily on women's issues. Pete did fine, and he issued his point of
view (his struggle came when he talked about his response to a police shooting of a black person at South Bend,
Indiana. He's the mayor of that city). Kamala Harris was strong to talk about race and the issue of busing. She took
on Biden on controversial comments and talked about immigration. Biden is wrong on his comments not because
of trying to work across the aisle. He is wrong since he used bad examples of segregationists (who opposed anti-
busing legislation sent by the Department of Education. Biden basically tried to defend states' rights in the debate
as it relates to busing) when there are no segregationists in Congress today, and those segregationists of the past
shouldn't be mentioned in any modern conversation of common ground actions. Many of the candidates support
giving undocumented immigrants health care. If any human being (regardless of his or her immigration status) is
suffering an illness, then that person should have health care in my view. Federal law permits undocumented
immigrants to have emergency health care. These candidates spoke to the aspirations of Americans who wanted to
defeat Trump. Also, it is clear to battle and defeat neoliberal centrism. Centrists are trying to fight back, and we will
be ready to defeat centrism at every turn.

One issue with both debates is that many of the candidates refused to criticize Western imperialism. We know the
reason why. The reason is that the political establishment of both Republicans and Democrats are funded by the
military industrial complex and the surveillance complex (that is why many politicians have ties to the CIA, the FBI,
the NSA, large military corporations, etc. The corporate media is dominated by neoliberal centrists too). To
condemn aggressive U.S. policies in Venezuela and other places of the world is taboo even in 2019. It is definitely
taboo to mention in public that modern Western society has been built on the blood and conquest of the resources
of people (most of individuals of color) worldwide. Many Republicans and many Democrats have been complicit in
sending wealth from the poor and working class to the super wealthy. That is why people in the streets are fighting
for democratic rights. That is why the establishment leaders of both major parties praise capitalism even though
for over 5 centuries capitalism has advanced inequality, slavery, serfdom, environmental devastation, the Shoah,
and other evils. Eternally, we reject red-baiting as heroes, who made change, didn't genuflect before Wall Street
interests. These heroic human beings organized rallies, they used protests, they created institutions to combat
injustices, and they worked hard day in and day out for justice. Some even wanted a harsher Iranian nuclear deal
when the Iranian deal worked until it was ended by Trump. Also, many of the candidates didn't talk about the
issues relevant to the African American community from poverty, reparations, criminal justice issues, education,
etc. This debate had much more substance than the previous debate. I will mention that every Democratic
candidate in 2020 is a whole better than Trump (every single Democratic candidate have policies on housing,
police brutality, the environment, health care, women's issues, immigration, and on other issues which are a
whole lot better than Trump's agenda. That's clear). Our eyes are on the prize.

Appendix C: Defending Four Heroic Congresswomen

It is obvious that Trump's tweets are racist and xenophobic. It is unacceptable to witness children in cages, it is
unacceptable to see police brutality, and it is unacceptable to accept the status quo. This isn't new as Trump has
said racist comments for years. The Congresswomen Ihan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and
Rashida Tlaib have brought courage, renewed progressive energy, and strength in Capitol Hill. Trump saying that
these women should back go back where they came from outlines his bigotry. America was built by black
Americans (who were enslaved centuries ago), immigrants, the indigenous people, and other human beings.
Diversity is part of our strength as Americans. All four women are American citizens and American heroes. Racism,
xenophobia, and racism have no place in the world. All four women are born in America except for Ihan Omar, who
came into America from Somalia. Trump is wrong to assume that these women hate America, when they never
said that they hate America. They disagree with many bad policies in America. To dissent is purely American. To
abhor criticizing injustice by definition is anti-freedom. Donald Trump's hatred of anyone who dissents with his
policies outlines his anti-American mentality.

Trump omits that the strength of America is when progressive people confront evils in America and fight to
advance justice. Lindsey Graham is wrong to call the Congresswomen haters of America, anti-Semitic, communist,
etc. These women don't hate Jewish people. They believe in equality for the residents of the Middle East whether
they live in Israel or Palestine. Palestinians desiring equality and justice is not anti-Semitic. It is pro-freedom. They
aren't Communists. They don't hate America. They are representing the interests of people who live in America.
They advocate fair housing, educational justice, expansion of health care, and they believe in justice for humanity.
Even if they were all socialists, they have the right to be (as part of the freedom of speech). Trump is fueling hate in
America as hate crimes have increased in the U.S. since 2017. Trump says that if you don't like America, then you
can leave. That is wrong by him. It is no secret that racists have used the phrase of, "go back where you came from"
as a means for them to disrespect black people and other people of color for years and decades. Black people were
slaves in America, and our ancestors stayed in America to fight slavery and racism.

