The House by Natalie Shure

GROWING UP FIGHT FASCISM WITH WHY THE NATIVE HOW TO REACH BEHIND BARS P. 26 LITERATURE P. 34 VOTE MATTERS P. 9 TRUMP VOTERS P. 12

Make Room in THE HOUSE BY NATALIE SHURE

++ Sunrise Movement on Biden vs. Trump

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ON THE COVER From the Streets to the House 18

What Does the SPECIAL INVESTIGATION Fighting Fascism Election Mean for Sentenced as Through Literature Climate Strategy? Children, Still Fiction can help us resist authoritarianism by expressing What to do if Trump or Biden wins Behind Bars not only outrage but joy A DISCUSSION WITH SUNRISE BY APOORVA TADEPALLI MOVEMENT ORGANIZERS MATTIAS A lifetime spent awaiting justice LEHMAN AND NIKAYLA JEFFERSON BY KATIE ROSE QUANDT 34 14 26

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 1 No political movement can be healthy unless it has its own press to inform it, educate it and orient it. “ — IN THESE TIMES FOUNDER JAMES WEINSTEIN ” TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOUNDING EDITOR & PUBLISHER JAMES WEINSTEIN (1926–2005)

DISPATCHES FEATURES EDITOR & PUBLISHER Joel Bleifuss EXECUTIVE EDITOR 6 The Climate Movement’s 18 From the Streets (ON LEAVE) Jessica Stites EXECUTIVE EDITOR Reckoning to the House (ACTING) Diana Babineau BY CAMILLE WILLIAMS BY NATALIE SHURE EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Christopher Hass WEB EDITORS Miles Kampf-Lassin, 7 African Migrants on 26 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION Sarah Lazare Hunger Strike Sentenced as Children, GUEST EDITORS Jack Mirkinson, Susan Rinkunas, Jacob Sugarman BY KATIE JANE FERNELIUS Still Behind Bars LABOR REPORTER Hamilton Nolan BY KATIE ROSE QUANDT INVESTIGATIVE FELLOWS 9 Why the Native Alice Herman, Indigo Olivier Vote Matters COPY EDITOR Bob Miller PROOFREADERS Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, BY STEPHANIE WOODARD DEPARTMENTS Rochelle Lodder SENIOR EDITORS Patricia Aufderheide, 4 In Conversation Susan J. Douglas, David Moberg, Salim VIEWPOINT Muwakkil, Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kate Aronoff, 7 This Month in Theo Anderson, Michael Atkinson, Frida 12 How We Are Flipping Late Capitalism Berrigan, Michelle Chen, Sady Doyle, Pete Trump Voters Karman, Kari Lydersen, Moshe Z. Marvit, 9 By the Numbers: Jane Miller, Shaun Richman, Slavoj Žižek BY GEORGE GOEHL Voter Suppression CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Dean Baker, Rebecca Burns, Barbara Ehrenreich, 10 In Case You Missed It Jeremy Gantz, Leonard C. Goodman, Mindy IN PERSPECTIVE IN 2020 Isser, Naomi Klein, Chris Lehmann, John 13 LABOR Nichols, Rick Perlstein, Micah Uetricht The Big Idea: EDITORIAL INTERNS Frank Carber, 14 What Does the Election Hannah Faris, Clara Liang, Janea Wilson Outcome Mean for Climate Sectoral Bargaining CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rachel K. Dooley Movement Strategy? DESIGN ASSISTANT Matt Whitt A discussion with Sunrise CARTOONS EDITOR Matt Bors CARTOONISTS Terry LaBan, Dan Perkins Movement organizers Mattias ON THE COVER Lehman and Nikayla Jefferson DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Art Direction: Rachel K. Dooley Lauren Kostoglanis Illustration by Ryan Olbrysh DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR Jamie Hendry CULTURE PUBLISHING ASSISTANT Caroline Reid CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Rebecca Sterner 34 Fighting Fascism IN THESE TIMES BOARD OF DIRECTORS M. Nieves Bolaños, Tobita Chow, Kevin Through Literature Creighan, Dan Dineen, James Harkin, BY APOORVA TADEPALLI Robert Kraig, Paul Olsen, Rick Perlstein, Margaret Rung, Steven Saltzman, Stacy 38 Comics Sutton, David Taber, William Weaver 40 In Those Times: The work of In These Times writers is supported by the Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Legacy Puffin Foundation.

pms 3015 pms 130 Our staff and writers are represented by these unions:

2 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 EDITORIAL

Supreme but Illegitimate f Democrats don’t stop him, Pres- that end, on September 17, Trump announced ident Donald Trump was set (at press time) to the creation—via executive order—of the “1776 install Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Commission,” a federal body whose job it is to Court. celebrate the Constitution as “the fulfillment of Trump has nominated (and the GOP Sen- a thousand years of Western civilization.” Iate has confirmed) 220 Republicans to the fed- Indeed. We must defend our constitutional eral judiciary since 2016. Coney Barrett would right to vote—guaranteed by the 15th, 19th, 23rd, make it 221. These judges will interpret the 24th and 26th Amendments—from the likes law to benefit the corporate capitalists who bankroll the GOP. It’s a sure bet that for Where does the blame lie for decades to come these justices will support their party and do little to prevent this corruption of our electoral red states from continuing the Jim Crow system? A constitutional legacy of disenfranchising Black and protection for slaveholders: Brown voters. Take the federal judiciary’s sup- the Electoral College. port of racist Republicans in Florida. Florida—where Blacks comprise 47% of Trump. The progressive agenda, of people in prison but only 17% of the therefore, must include constitution- state population—had been one of four al amendments or workarounds that remaining states where felons are banned protect democracy. for life from voting. That changed in 2018 when Abolishing the Electoral College should be first 65% of voters in Florida passed an amendment to on the list. Fifteen states and Washington, D.C. the state constitution that restored ballot access have now passed the National Popular Vote bill, to people with prior felony convictions except which requires the Electoral College delegates those convicted of murder and sexual offenses. from those states to vote for the candidate who In response, the GOP legislators passed a law in wins the national popular vote. Of the 270 Elector- June 2019 that requires people who served time to al College votes that are needed to elect the pres- pay any remaining court fees before voting. This ident, those 15 states and Washington, D.C. have white supremacist resurrection of the poll tax was 196. If the nine additional states that have been endorsed on September 11 by six judges on the close to passing the bill were to do so, their 88 addi- 10-member U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, five tional Electoral College delegates would bring the of whom were appointed by Trump. At the Su- total to 284—enough to ensure the winner of the preme Court, the GOP majority declined to take popular vote becomes president. Presto! No more up the case—the fourth time this year it refused George W. Bushes and Donald Trumps. to address voter suppression. With their “Wicked Witch” dead, the Right is Where does the blame lie for this corruption jubilant, confident it has a decades-long lock on of our electoral system? A constitutional protec- the Supreme Court. tion for slaveholders: the Electoral College. This So where is that silver lining? It has to be 18th-century legal artifact has, in the 21st centu- faith in “we the people.” Or, at least, American ry, allowed two presidents who lost the popular youth—a generation that can’t afford to wait de- vote—George W. Bush and Trump—to appoint a cades for Supreme Court justices to die off. Mil- Supreme Court majority doing its best to pervert lennials and Generation Z are leading the fights American democracy. for racial justice, economic equality and a livable No wonder Trump wants to elevate the Con- Earth. It’s their future on the line. Let’s take our stitution as a “sacred” text. Where would he be lead from them and make history. without it and the Electoral College? Jail? To — JOEL BLEIFUSS

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 3 IN CONVERSATION

A VACCINE IS NOT BLACK WOMEN AND THE “BACK TO SCHOOL” REFUGEES VS. AN ARMS RACE P. 12 THE PAY GAP P. 34 DILEMMA P. 14 AMAZON P. 9 There’s another facet to ɯ A FRESH LOOK FOR ITT opening schools (at least If you have been to helped restructure the new in New York) that I haven’t inthesetimes.com recently, site to better reflect the mis- What’s at Stake seen anyone address: No you may have noticed a sion of the magazine, and to for Labor? EVERYTHING. matter how safe a school few changes. In August, make stories easier to find BY HAMILTON NOLAN may be, people still have we launched a brand new, and read. We teamed up with to get there. A teacher who completely redesigned an old friend, Seamus Holman, lives in the North Bronx website—the first complete to handle the coding as well and works on the Lower overhaul in nearly a decade. as the daunting task of mov- + East Side has a long com- Our creative director, ing more than 20,000 arti- Rebecca Burns reports Rachel K. Dooley, led the ef- cles to the new site. Longtime from inside the mute each way on the sub- eviction crisis OCTOBER 2020 way. There is virtually no fort to bring the visual style readers may remember that way to avoid infection if of our online home up to the Seamus was art director and standard set by the beau- web manager for In These WHAT’S FOR DINNER? that is your daily routine. tiful redesign of the print Times from 2001 to 2005, be- USDA policies and glob- Once infected, a week or magazine we completed fore leaving to start his own two will pass while you al economic forces ex- in 2017. Our editorial team web design company. ert pressure to produce are infecting your stu- Finally, we made one big, meat in an Earth-destroy- dents, fellow teachers and important business decision. ing way, but that doesn’t workers—and your fami- Not only will all of our online mean meat production ly—until you notice your stories remain free to all, per se is the problem (“By symptoms. we’ve completely removed the Numbers,” October). —Frank da Cruz all online ads. As a reader- Well-managed rotation- Via In TheseTimes.com supported nonprofit, we’re al grazing can actually se- putting our future in the quester carbon, increase A STEELY RESOLVE hands of readers like you, biodiversity and rebuild Hamilton Nolan’s story rather than in an advertis- topsoil. “What’s at Stake for La- ing industry that’s not in- —Rochelle Lodder bor? Everything” (Octo- vested in In These Times Chicago ber) really hit the nail on or the work we do. Check it out and let us know the head. I just celebrat- what you think! NOT SAVED BY THE BELL ed my 25th year as a proud We have emailed our member of the Unit- governor, mayor, school ed Steelworkers and this board members and con- is the message we have US POSTAL SERVICE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION gressional representa- struggled to convey to our 1. In These Times 2. 0160-5992 3. Sep. 30, 2020 4. Monthly 5. 12 6. $36.95 7. 2040 N Milwaukee Avenue, tive (“Parents’ Impossible members for years. We 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL (Cook County) 60647-4002 8. 2040 N Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor, Chicago, Choice,” October). At this need more stories like it to IL (Cook County) 60647-4002 9. Joel Bleifuss, In These Times, 2040 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL (Cook County) 60647-4002; Jessica Stites, In These Times, 2040 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL (Cook point, it just seems like combat the decades-long County) 60647-4002 10. Institute for Public Affairs (a non-profit organization), 2040 N Milwaukee they do not care about the lies and manipulation of Avenue, Chicago, IL (Cook County) 60647-4002 11. None 12. Has not changed during preceding 12 safety of teachers and stu- corporatists who have months. 13. In These Times 14. December 2017 15a. 29,611; 34,692 15b.(1) 27,075; 32,382 15b.(2) 0; 0 15b.(3) 134; 150 15b.(4) 96; 93 15c. 27,305;32,625 15d.(1) 1,226; 1,047 15d.(2) 0; 0 15d.(3) 0; 0 dents in Compton, Calif. controlled the message 15d.(4) 69; 70 15e. 1,295; 1,117 15f. 28,600; 33,742 15g. 1,011; 950 15h. 29,611; 34,692 15i. 95.5%; They want things to con- for so long. We should un- 96.7% 17. Will be printed in the November 2020 issue of this publication. tinue on like normal—but apologetically spread the this is not a normal year greatness that is orga- and the pandemic is very nized labor. Thank you for Q TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL real. I don’t understand. all you do. Tell us what you like, what you hate and what you’d like to —Ana Mercado —Michael P. Young see more of by emailing [email protected] or tweeting Via Facebook Chesterton, Ind. @inthesetimesmag, or reach us by post at 2040 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60647.

4 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 IN CONVERSATION

w THANKS, BERNIE!

we have the most dangerous president in the history of this country. We need In These Times to point out that reality, but we need In These Times to do something else: To help us develop and bring people together around an agenda that works (something that I think In These Times has been doing for a very long time)— a progressive agenda that stands up to the greed of the cor- en. Bernie Sanders, inequality for its immorali- you—and, most impor- porate elite and that the independent sena- ty—among other issues. And tantly, thank you for the moves this country for- tor from Vermont, cel- he insisted on the need to or- important work you are ward, to have a govern- ebrated ITT’s 44th ganize to win single-pay- doing now and have ment and a nation that S done for decades in represents all of us and anniversary by introduc- er healthcare, the right to ing our annual event in Sep- form unions, a strong educa- providing information not just the few. tember. In six quick minutes, tion system and a Green New to the American people So I just want to the decades-long subscrib- Deal. The threat, he said, is that the corporate me- thank all of you at In er called out the corporate “existential.” Here are a few of dia very often ignores. These Times for the elite for their greed, the pris- his remarks: We need publications great work you are do- like In These Times to- on complex for its racism, the — ing. I will continue to LET ME THANK EVERYBODY day more than we per- read your publication political system for its vot- at In These Times for haps ever have—and it’s and wish you the very er suppression and wealth inviting me to be with not just that in Trump best in the future.

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NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 5 DISPATCHES

climate groups have hindered the justice-centered solutions UPROSE has worked toward. So when a wave of white-led environmental groups like the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and 350.org proclaimed solidarity with Black Lives Mat- ter, Yeampierre was circumspect. “To be perfectly honest, it felt a bit opportunistic,” she says. “[These same organizations have ignored] the myriad challenges faced by frontline communities. [And] they know what those challenges are because we’ve told them.” As climate change accelerates, Yeampierre fears low-income neighborhoods like Sunset Park will be hit “first and worst,” with gentrification and disinvestment in public infrastructure, threatening their ability to mitigate the effects of climate change—a fate ERIK MCGREGOR/LIGHTROCKETERIK VIA GETTY IMAGES the borough’s whiter, more afflu- ent residents will likely avoid. The Climate breath away] is not surprising.” Prior to this summer, As recently as 2019, groups at 350Brooklyn, an independent Movement’s the intersection of policing and chapter of the international climate change—like UPROSE— 350.org network to end the use Reckoning were in the minority among of fossil fuels, had worked on environmental activists. But fol- projects that aid communities BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Environ- lowing mass demonstrations of color, including advocacy mental justice has never been against racial injustice—and a for the closure of Rikers Island separate from racial justice, ac- pandemic that has dispropor- (New York City’s largest pris- cording to Elizabeth Yeampierre, tionately affected Black and La- on), rezoning efforts alongside co-chair of the national Climate tino communities—the climate the Gowanus Neighborhood Co- Justice Alliance and executive movement is broadening its po- alition for Justice, and standing director of the intergeneration- litical horizons and finally reck- against the construction of the al, woman-of-color-led climate oning with the reality that some Williams Pipeline (which would organization, UPROSE. Had she of its most prominent organiza- carry fracking gas from Penn- Above: not been sick with Covid-19, she tions have disregarded the vul- sylvania to the lower New York Earth Strike NYC would have been in the streets nerable groups for whom they Harbor). But as an organization joins UPROSE’s with the thousands protesting claim to speak. formed by and predominant- campaign for community-led the killing of George Floyd. Since UPROSE launched the ly composed of white people, climate justice “We’ve been fighting for the Sunset Park Climate Justice Cen- 350Brooklyn’s staff admits to during Sep- right to breathe [clean air],” ter in 2012 to promote community blind spots when it comes to ad- tember 2019’s Yeampierre says. “So the fact resilience and climate adapta- dressing structural racism. climate week. that cops are literally [taking our tion, Yeampierre says white-led “The horrifying deaths of

6 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 DISPATCHES THIS MONTH George Floyd and Ahmaud tled on the central question of its Arbery and Breonna Taylor just internal inquiry: “How might we brought home how much needs be more inclusive and prioritize IN LATE CAPITALISM to be done,” says Mimi Blue- the needs of Brooklyn’s POC stone, 350Brooklyn co-founder. communities?” Designing a “We [realized] we needed to do workshop for members address- ? WHY EAT THE RICH WHEN THE POOR ARE more than make a statement; ing this question, and asking lo- SO MUCH EASIER TO CATCH? Meet Civvl, we needed to begin an internal cal justice organizations about a startup described by some as “Uber, but inquiry into what more should what 350Brooklyn can do to sup- for evicting people” and self-described as we be doing.” port them, are both part of the the “fastest-growing money-making gig due to Covid-19.” A potential loophole for Tamara Toles O’Laughlin, group’s effort to become more the soon-to-be homeless: Get Civvl to hire North America regional director justice-oriented. “None of these you to evict yourself, then use that money to of 350.org, says the organization issues can be dealt with unless move back in. redirected its resources toward we are united and are working engaging its (mainly white, U.S.) across issues and across com- ? PEOPLE TIRED OF GOING NOWHERE AT membership with the Black Lives munities,” Bluestone says. HOME CAN NOW GO NOWHERE IN THE Matter movement after George Yeampierre believes that, after AIR. So-called scenic flights or “dine and Floyd’s death. The group raised years of pleading, these move- flys,” which fly nonstop from one airport more than $100,000 in three ments are aligning at last. For to—hours later—that exact same airport, days for bail funds, published a example, multiple members are selling out with tickets priced up to pledge to stand for Black lives and of the Climate Justice Alliance $2,700. One luxury traveler was quoted disseminated a resource guide to are now collaborating with the in the New York Times demanding, “I just “dismantle white supremacy.” Movement for Black Lives. And want white fluffy clouds!” This person O’Laughlin credits 350.org’s in July, the Movement for Black was allegedly not a child. swift response to the people of Lives created its model Breathe ASTRONAUTS NOW SPEND 5% OF color in its key leadership posi- Act, which calls for police de- ? THEIR CREW TIME on the space station tions, the absence of which may partment funds to be redirected for “commercial and marketing ac- have held its local chapters (and to combat environmental racism, tivities,” NASA reports, like filming new other climate groups) back. among other measures. Estée Lauder products—wait for it—in “I think it’s taken generations “The fact that we’re at that ta- space! It’s a truly out-of-this-world idea of Black people coming into ble,” Yeampierre says, “and that that’s shifting paradigms and synergizing that space,” O’Laughlin says. we’re sharing literally a life’s new ways for NASA to meet its congres- “Indigenous people pushing for work of communities all over the sionally endorsed mandate to “catalyze sovereignty, and asking to be country … that’s really powerful.” and nurture” business. Who knew the brought to the place where de- CAMILLE WILLIAMS was an In These final frontier would end up being so cisions are made—not just [to Times editorial intern and studies exploitable? be] window dressing.” journalism at Northwestern University. The group is virtually all- ? FOR FASHIONISTAS DURING A PANDEMIC, white and may have (uninten- trying to match your bag with your shoes is tionally) deterred people of color stressful enough without worrying about from joining. Although Georgi African which PPE to grab. Thank- Page, one of the facilitators of fully, designer Louis Vuitton has a new face 350Brooklyn’s racial equity in- Migrants on shield it calls “both stylish quiry, acknowledges she was one Hunger Strike and protective”—and for of few Black people on staff when $961, it better be. But if she joined the organization’s PINE PRAIRIE, LA.—Forty-five this is really what it takes steering committee in 2019, she African men, all seeking asy- to make PPE trendy, says her voice has been heard. lum, had been organizing for more power Not long after the George weeks at the Immigration and to them. Floyd protests, 350Brooklyn set- Customs Enforcement (ICE)

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 7 RESIST

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Thousands protested in New York and across the country September 23 after a grand jury announced that no police officers would be charged for causing the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville on March 13. After Taylor’s family filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Louisville, the city agreed to limited police reform—but only one officer involved will face any criminal charges, for allegedly endangering a neighbor by shooting outside Taylor’s apartment.