Therefore, we are very clear in our views. The silence of most Republicans speaks volumes to their cowardly
capitulation to the views of a racist President. The four women responded greatly to answer Trump's racist tirade.
The Congresswomen eloquently defended the power of democracy, solidarity, and social justice. These four
Congresswomen should be treated with dignity and with respect.

Once again, Trump and his allies are doubling down to defend Trump's racist, xenophobic Tweets. We know that
Donald Trump is a racist. Trump said that there are good people on both sides (even neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates,
and white supremacists) involving the Charlottesville tragedy. He said that a Mexican American judge can't judge
fairly a case because of his Mexican heritage. He wanted the death penalty of the innocent Central Park Five
people. Trump has been accused of using housing discrimination against black residents in NYC. Trump has
promoted Birtherism, which lies about Barack Obama's identity and nationality. Trump slandered countries with a
majority of people of black African descent in profane terms. Trump said that a person doesn't look like a Native
American according to him. Trump has gone out of his way to disrespect four Congresswomen of color by saying
that if they dissent with him, then they can leave America. He questioned the intellectual capacity of a brilliant
black woman named Maxine Waters. Trump has bad character. We have to call it out.

The four women obviously aren't anti-Semitic, they don't hate America, and they believe that immigrants and
people of color (including black people) have made great contributions throughout history. What is also disgraceful
is that many Republicans are either downplaying Trump's words or defending Trump. Mitch McConnell believes in
the falsehood that Trump is not a racist. We have call Trump's bigotry out and advance policies that help human
beings. America is blessed with its diversity.

Therefore, we know that it is false for Trump to say that he doesn't have a racist bone in his body. In life, you have
to show your character. Bigotry has no justification at any circumstance. Some Republicans even criticize
something as common sense as a $15 an hour minimum wage. We have homeless in America, and a living wage is a
perquisite in establishing a fairer world along with ending institutional racism. McCarthy is wrong for saying that
Trump's comments weren't racist (and this issue is about socialism vs. freedom). First, freedom lovers can be
socialists and non-socialists. For example, Hubert Humphrey wasn't a socialist, and he fought for freedom. Norman
Thomas was a socialist, and he fought for freedom too (he believed in Medicare, Medicaid, and civil rights
legislation). Second, Trump is a racist and has mentioned bigoted comments for years. Also, whether someone is a
socialist or not, that person has the right to express herself or himself without suppression of their political rights.
You can be a revolutionary and an advocate of real change regardless if you're a socialist or not.
 Racism is not just about unjust hatred or slurs. It deals with policies and systemic institutions of oppression too.
That is why a political agenda to confront systematic racism is a necessity. We have to condemn Trump's views,
and advocate solutions. Solutions dealing with health care, education, poverty, the environment, working rights,
reparations, and other issues are very important to advance.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway asked a reporter the offensive question: 'What's your ethnicity?' The
reporters' background is irrelevant to the question that he has asked. This shows clearly that the Trump
administration is filled with reactionaries. Many former Trump team members are convicted of various crimes. The
four Congresswomen show us that we should never be ashamed of advocating for universal health care, for
universal pre-K, for living wages, for affordable education, for migrants to not be held in cages with deplorable
conditions, for the super wealthy to pay their fair share, for the end of the War on Drugs to be replaced with
progressive alternatives, and for social justice. Believing in these glorious precepts means that we love America
too. In fact, we are America. I was born in the United States of America.