Pine Prairie processing center touched trays through the win- climbed on top of three of the mi- in central Louisiana. On August dow to be discarded. grants to put them in chokeholds. 10, chicken was on the menu— “We needed to create aware- “I was so frightful at the sight which made it the perfect day to ness to the facility that we were of the guards,” says Chi, also launch a hunger strike. starting a hunger strike,” says from Cameroon. “They were all Many detained migrants at Tekum, a Cameroonian migrant dressed in riot gear with weap- Pine Prairie generally avoid the and hunger-strike organizer who ons and handcuffs and batons.” cafeteria because the meals— has been detained since Octo- “We are peaceful demonstra- usually bread, cabbage and ber 2019. (“Tekum” is an alias tors,” Tekum says he pleaded. beans—don’t inspire much of requested in fear of reprisal.) “We have committed no crime. an appetite. But once a week, According to interviews with Someone needs to listen to us!” the cafeteria serves chicken— multiple migrants at Pine Prairie, Two weeks later, officials its most popular dish—and the after dropping off their trays, the placed all of the hunger strik- chow hall gets crowded. men left the cafeteria and entered ers into Echo, a version of sol- One by one, the migrants— a hallway where they sat on the itary confinement, where they hailing from Ghana, Kenya and floor or held their hands above remained for the duration of the Cameroon—marched into the their heads. Then, 15 guards en- strike. (ICE did not respond to a hall and picked up their serving tered with tear gas, pepper spray request for comment but has pre- of chicken. They walked across and handcuffs. With no addi- viously denied the hunger strike the cafeteria and slid their un- tional provocation, the guards even happened.)

8 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 Voter Suppression

The August strike was the third health issues and were warned hunger strike this year from Af- they would be forcibly fed through BY THE NUMBERS rican detainees at Pine Prairie— a tube if they didn’t eat. part of a concerted effort by the When Tekum was released from of voters expect to have difficulty migrants to bring attention to Echo, he realized the African mi- 49% casting their ballots in their experiences of racism. grants were now split into differ- November, compared with 15% African migrants face unique ent units, making it more difficult during the 2018 midterms challenges in ICE detention. to communicate. Studies by the nonprofit Refugee Still, Tekum stays hopeful. Ev- of voters would prefer and Immigrant Center for Edu- ery night, he congregates with 39% to vote by mail cation and Legal Services found other Africans to pray. Often, they that migrants from majority Black chain their hands together and of Swedish voters par- countries are sent to solitary con- sing worship songs. His favorite 87% ticipated in their most re- finement at a disproportionately is “Ekwueme,” which translates cent general election, compared high rate, pay higher bonds, and from Igbo as, “The God Who Says with 60% of Americans in 2016 face more rejections for asylum and Does.” than migrants from non-majority Wearing a shirt he decorated eligible Americans Black countries. with “Black Lives Matter,” Tekum 92,000,000 did not vote in 2016 The African men at Pine Prairie sings the song a cappella over a vid- have alleged in a complaint filed eo call, his eyes closed: “Ekwueme, of the developed OECD countries by the Southern Poverty Law Cen- Ekwueme. You are the living God, o! 25 have higher voter turnout in na- ter that they are being indefinite- There is no one like you. You are a tional elections than the United States, ly detained without parole and are healer. You are my confidante. No including Estonia and Slovakia the victims of racist treatment at one can touch me as you do.” the hands of ICE. “This song sustained me people nationwide were “These men at Pine Prairie through the hunger strike,” he 17,000,000 kicked off voter registra- know that they have to do back- explains. “It reminded me of my tion lists between 2016 and 2018, ostensibly flips to get anyone to notice passion to fight for what is right.” to ensure accuracy but disproportionately them,” says Sylvie Bello of the Addendum: Since this story was affecting people of color Cameroonian American Council. reported, Tekum and at least a doz- According to Bello, Cameroo- en other Cameroonians were trans- of U.S. adults lack nians make up the majority of Af- ferred out of Pine Prairie with short % proper voting iden- rican migrants detained by ICE. notice, in what their supporters say 11 tification (as required in The Cameroonian military faces is likely retaliation. 36 states), a common bar- credible accusations of arresting KATIE JANE FERNELIUS is a journal- rier for voters in non-white people it identifies as dissidents, ist and radio producer based in New communities and poor voters burning down civilian homes and Orleans. killing citizens with impunity. But asylum is rarely granted to Cam- of Black vot- longer wait eroonian refugees. 15% ers reported 29% times to “I came to this country look- Why the Native trouble finding a vote were experi- ing for a safe haven, but it’s hell in polling station in enced in Black com- here,” Chi says. “How much tax- Vote Matters 2016, compared with munities than white payer money is being used to feed MENOMINEE COUNTY, WIS.—The 5% of white voters communities in 2016 and house us when we could be power of tribal voters to decide the out there contributing to society? 2020 presidential election cannot fewer volunteers are We aren’t criminals.” be overstated, U.S. Rep. Sharice 668,000 being recruited as poll By early September, after inter- Davids (D-Kan.), a Ho-Chunk Na- workers for 2020, compared with 2016 mittent conversations with ICE tion citizen, told the Democratic officials, all the migrants involved Party in August. States with sizable million Americans had ended their personal hun- Indigenous populations—Arizona, 2,700,000 cited “busy schedules” ger strike. Many struggled with Minnesota and others—are in play, as the main reason they didn’t vote in 2016

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 9 Davids said. Even Wisconsin’s about this year’s issues and vot- of Covid-19 infection to cast their small Native voting-age popula- ing procedures. The group, pro- ballots. To prevent a recurrence, tion could impact the race for the nounced men-ee-KAHN-ah-kem Menikanaehkem is encouraging White House, she said—Presi- (translated as “community re- use of the absentee or mail-in op- dent Donald Trump won Wiscon- builders”), supports well-be- tion—as is Menominee County, sin in 2016 by just 0.77%, while ing among Menominees living whose borders correspond with Indigenous voters make up about among the green hills, rushing the reservation and which han- 1.5% of the state’s electorate, ac- rivers and sparkling waterfalls of dles national elections there. cording to the National Congress northeastern Wisconsin. While the Menominee reser- of American Indians (NCAI). Since being granted U.S. citi- vation, according to Menikanae- To get people to the polls, zenship and suffrage in 1924, Na- hkem Executive Director Guy a grassroots advocacy group tive people have brought scores Reiter, enjoys relatively good mail called Menikanaehkem, based of lawsuits to exercise their vot- service, postal service in many on the 235,000-acre reserva- ing rights. Some Native voters Native American communities tion of the federally recognized continue to face harassment and has long been unreliable and in- Menominee Indian Tribe of hard-to-access precinct offices. equitable. Postal slow-downs Wisconsin, is working with the And the pandemic adds new bar- would likely hit these communi- Native-organizing arm of Wis- riers: During Wisconsin’s April ties particularly hard. A recent consin Conservation Voters on primary election, in-person vot- study conducted around the Na- digital ways to communicate ers faced long lines and the risk vajo Nation offers a warning.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ALL THE NEWS THAT WAS FIT TO PRINT— HYPED AND WHAT GOT PRINTED INSTEAD

Something might One of the police officers who be alive on Venus! shot and killed Breonna Taylor God forbid Biden But just, like, in her own home has been embrace even a hint microbes. of class struggle while charged—with “wanton en- more than 13 million dangerment” of her neighbors. people are unemployed.

Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election. When people tell you who they are,

believe them. VITAL

TRIVIAL Speakeasy gyms are popping up around the Whistleblower Dawn Wooten country for people who alleged that mass steriliza- just have to get that black- tions were taking place at an market adrenaline rush. ICE detention center, checking one more box off the UN’s “Is it genocide?” bingo card.

The melting Antarctic could cause a global sea level In the wake of the Chuck E. Cheese rise of more than 8 feet, regard- bankruptcy, a fierce battle rages less of the Paris climate accords. over what will happen to all those unused tickets. IGNORED

10 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 National Monument in Utah. A major worry in northeastern Wisconsin is the Back For- ty Mine, proposed to be built just over the border in Michigan. Wisconsin’s name comes from a Menominee expression meaning “a good place to live,” and Menominees say the mine will degrade that good place. They predict damage to centuries-old garden sites, ceremonial places and burial mounds. According to Earthjustice, the law firm representing the tribe in litigation against the mine, its harms would go much far- ther. Toxic acid drainage from the mine would contaminate the Menominee River, the firm Native voting rights group Four According to Reiter, many Na- says. The river flows into Lake Directions sent test mailings tive voters are driven more by Michigan—one of the Great from towns in and around the issues than by candidates and Lakes, which together contain reservation and found that while parties. And they have grave one-fifth of the planet’s sur- mail from some majority-white concerns about threats to trib- face freshwater and serve as communities typically took a day al sovereignty and harm to land, the water source for Chicago, to get to the county polling place, water and sacred places. As in Milwaukee and other towns Navajo mail took up to 10 days. the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s downstream. Bret Healy, a consultant for the fight against the Dakota Access Also worrisome for the group, predicts a “catastroph- Pipeline (DAPL), Native people Menominees is exploratory drill- ic drop” in voter turnout across are often the spearpoint in envi- ing underway for a mine in the Indian country if such problems ronmental clashes with outcomes headwaters of the Wolf River, a are not fixed. that affect millions of people. National Scenic River that aris- Such a drop could have conse- The Standing Rock Sioux and es north of the reservation and quences across the country. Na- the Lakota People’s Law Proj- flows through it. tive Americans are more involved ect recently joined Sen. Tom Though Democrats have his- and influential in elections than Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. House torically been cooperative about is commonly understood—field- Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lu- environmental issues, so have ing scores of candidates for state ján (D-N.M.) to work on passage some Republicans—so Reiter is and national office, running pres- of the Native American Voting producing paper and digital elec- idential candidate forums and Rights Act. The bill, which Udall tion scorecards to chart and clar- Above: Guy managing energetic get-out-the- and Luján introduced in 2019, ify candidates’ positions. Reiter, execu- vote campaigns. With around would mandate accessible poll- “We’ll never give up,” Reiter tive director of 3.7 million Native people of voting places, increased voter reg- says. His people have survived grassroots Na- ing age concentrated in Western istration and better access to other crises, even other pan- tive group Meni- states—and voting-age popula- federal election monitors in Na- demics, even genocide. “That kanaehkem, uses tions accounting for up to 11% tive communities. is a helluva strength,” he says. digital tools and information to of the electorate in New Mexi- The Trump administration, “We got this.” assist voters on co, 12% in Oklahoma and 17% in meanwhile, has diminished fed- STEPHANIE WOODARD is an award- the reservation Alaska, as tabulated by NCAI— eral protection for vast areas of winning investigative journalist whose of the Menomi- Native voters can dramatically natural beauty and tribal cultur- recent book is American Apartheid: nee Indian Tribe

PHOTO BY KILIII YUYAN FOR EARTHJUSTICE shape election results. al meaning, such as Bears Ears The Native American Struggle. of Wisconsin.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 11 VIEWPOINT

GEORGE GOEHL quality jobs, clean air, clean water and addiction. By organizing on these issues, we came How We Are together in multi-racial organizations and have won real Flipping Trump Voters tangible changes—Medicaid expansion, a rural living wage, uch ink was filiate Down Home North Car- factory farm moratoriums and spilled over “Trump olina going door-to-door to more. From there, the trust and M Country” in the wake talk with working-class peo- relationships grew into tough of 2016. Rural counties that ple in the backyard of growing conversations about racism—as helped elect President Barack neo-Confederate and white na- a system that creates different Obama in 2008 and 2012 had tionalist groups. In the hills of outcomes for people based on seemingly switched over to Appalachia or on (former) fam- race, and as a tactic that sows Trump in 2016. At People’s Ac- ily farms in the Midwest, we division to block powerful ma- tion, the grassroots organiza- heard the same refrain: “No jorities. Racism creates incred- tion I direct, many of us grew one ever asked me.” ible pain, suffering and loss of up in or live in rural communi- With few exceptions, there life for people of color, but the ties, and we had a gut instinct 15 million white Americans about what had happened: who live in poverty—often The Democratic Party (and in rural communities in so- organizations in its orbit) re- called red states—are rarely treated from rural America. its beneficiaries. We wanted to understand Still, we kept running into what motivated people in one subject that seemed a those counties to swing bridge too far: a more wel- so dramatically—up to 25 coming immigration policy. points. What were they feel- We launched a deep canvass ing and searching for? And program in North Carolina, what about all the folks who Pennsylvania and Michigan, didn’t vote? was no progressive infrastruc- hoping to learn more about how Certain that pollsters were ture where we went knocking. people understood the chang- not going to find those answers The power of organized labor ing demographics of the coun- for us, we started organizing. had weakened, local Demo- try and their economic realities. And the best organizing begins cratic Party offices had closed Caitlin Homrich-Knieling, a with listening. and much progressive philan- canvasser with People’s Action GEORGE From the Iron Range in Min- thropy had directed its dollars affiliate Michigan United, de- nesota to the Piedmont of to urban enclaves. scribes deep canvassing—which GOEHL North Carolina, we had thou- The unwillingness of main- she has practiced in small is the director sands of conversations in rural line Democrats and corporate towns surrounded by corn and of People’s communities and small towns media to name the true causes soy like Imlay City (pop. 3,577) Action, a national people’s across 10 states, starting in of rural people’s pain left folks and Emmett (252)—as relation- organization 2017: Alabama, Iowa, Maine, feeling alienated. Runaway cor- ship-building. “[We’re] strang- working in ur- Michigan, Minnesota, Mis- porate economic power, mixed ers, [we’re] starting with a ban, suburban souri, New Hampshire, North with racism as a tool of division, blank slate,” she says. “And in and rural com- Carolina, Pennsylvania and created a vacuum. Trump and that conversation, we … really munities. Hear Wisconsin. We learned what his fellow white nationalists honor their story and their wis- more in his we already knew: People are simply filled it. dom and their dignity.” new podcast, struggling and trying to make These conversations in- Most people welcomed the To See Each sense of those struggles. formed our work on the issues opportunity to explore a com- Other. Our listening campaign people told us were most im- plicated issue in a non-dogmat- started with People’s Action af- portant—access to healthcare, ic and non-judgmental way. In

12 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 THE BIG IDEA many cases, it was as if we can- that the average unionized worker has vassers had offered a gift—a sec•tor•al higher wages, better benefits and safer chance to finally be listened to. working conditions than a non-union Often, people would acknowl- bar•gain•ing worker. There’s also a “sectoral bargain- edge they didn’t have much noun ing difference” (the phrase just isn’t as catchy). In European countries where lived experience of undocu- a labor policy that enables 1. industry-wide bargaining is routine, union mented immigrants, that they unions to set standards for contracts cover more workers and have were informed by television. their whole industry, boosting an even greater impact on decreasing their leveraging power These conversations, driven by economic inequality while improv- sincere curiosity, opened up a + Why can’t unions do “sec- ing work-life balance. German space to reexamine things. toral bargaining” now? metalworkers, for example, won a Our deep canvass effort was In theory, they can—and have 28-hour work week in 2018. extremely effective, with a 15% before. In 1980, for example, increase in support to include about a tenth of workers were + Less inequality and more pow- undocumented immigrants in covered by multi-employer agree- er for workers sounds good. How We public benefits—which has last- ments that set industry-wide standards, do we get sectoral bargaining? have a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: To ed at least 4.5 months, the most especially workers in steel, auto, trucking, build a stronger labor movement, we could recent time we measured. construction and mining. Down Home North Caro- What happened? An on- lina, Michigan United, Iowa slaught of deregulation and Sectoral bargaining could Citizens for Community Im- anti-union attacks reversed “ provement, New Jersey Orga- those gains. shift employers from nizing Project, Pennsylvania Only 11% of workers are competing based on who can Stands Up and Hoosier Ac- covered by union contracts tion have all, in different ways, today, total. (And just 6% of pay their workers the least, modeled what multi-racial, the entire private sector.) to competing based on the Unions simply lack the pow- multi-generational organiza- quality of their services. tions and movements can look er and membership to organize entire sectors and ” like. In Michigan, we are deep —CHARLOTTE GARDEN, PROFESSOR, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW industries. Sectoral or multi- canvasing around immigra- employer bargaining does tion. In Iowa, we are fighting exist—in heavily unionized industries, like use better labor law that favors working for clean water. In the Pied- hospitality—but, mostly, unions negotiate people—prevailing wage laws, for example, mont of North Carolina, peo- wages and improve conditions at one indi- would help force employers to negotiate ple are standing down white vidual worksite at a time. industry-wide standards. But to win better supremacy. On the South Jer- labor law, we could really use a stronger sey shore, folks are coming to- + How much of a difference would sec- labor movement. gether on wind energy. In my toral bargaining make? You may have So the place to start is wherever you home of southern Indiana, already heard of the “union difference”— happen to be: Labor needs more union people are fighting a pitched membership. And pretty much everyone in battle with addiction and labor agrees it needs to be easier for work- learning to be vulnerable, to ers to join unions. The Protecting the Right see each other and to build the to Organize Act would remove some of the power needed to win. major difficulties faced by union organizers We’ve learned the hard way and passed in the House earlier this year. It now waits in the Senate. Like so much else, that, if we are not present, oth- its chance of becoming law any time soon ers will be. That is not a lesson greatly depends on who wins in November. we need to learn again. If it does pass, unions can begin the process of rebuilding their bargaining power As a 501(c)3 nonprofit publica- from the bottom up. tion, In These Times does not oppose or endorse candidates for political office. ILLUSTRATIONS BY TERRY LABAN

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 13 THIS MONTH: What does the election outcome mean for climate movement strategy? IN 2020