By Timothy

*The testimony from the whistleblower (involving the Ukraine scandal) is one for the history books. He or she
admitted that Giuliani met with an adviser to the Ukraine President in Madrid in August of 2019. The acting DNI
doesn't know if Giuliani has a security clearance. The whistleblower said that there was a White House cover up,
and that Giuliani had a large role in the Trump, Ukraine situation. The whistleblower complaint is out in the public.
The whistleblower accuses Trump of trying to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election, and the White House
tried to cover it up. This is different than the Mueller investigation, and it is again damaging to the Trump
administration. The crimes of Trump are overt. This is not ambiguous information. This corruption is in your face.
Today is a day of massive developments. White House call notes show that Trump encouraged Ukraine to work
with Giuliani and Barr on the Ukraine situation. Trump tried to defend himself, but his recent statements are filled
with distractions and falsehoods. His recent United Nations speech promoted xenophobia, nationalism, and he
slandered socialism. Trump lied and said that socialism was responsible for the deaths of about 100 million people
omitting that capitalist exploitation is complicit in the Maafa, the Shoah, deaths of serfs in Russia, colonialism, etc.
that murdered millions of human beings. Trump asked for a favor right after the Ukraine President did things.
Trump asked Ukraine to look into the investigation of Biden's son. The whistleblower complaint has been delivered
to Congress. The call notes are released. Rudy Giuliani defends his Ukraine involvement. This is a new day of more
incriminating evidence. Trump has held another press conference in trying to defend his actions. He has met with
the current President of Ukraine. This is the Trump Ukraine plot. These notes show how Trump wanted a foreign
leader to find dirt on Biden (who is his political rival). Trump wants to release his first phone call with Ukraine's
President. Bipartisan pressure made this information to be released. A second whistleblower has come out against
Trump too. Trump is not only an extremist domestically. He has a reactionary foreign policy that seeks agitation
against Iran and Venezuela. Therefore, Trump is not just national security threat. He is a threat to the essence of
democracy.
 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2016 SUMMER OLYMPICS AT RIO

Usain Bolt is the greatest

sprinter in history. During the On August 19, 2016, these women won the 4 X
Olympics at Rio, he didn’t 100 m relay at Rio de Janiero. Their time was
disappoint. He won the gold at 41.01. These athletes are Tianna Madison,
the 100 m, the 200 m, and the 4 Allyson Felix, English Gardner, and Tori Bowie.
X 100 m relay at the 2016
Olympics at Rio. He loves
cricket and other things. Usain
Bolt holds the fastest 100 m
time in history with the time of
9.58 at Berlin in 2009.

Ibtihaj Muhammad was

born in 1985, and she was
the first Muslim
American woman to
wear a hijab while
The heroic Afro-
competing for the
Brazilian woman This was a historic event when these three
Mike Phelps is the Olympics representing
Rafaela Lopes Silva beautiful black women won gold, silver, and
most successful and America. She earned the
most decorated (born 24 April 1992) is bronze in the 100 m hurdles. Brianna Rollins
bronze medal as part of won gold, Nia Ali won silver, and Kristi Castlin
Olympian of all a Brazilian judoka. She
Team USA in the Team won bronze. They praised God for their
time. He has 28 won a gold medal at
medals. He is a Sabre, becoming the first accomplishments and they leaped in the air
the 2013 World Judo
swimmer. He won 5 black woman Muslim- with joy.
Championships and at
gold medals at Rio American athlete to earn
the 2016 Summer
and one silver in the a medal at the Olympics.
100m butterfly. He
Olympics in the –57 kg
loves his wife. weight division.

The USA Basketball women’s team won gold in

Rio. They have shown determination and
The USA Basketball men’s team won gold by
hardwork, effort, and courage. exceptional talent.
 The museum opened on opened September 24, 2016. The director of the
museum is Lonnie Bunch, and the curator of the museum is Jacquelyn
Serwer.

A grandmother named Ruth

Odom Bonner rang the bell to
start the opening of the museum.
She is with her family and
President Barack Obama.

We send great appreciation and love to the

Source: Source: Astrid Riecken /
Getty National Museum of African American
History and Culture.

We should always know our past, build a better present, and

establish a greater future.

The Contemplation The Freedom and Slavery The music section of

Court has a exhibit showed the courage of the museum outlines
fountain and black Americans and the the contributions of
quotes from black contradictions of some African Americans in
heroes like Francis Founders writing about music, theater, and the
Harper and Dr. equality but owning slaves. other arts.
King.
The next part of this series will be the final chapter in the United States
of America series. It has been a journey indeed. The last part will deal
with the culture of America in detail. The upcoming final part of this
historic series will deal with cuisine, sports, art, music, literature,
holidays, etc.

Peace and Blessings Y’all