MATTIAS LEHMAN billionaires around him to avoid climate change than to do something about it. To use The Difficult Fight the words of Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), “If you break the sa- Ahead If Trump Wins cred contract, the people make a revolution.” magine it’s Novem- years we had to address the Second, we must keep acting ber 10, a week after Elec- climate crisis. We cannot af- locally. A Green New Deal was I tion Day. Donald Trump ford to lose four more. never “just” a federal plan. Lo- has been declared president, Under a Democratic admin- cal communities feel the pain whether he won the Elector- istration, we would be fighting of climate change every day; al College or just stole the elec- to force the incoming pres- they must be empowered to do tion. A man who once referred ident and Congress to pass what’s best for themselves. We to climate change as a Chi- transformative climate legisla- know what it’s like to have a lo- nese hoax has just been rein- tion: a Green New Deal. Under cal oil refinery poison our wa- stalled to the highest office in a Trump administration, our ter, a local factory pollute our the country. work must continue (we have air. We need to take direct ac- We have grappled with the no choice!) but our strategy tions against the corporate in- escalating threat of climate must shift. We cannot count on terests that despoil our homes. change for decades, a crisis our Trump to fight for our future— We need to elect local repre- leaders have known about but he will be too busy enriching sentatives who will stand up largely ignored. Under Trump— his billionaire friends and fos- for our communities. an incompetent, corrupt cli- sil fuel executives, consolidat- Without support from the fed- mate change denier who has ing political power and angling eral government, things will be actively rolled back climate pro- for an unlawful third term. That harder. But our successes will tections—we will continue to doesn’t mean we do nothing. inspire more communities and steer straight into this crisis. First, we have to keep orga- make our vision crystal clear to Trump’s response to the Co- nizing. We have to be in the increasing numbers of people. vid-19 pandemic reveals his streets, every day, demanding Third, we cannot abandon (lacking) crisis leadership skills. a Green New Deal from elect- electoral politics. If Trump In March, as the pandemic took ed officials up and down the gets a second term, there’s no root and major cities were de- ballot. These cannot be atom- guarantee we will have a fair ciding whether and how to ized protests, lasting just a day presidential election in 2024. shut down, Trump’s govern- or even a week. Nor can they He is already abusing his pow- ment abandoned working peo- be feel-good rallies. We need to er and would have four more MATTIAS ple to bail out his billionaire make society ungovernable. years to destroy our political LEHMAN pals. After 200,000 deaths and Trump is not motivated by infrastructure. We must forge is Sunrise counting, it is abundantly clear: our pain, our desires, or our relationships across the Left Movement’s Trump cannot handle a crisis. wish to make the world better. to give ourselves the best pos- Digital If Trump is reelected, what He is motivated by his person- sible shot at winning again, Director. is our generation to do? We al interests. So we must make starting in 2021. have already lost two of the 12 it more costly for him and the We, as the Left, cannot en-

14 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 Members of the San Francisco Bay Area hub of Sunrise Movement pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) September 10 to stop approving new fossil fuel permits. California’s wildfire season has become more extreme because of climate factors, like higher temperatures and drought.

ter the 2024 primaries divided, NIKAYLA JEFFERSON in races from the presidential down to municipal elections. We must join hands—and forc- How to Win a Green es—with our allies in every state, every city, every district, New Deal Under Biden and put power before ego. The question to ask is, “Who can f we have a Presi- er of the youth movement that, break the back of the corpo- dent-elect Joe Biden on since the end of the primary rate donors in this race?” Then I November 3, then consid- season, Biden has released his vote accordingly. er November 4 Day Zero of the climate plan as a Green New More than climate justice is decade of the Green New Deal. Deal in all but name. He is now at stake. The American exper- Under this more ideal sce- calling for 100% clean electric- iment has always been funda- nario the real work continues, ity by 2035—to create 10 mil- mentally flawed—our founders to demonstrate the power of lion green jobs, mobilize the pretended to believe in equali- our movement. We clog city country and raise us back from ty while reserving voting rights streets, we take over politi- the Covid-19 recession. Biden for male property holders, en- cal offices, we raise our voices calls for energy-efficient infra- slaving Black people, and mas- from coast to coast until Biden structure and vehicles, more sacring indigenous tribes—but hears us. We do not stop—not solar and wind energy, and de- Trump is dragging us back- until Trump vacates the of- velopment of new climate tech- ward toward that era, step by fice, Biden takes his oath and nologies. His ambition is one step. The work of our ances- we raise our country from the of the most progressive climate tors is being dismantled before brink of collapse. plans of any Democratic nomi- our eyes, while climate change Biden did not start off the nee in party history. NIKAYLA threatens to exacerbate every 2020 presidential race with a But Biden still has miles JEFFERSON single crisis we face. stellar climate plan. In fact, we to go. His plan does not ban is an organizer If we fail to stop Trump stamped his plan with a red F fracking. He is yet to support with Sunrise from taking a second term, we in 2019. (Trump, were he rated, publicly owned utilities. The Movement - have to prepare for the fight of would have received a zero.) details of his vow on environ- San Diego.

PHOTO BY EVAN MCELDOWNEY our lives. It is a testament to the pow- mental justice are sparse.

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NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 17 From the Streets to Meet the new crew of left challengers bringing movement politics to Congress THE HOUSE

BY NATALIE SHURE

America’s growing progressive movement has slowly been lighting up national politics. While President Don- ald Trump and the Republican Senate blocked left-leaning bills and Democratic Party leadership remained reluctant to fully embrace real change, the “Squad”—progressive House Dem- ocrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.),

Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.)—won demands at the forefront of the national agenda. office in 2018. This band of organizers-turned-con- This more disruptive approach debuted on Cap- gresspeople has helped reenergize left-wing elec- itol Hill in November 2018. Weeks before being toral politics. Now, they are getting reinforcements. sworn into Congress, Ocasio-Cortez threw tradi- Progressives and democratic socialists scored vic- tion and decorum out the window and joined an tories up and down the ballot in the 2020 primaries— occupation with the Sunrise Movement outside including in congressional races. Four challengers the office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who from the Left, who took on entrenched incum- was angling to regain her role as House speak- bents, are likely to join the left-leaning Squad er after Democrats won a new majority in the in the House: Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire chamber. The Sunrise Movement, a youth Jones of New York, Marie Newman of Illinois organization pushing for action on climate and Cori Bush of Missouri (see sidebars for change, was pressuring Pelosi to create individual profiles). By bringing an in- a new committee on climate change surgent mindset to the halls of pow- with significant power—unlike er, this burgeoning group aims to toothless climate committees shake up mainstream Demo- of the past. The spectacle of cratic politics by putting a soon-to-be congress- social movement woman standing GETTY IMAGES

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 19 alongside youth activists to confront a NEW YORK, 16TH DISTRICT top-ranking official of her own party Jamaal Bowman lent urgency and credibility to the or- defining moment in Bowman also won support from ganizers’ demands. the 2020 New York Dem- the Working Families Party, Sens. Journalist Ryan Grim covered the ocratic primary was Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth War- scene as it unfolded. As he recounts picked up by a hot mic in ren and the New York Times. Estab- in his book, We’ve Got People: From Jes- the Bronx in early June. lishment-friendly politicians Gov. se Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cor- Rep. Eliot Engel—who Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clin- tez, the End of Big Money and the Rise Asince 1989 has represented the area ton backed Engel. of a Movement, Pelosi’s deputy chief of straddling the city’s northernmost After the police murder of staff, Drew Hammill, was “red in the borough and Westchester County— George Floyd in Minneapolis face, livid” as he asked Grim, “Can begged Black Lives Matter rally or- sparked outrage across the coun- you tell them we support every sin- ganizers to squeeze him onto the list try, Bowman became a regular gle thing they’re protesting us for?” of speakers. “If I didn’t have a pri- fixture at protests, connecting Ocasio-Cortez later told Grim, “That mary, I wouldn’t care,” Engel said in with would-be constituents over is absolutely true … what this just what he believed was a private mo- his own experiences with police in needs to do is create a momentum ment. Engel later tried to spin the Black communities—being beat- and an energy to make sure it be- remark, but the damage was done. en with a nightstick at age 11 and, comes a priority for leadership.” The incident was widely re- much later, being held in The episode reflects the promise garded as evidence of lockup over a missed and strategy of an ascendant left- Engel’s indifference turn signal while wing electoral movement striving to to the lived real- driving. replace ho-hum Democrats with bold ities of his con- “I am Black candidates funded by small-dollar stituents, whose Lives Matter,” donations and running on universal neighborhoods Bowman says programs. By embracing movement Engel reported- when I ask what politics, the logic goes, these officials ly steered clear of the movement can push the Democratic Party left as he rode out the means to him. while racking up wins. With Bow- pandemic in his “It wasn’t like the man, Bush, Newman and Jones like- Maryland home. movement started ly to win in their heavily Democratic The candidate who and all of a sudden I districts, it’s becoming clear this par- made Engel so desperate became part of this move- ty-wide shift is already in motion. for a photo op was Jamaal Bowman, ment. My life has been one em- While Grim’s book follows the U.S. a 44-year-old public school princi- bodied by the understanding that electoral Left back to Rev. Jesse Jack- pal, community organizer and self- my life matters as a Black man in son’s 1988 presidential run, the new identified democratic socialist. He this country. … I consistently have movement picked up full steam after had never run for office before but to embrace the understanding Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 had spent years cultivating a rep- that my life matters just as much presidential campaign, which directly utation as a strong grassroots ed- as anyone else’s.” challenged the Democratic establish- ucation organizer, centering his For similar reasons, Bowman ment’s cozy relationship with corpo- activism on issues disproportion- is unsurprised that educators like rate interests while elevating broad ately impacting poor students of him have been such prominent po- redistributive policies like universal color, like high-stakes testing and litical actors in the Trump era, as a healthcare, free public college, tax- the school-to-prison pipeline. The wave of teacher strikes has swept ing the rich and raising the minimum Justice Democrats, the progressive the country. “Teachers have al- wage. While Sanders lost his 2016 pri- electoral outfit that famously re- ways been social justice warriors mary to Hillary Clinton, his coalition’s cruited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- in their own right,” Bowman says. fingerprints are all over the move- Cortez (D-N.Y.), recruited Bowman “Teachers who are conscious of ment: Ocasio-Cortez was a 2016 Sand-

to run. (Democratic candidate Cori the social and political dynamics ers campaign volunteer, an experience PHOTO BY COREY TORPIE Bush and Reps. Ilhan Omar [D- in their communities bring justice Minn.], Ayanna Pressley [D-Mass.] into their classrooms, and become Right: Jamaal Bowman (right), progressive and Rashida Tlaib [D-Minn.] also organizers across the country.” In House candidate for New York’s 16th, em- received support from Justice Bowman’s case, they can become braces members of the squad in Septem-

Democrats.) members of Congress, too. STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES ber. Bowman primaried Rep. Eliot Engel (D), a 16-term incumbent.

20 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 that helped inspire her to protest the Dakota Access This progressive upsurge has pressured other Pipeline at Standing Rock and later run for office. Democratic elected officials to adopt more left- The founders of the Justice Democrats—an organi- leaning positions—particularly compared with zation at the heart of the new progressive electoral the party’s previous standard-bearers. In 2016, infrastructure—were Sanders organizers and staff- Sanders famously fought intransigent Democratic ers. Both of Sanders’ presidential runs helped swell Party leadership to include a $15 minimum wage the ranks of the Democratic Socialists of America— in the party platform, after Clinton argued $12 of which Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Bowman and Bush was enough; by 2019, 206 of 235 House Democrats are all dues-paying members. voted for a $15 wage bill. In 2018, 58% of running But if the left-most flank of House Democrats Democratic candidates supported single-pay- doubles its membership in 2021, it does so in a very er healthcare, compared with only 27% in 2010. different world than existed during primary season. Arguably, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Months into a pandemic, nationwide uprisings for Biden is running on a more left-wing platform than racial justice and crises in evictions and unemploy- Clinton did just four years ago, including more ex- ment, the expanding Squad is taking power at a tu- tensive public funding for healthcare and climate multuous moment—one that demands unabashed change mitigation. progressive politics more than ever. For Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the As Grim tells it, the small-but-growing left flank Justice Democrats, this evolution is a proof of already has had a disproportionate impact on concept that a formidable left primary strate- American politics. “Without them, you don’t have gy can change the party not only by replacing a Green New Deal—that simply wouldn’t exist,” members but just by threatening to. “I know, for Grim says by phone. “And given that the Green- a fact, [Senate minority leader] Chuck Schumer land ice sheet is melting and California is turning (N.Y.) would not be endorsing the THRIVE Agen- into ashes … they’re at least giving Democrats the da alongside dozens of other progressive groups possibility of coming up with some measure of a if it wasn’t for fear of a primary challenge,” Ro- solution that meets the scale of the problem.” jas says. THRIVE is a proposed stimulus package

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 21 Cori Bush MISSOURI, 1ST DISTRICT n the summer of 2014, and the House in 2018—Bush beat Cori Bush—then a pastor and longtime incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay nurse—joined street protests by 3 points in August, after launch- against the police killing of Mi- ing a rematch campaign for the chael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., House this year. Bush entered the not far from her home in St. race with far greater name recog- ILouis. Bush wanted to be of use, nition than she had in 2018 thanks and she quickly became a fixture to her previous campaigns, her role in the protests that wound up con- in the Netflix documentary Knock tinuing for months. Down the House and her work as a “I felt like, I’m a nurse, so I can presidential campaign surrogate for be a medic,” Bush says. “And I’m Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). clergy, so I can go to the streets and Bush is running on a robust left pray with people. And I just ended platform calling for a Green New up staying out there, because of the Deal and Medicare for All—a things I saw in my own community demand, Bush says, that has been … I met so many wonderful people. made all the more urgent because Those same people have watched of Covid-19: Bush was briefly me get brutalized; I watched them hospitalized with the virus during get treated like terrorists in our her campaign. own country.” Bush is also poised to enter Con- The more solidarity Bush built gress with arguably the strongest with her fellow protesters, she ex- ties to movement politics of any plains, the more she began to re- House representative. She rejects alize that elected officials weren’t insiders’ notions that her move- centering investments in communi- actually showing up; they were ei- ment politics are incompatible with ties of color, curbing climate change ther ignoring the uprising or just public office. “You know, people and creating union jobs. “This move- stopping by for a photo op. “The were like, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t be out ment is powerful enough to get him ‘regular everyday people’—we were protesting—you’re a congressional and others out of office,” she says. the ones on the ground, building candidate,’” Bush says. “And I’m Sean McElwee, co-founder of poll- a movement we didn’t have a clue like, this is what I do. People saw ing firm Data for Progress, argues that we were building,” Bush says. what I’ve been doing in my com- that even losing primary challenges— Now, Bush is set to become the munity. They know me. I’ve been like the 2020 campaign of progressive first grassroots Black Lives Matter doing it since 2014.” Mayor Alex Morse against incumbent activist elected to Congress. After In 2021, Bush will focus on Rep. Richie Neal (D-Mass.)—can have two unsuccessful runs in Demo- how to translate disruptive activ- a positive effect. “Having two million cratic primaries—for Senate in 2016 ist energy into institutional pow- spent against you in a primary chal- er. “When you start a new job lenge is an unpleasant experience and and have a vision, you pay atten- a lot of [incumbents] would seek to re- tion to how things operate and fig- duce the pain of that,” McElwee says. ure out a way to work within that If Morse runs again, as he has sug- system,” Bush says. “My ears gested he will, he would be in good aren’t closed … we have to company: Newman and Bush won have the tough conversa- their rematches against incumbents, tions. But what they will having more name recognition and not get is me going in and strengthened coalitions. Moreover, feeling like I have to sub- McElwee notes, redistricting stands mit to how this usual- to make incumbents more vulnerable ly works and all of that. than usual in the next cycle as their I won’t. I’m not going to voting bases shift, opening opportuni- do that at all. I’m going ties for challengers.

to be Cori.” MICHAEL B. THOMAS/GETTY IMAGES If the movement has proven strong enough to knock out incumbents, it

22 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 Marie Newman ILLINOIS, 3RD DISTRICT ust five days ahead of support early on from groups such her March 17 primary, Marie as Emily’s List and Planned Par- Newman made a necessary enthood that famously dragged but distressing campaign their heels for the first several decision. Because of the es- months of her 2018 run, hesitating calating Covid-19 pandemic, to support an insurgent against an JNewman pulled more than 1,000 incumbent, despite Newman be- volunteers off of door-knocking ing a pro-choice woman. and in-person get-out-the-vote The second time around, efforts, reassigning them instead though, Newman launched her to phonebanking and texting. It campaign early—and had the ben- was nerve-racking for the cam- efit of name recognition as well paign, which relied heavily on as nationwide progressive energy. canvassing in Illinois’ 3rd District Newman also veered leftward in in southwest Chicagoland. her messaging, emphasizing uni- “What I felt in that moment was, versal social programs. Her run 100%, we were always go- ended up with support from ing to pull everybody in several members of and be safe,” New- Congress, including man says. “But I progressive Reps. also thought that Pramila Jayapal (D- I could lose the Wash.), Alexandria election, because Ocasio-Cortez (D- that was our jam! N.Y.) and Ayanna also has proven capable of protecting The doors were Pressley (D-Mass.), favored lawmakers. Tlaib, Omar and our secret sauce.” as well as multiple Ocasio-Cortez handily beat their pri- Compounding these liberal and labor orga- mary challengers this year, despite concerns was the fact nizations like AFL-CIO breathless news reports that their seats that, unlike other states that Illinois, National Nurses were in peril. Pressley ran unopposed. postponed their March primaries, United and Our Revolution. “We In Massachusetts, Sen. Ed Markey— Illinois opted to go forward with had so many endorsements, it was a Democrat who’s recently taken on in-person primaries as scheduled— a little bit embarrassing, quite more progressive positions, including a move that seriously depressed frankly,” Newman says. co-sponsoring the Green New Deal— turnout, which Newman had been But while Newman’s campaign easily fended off a primary challenge counting on to win. fits the mold of a left challenge from moderate Rep. Joe Kennedy Regardless, Newman prevailed, against a conservative incumbent, III. That race began with polls show- knocking out eight-term incumbent she has somewhat resisted that ing Markey down 14 points in a state Rep. Dan Lipinski after narrow- narrative. Newman defines her- where a Kennedy had never lost but ly losing to him in the 2018 prima- self as a progressive but insists that ended in a 10-point victory for Markey, ry. Newman’s winning platform “progressive policies” are, above thanks in large part to energetic sup- touted Medicare for All, the Green all else, very practical. She also port from progressive groups, includ- New Deal and reproductive rights— welcomes a somewhat heterodox ing more than a million phone calls putting her in stark contrast with Democratic Party—though not as made by the Sunrise Movement. Lipinski, whose opposition to the big a tent as would be needed to in- “Our allies worked their asses off to Affordable Care Act and abortion clude outliers like Lipinski—and fa- make that happen,” Rojas says. “That made him one of the most right- vors consensus building. was important to show incumbents wing Democrats in Congress. “I think we’re stuck in a bunch that if you lean into the progressive Newman’s 2018 campaign of labels and all these little lanes,” against Lipinski had been one of Newman says. “I think everybody Above: Progressive House Dems (from the earliest in a wave of progres- has to stop worrying about their left) Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rep. sive Democratic primary chal- damn lane, and start worrying Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) celebrate lenges but suffered from a lack of about the American people.”

MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES TAMA/GETTY MARIO the People’s Housing Platform in January.

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P.S. If you are unable to make a contribution today, we understand, and we hope you’ll consider supporting In These Times in the future. We are all in this together. movement, we are powerful enough to have your back if you have ours.” NEW YORK, 17TH DISTRICT Still, even if Biden defeats Trump Mondaire Jones and the Democrats retake the Senate, n the summer of 2019, Jones is poised to become one of passing a Green New Deal or Medi- Mondaire Jones—a 32-year-old the first two openly gay Black con- care for All will remain a tall order Obama-era Justice Depart- gresspeople in history. And after in Congress, where the status quo ment employee—launched his tireless campaigning, Jones’ plat- reigns supreme. As the fight over the longshot primary campaign as form gained traction in the upscale vacancy created by the death of Jus- a challenge to powerful, long- suburban communities that make tice Ruth Bader Ginsburg illustrates, Itime Rep. Nita Lowey. It’s a de- up his district, one of the wealthi- Democrats already have their hands cision he largely ascribes to his est in the country. full simply beating back power grabs soon-to-be colleague, Rep. Alex- More and more, Jones began dis- from the Right. andria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). tinguishing himself from the rest of Ultimately, a powerful left flank in “I have to give credit to AOC, the pool, which included a former Congress is only as strong as the move- because she really extended my national security adviser to Presi- ment it’s beholden to—and that power imagination of what a young per- dent Barack Obama and a self-fund- can’t be built through elections alone. son of color could do in New York ed prosecutor awash in corporate The growing Squad plans to leverage state politics,” Jones says. “I do not money, which Jones refused to ac- their ties to movement politics—such believe I would have challenged cept. By June, Jones attracted a wide as Black Lives Matter and labor orga- the powerful chair of the House range of endorsements, includ- nizing—and, like Sanders, have used Appropriations Committee, ab- ing Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and their platforms to encourage turnout sent her example from 2018.” Not Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Cru- at protests and picket lines. long into his campaign, though, cially, Jones helped inspire the Con- Movement politicians understand the contours of the election in New gressional Progressive Caucus to that real change comes from people York’s 17th District changed dra- throw its weight around in the form demanding it in the streets. And ac- matically: In October, Lowey an- of a $100,000 expenditure for his cording to Rojas, these new faces in nounced her imminent retirement, campaign, a move that could signal the Democratic coalition are stick- prompting other hopefuls to swell a willingness on its part to play the ing around. “The base of the Dem- the field into an eight-person race. kind of political hardball the cau- ocratic Party is increasingly looking Jones was the most progressive cus has shied away from in the past. like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ja- candidate in the hotly contested Jones certainly hopes so. maal Bowman, Cori Bush and Ayan- election, running on Medicare for “In 2021, leverage looks like the na Pressley,” Rojas says. “If we want All, bold climate action and demo- Congressional Progressive Cau- to build the Democratic Party of the cratic reform proposals, like abol- cus withholding its support for leg- future, you’ve got to embrace the fu- ishing the filibuster and expanding islation until it becomes better for ture. And I think that’s what these the courts—measures, Jones says, the American people,” Jones says. primaries are showing. In many that are vital to making progressive “It means organizing Americans ways, I think they’re inevitable.” demands a reality. Jones reempha- all across the country to hold their Bowman, Bush, Newman and sized these proposals in a blog post elected officials accountable if they Jones each talked with In These Times published after the death of Justice don’t support a Green New Deal, to reflect on their wins—and what Ruth Bader Ginsburg. which is the only climate policy that that “Democratic Party of the future” Along with newly elected Ritchie would save the planet from might look like (see sidebars). Torres (D-N.Y.), catastrophe.” As a 501(c)3 nonprofit publication, In These Times does not oppose or endorse candidates for political office.

NATALIE SHURE is a Los Angeles-based writer and researcher whose work focus eso on hist ry, health and politics. Her writing has appeared in many publications, including The Nation, The Atlantic, BuzzFeed, Jacobin and the Los Angeles Times. She is the Head of Research for

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Adam Ruins Everything on TruTV.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 25 Sentenced as Children, Still Behind Bars SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

Despite Supreme Court rulings that life-without-parole sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional, most who received that sentence remain incarcerated

BY KATIE ROSE QUANDT

frén Paredes Jr.’s life retroactive, ruling that people like Paredes “must outside prison was over before be given the opportunity to show their crime did he was old enough for a driver’s not reflect irreparable corruption; and, if it did license. not, their hope for some years of life outside pris- With no criminal record, on walls must be restored.” 15-year-old Paredes worked part- “I was cautiously optimistic,” Paredes recalls. time as a bagger at a Michigan For years, Paredes advocated from behind bars grocery store. One night, after against long sentences for children. “I knew that hours, his co-worker was shot and it was a good opinion. I was happy that they made killed during a robbery. Paredes, it retroactive. What I was not happy with was how who maintains his innocence, they still left so much room for misinterpretation.” was charged as an adult and convicted in a widely Paredes was right to be concerned. The Montgom- publicized 1989 trial, in which the rap lyrics he cop- ery decision was unclear on how individual states Eied into a high school notebook were used against should implement the ruling. Some states automat- him as evidence of premeditation. The judge gave ically granted parole eligibility to anyone with a Paredes the mandatory sentence for first-degree JLWOP sentence (after a certain number of years murder in Michigan: life without parole. served), while others arranged individual resen- More than two decades later, the U.S. Supreme tencing hearings. And some states withheld resen- Court began a series of decisions that would all tencing opportunities in cases in which JLWOP was but deem that sentence unconstitutional for mi- not given as a mandatory minimum. nors. But of the more than 2,800 people sentenced Today, about 700 people are still waiting for the to life without parole as juveniles in the United resentencing opportunity they were promised in States, approximately 2,150 remain in prison, in- 2016. Another 1,450 have been given reduced sen- cluding Paredes. tences but remain incarcerated; some have become The Court decided, in 2010, that “juvenile life parole-eligible but have been denied parole. Oth- without parole” (JLWOP) is an unconstitutional ers’ new sentences are so long, they will not be pa- sentence for crimes other than homicide. In 2012, role-eligible for decades. And so far, about 85 have in Miller v. Alabama, the Court prohibited JLWOP had their life-without-parole sentences reaffirmed. as a mandatory minimum sentence for any crime Especially now, as Covid-19 is spreading rapidly but did not ban it outright. Finally, in 2016, Mont- in prisons, such differences can mean life or death. gomery v. Louisiana made the Miller decision “It can feel like justice by geography,” Marsha Levick, chief legal officer of the Juvenile Law Cen-

ILLUSTRATIONS BY EMMANUEL IGNATIUS BWIBO ter (JLC), tells In These Times.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 27 Missouri, Illinois, North Carolina and Mississip- pi, were responsible for about 81%. Variation ex- ists even at the county level, where some district attorneys make a habit of bringing more severe charges and seeking harsher sentences. After being sentenced to life without parole at 16, Paredes was booked into the Mich- igan Reformatory, an adult facility. He says several older men took him under their wings and helped him navigate prison life. Paredes says he found solace in “educating myself, and immersing myself in books, and learning and growing, and just doing everything I can to maintain my sanity, and learning to become a better version of myself all the time.” In prison, Paredes earned his GED and began taking college courses. He has transcribed textbooks into Braille, worked as a teacher’s aide, written advocacy blog posts, and pored over academic criminal justice articles in the law library. Unlike many people serving JLWOP, who have grown into Efrén Paredes Jr. (shown here as a youth and adult) middle age without ever having the chance to form was sentenced to life without parole at age 16. He romantic relationships, Paredes found love while awaits a hearing to review his sentence in October. incarcerated and is married with a young daughter. After the Montgomery decision in 2016, Michi- gan’s legislature required district attorneys to review every JLWOP sentence that had been given A Long Wait for Resentencing as a mandatory minimum. For each, they could recommend reaffirming the sentence or reduc- ven before the Supreme Court ing the sentence within certain parameters. Giv- decisions, JLWOP sentences were poorly en this choice, prosecutors across the state initially tracked, heavily concentrated in particular recommended life without parole for two-thirds of regions and split along racial lines. their 354 cases (though some of these recommen- E“JLWOP reflects deep racial disparities in our dations have since been shortened). Those recom- criminal justice system and has been imposed mended for life without parole were put at the back disproportionately on youth of color, particularly of the line for resentencing. Black children,” says Rebecca Turner, Montgom- In Berrien County, Mich., prosecuting attorney ery implementation coordinator at the Campaign Michael Sepic—the same attorney who prosecuted for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY). Paredes’ original case—recommended reaffirming A 2015 analysis by the Phillips Black Project found the sentences in eight of 12 JLWOP cases, includ- that Black children were twice as likely as white ing for Paredes. children to be sentenced to JLWOP for the same Sepic told In These Times in July that his office crime. By 2016, people of color made up 38% of the made sentencing recommendations after consid- U.S. population and 77% of those serving JLWOP ering the individual’s role in the crime, background sentences. People of color had 80% of JLWOP sen- and prison record. “I took four [people] off the ta- tences in Pennsylvania, 73% in Michigan and 81% ble, but the other eight, I felt as a prosecutor, that in Louisiana, the three leading JLWOP states. they should serve that time in prison, life without Prior to the Montgomery ruling, Pennsylva- parole,” he says. He argues JLWOP will still be rare, nia, Michigan and Louisiana accounted for more as required by the Supreme Court—when compared than two-thirds of the nation’s JLWOP sentences. against the total number of juveniles in the county. These states, combined with California, Florida, As of August, more than four years after Mont-

28 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION gomery, 166 people were still waiting for resentencing hearings in Michigan. The consequences of resentencing delays can be Educating myself, heartbreaking, made even more urgent in the time of the coronavirus. William Garrison, for example, and immersing served 44 years of a life sentence he received at 16 “ in Wayne County, Mich. Garrison received a reduced sentence in January and planned to move in myself in books, with his sister in May. In April, 24 days before his expected release, he died of Covid-19. and learning and In Louisiana, a 2017 law made anyone who was sentenced to mandatory JLWOP eligible for a pa- growing, and just role hearing after serving 25 years—unless the district attorney wanted to reaffirm the sentence, which would result in a resentencing hearing. Dis- doing everything I trict attorneys sought life without parole in about a third of 300 cases. As of June, around 80 people can to maintain my were still awaiting hearings. Similarly, in North Carolina, 43 of 94 people serving JLWOP sentences are still awaiting hearings. sanity, and learning In total, around 700 people throughout the Unit- ed States have yet to be resentenced. to become a better Paredes’ hearing is scheduled for October. De- spite the prosecuting attorney seeking to reaffirm version of myself all his sentence, Paredes is hopeful. “It feels good to know that things are finally moving along after an 8.5-year, grueling waiting process,” he writes to the time.” In These Times. “My team will be able to present a — EFRÉN PAREDES JR. compelling case of why I am deserving of a term- of-year sentence, and the opportunity to reunite with my family and become a full-time father to “I couldn’t accept the fate of dying in prison for my school-age daughter.” a mistake of choosing to commit a robbery, where it wasn’t my intention that anybody be hurt, much [less] killed,” Perales writes to In These Times. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed that Perales’ sentence is unconstitutional. But instead of A New, Lengthy Sentence individualized resentencing, the Texas legislature simply converted the state’s 27 JLWOP sentences, ulis Perales, then 17, helped rob including Perales’, to 40 years to life. Perales’ new a Texas convenience store in 2005. One of sentence makes him eligible for parole at 57. He con- his accomplices shot and killed the store siders his sentence essentially unchanged. clerk. Perales declined a plea deal of 25 to “I was completely devastated,” Perales says. “I Jlife and was tried for first-degree murder, even was even more crushed with this new sentence though he did not pull the trigger. He was convict- than with the first. Considering that a light of ed and received a mandatory minimum sentence hope was shining, that since I’ve been in prison of life without parole. I’ve been doing all the things necessary to get my- When Perales heard about the Miller ruling, self together and learning what was necessary to which he calls a “phenomenal moment for the attain the relief I feel I deserve. Putting forth my nation at large and for me and my loved ones,” best efforts along all lines and being slammed he took to the law library. In 2013, he appealed his like that again, I felt like a complete failure. … I sentence as unconstitutional, hoping he would be felt completely powerless and hopeless.” granted a hearing before a jury that would consid- People around the country have challenged er his childhood, the influence of his peers and lengthy new sentences, including renewed life his role in the crime. without parole, claiming they violate the spirit of

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 29 Missouri is one of several states—including Cal- ifornia, West Virginia, Nevada, Virginia, Arkansas and Connecticut—whose legislature granted retroactive parole eligibility, after a certain number of years behind bars, for people sentenced as children. But eligibility hasn’t always meant freedom. The process varies by state, but parole boards, often appointed by the governor, are generally supposed to consider whether a person is rehabil- itated. As the ACLU found in a 2016 report, how- ever, parole boards instead generally rehash the details of the original case. In Missouri, where all 100-some JLWOP sentences were converted to 25 to life, the parole board remains a roadblock. Wedlow had a parole hearing in February 2017, a 10-minute video call. “It wasn’t nothing about my maturity, how I was raised and brought up,” Wedlow says. “It was all about case questions and my prison conduct. I was able to make it to the honor dorm. I haven’t had a major violation since the early ’90s. And that’s the only thing they kept bringing up, was some vio- lations from when I was 21 years old. In 2017, I’m in front of you, you’re bringing up stuff that happened in ’93. I’m almost 50.” Miller and Montgomery. Two weeks later, Wedlow received a form deni- Perales says he has not given up his fight. He al letter with the promise of a second parole hear- supports Texas’ Second Look bill—which has died ing in five more years. The Missouri parole board in the legislature three times—which would make approved just three of the first 23 JLWOP lifers anyone incarcerated as a child eligible for parole who appeared. after 20 years. In response, four Missouri men filed a class action against the Missouri Parole Board, arguing their rights under Montgomery were being denied. In 2018, a U.S. district judge ruled in their favor, ordering new parole hearings for Missouri’s JLWOP Waiting for Parole cases—and ordering the board to consider factors beyond the original crimes. Parole hearings began n 1989, the same year Efrén Pare- moving forward under this new direction in July des was sentenced to life, Tino Wedlow says (though the board is appealing the district court’s he was paid $75 by another kid in Kansas City, decision). As of August, the board had not yet re- Mo., to watch for cops while a third person leased its new decisions. Ibeat someone up. “It’s very inconsistent in terms of parole avail- “My only role was to be a lookout,” says Wedlow, ability,” Marsha Levick says. In Wisconsin and who was 17. Maryland, for example, class actions have been Wedlow says he had no idea the third person was brought by people who argue their states’ low re- going to throw a gasoline bomb through the win- lease rates effectively turn their parole-eligible dow of a house, which killed six people, including life sentences into JLWOP cases. In Louisiana, children. The police, meanwhile, said Wedlow was where dozens of juvenile lifers have been paroled, involved in setting the fire. Fearing the death pen- 74-year-old Henry Montgomery, the man who alty, he took a plea deal: life without parole. brought the Montgomery case, has been denied “I had never been in trouble a day in my life,” twice and remains behind bars. Specifics also vary Wedlow says. “I don’t have [a] juvenile record, regarding when parole eligibility even starts. none of that. I just made one poor decision when Wedlow’s new parole hearing is scheduled for I was a kid.” March 2021. He hopes to discuss the challeng-

30 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION es he has overcome and demonstrate the person he is today. “It takes more than 10 minutes to go over everything that the Miller case said to do,” I couldn’t accept Wedlow says. “They didn’t ask anything about the person, how you was brought up and raised, the fate of dying in if you was neglected and physically abused as a “ child, which I was.” Even if Wedlow is granted parole, his earliest prison for a mistake release would likely be in 2022, at age 50. He then hopes to find a job, reconnect with family members and pursue a relationship. of choosing to commit a robbery, where it wasn’t Bittersweet Freedom n 1994, Bernardo Burnside re- my intention that ceived a mandatory sentence of life without parole in Philadelphia, for homicide, at age 16. anybody be hurt, Formerly the nation’s leader in JLWOP sen- Itencing, Pennsylvania has become a leader in resentencing—particularly in Philadelphia County. much [less] killed.” By August, Pennsylvania had held individual re- — JULIS PERALES sentencing hearings for 460 of 521 people serving JLWOP sentences, according to Department of Corrections data. Pennsylvania’s parole board approved 70% of those eligible: 241 people. Recidivism among those released after JLWOP sentences is rare. Of the 174 people released in Philadelphia by the end of 2019, only two had been convicted of any new offenses. In Michigan, where 119 people have been released, none have violated parole or recidivated. After Burnside’s 2018 resentencing hearing, for which he was assigned an attorney and mitigation expert, a judge reduced his sentence to 25 to life—making him parole-eligible based on time already served. Within four months, he became one of nearly 650 people around the country released after being sentenced to JLWOP. Burnside went home July 17, 2018, on the eighth anniversary of his mother’s death. “That same day that I came out, it started raining,” he says. “And the only thing I could do was just stand there and look at the sky. People were like, ‘That’s

Above and right: Julis Perales (shown here as a youth and adult with his family) has been in prison since age 17. Texas converted his mandatory life sentence to a minimum 40 years—tantamount, potentially, to the same thing.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 31 life. But it hasn’t been that.” Burnside found temp work, but the hours were spotty and all but dis- appeared during the pandemic. He constantly applies for jobs, but an injury has made finding work even harder. He is months behind on rent and his pandemic stimulus check did not cover his bills. “I have nowhere to go,” he says. “If I lose my apartment—excuse my language, but I’m shit out of luck.” “Having a first- or second-degree homicide conviction on your record presents a huge barrier to accessing meaningful long-term employment,” says Joanna Viss- er Adjoian, co-director of the Youth Sentenc- ing & Reentry Project (YSRP). YSRP helps a subset of Philadelphia’s juvenile lifers navigate the resentencing process and helps former lifers build community and find resources and jobs. “Why are people being successful and … not going back [to prison]?” asks YSRP Reentry Co- ordinator John Pace, who was resentenced from JLWOP and released in 2017. “It’s about the resil- iency of the individual, being appreciative of the opportunity and taking advantage of it.” Similarly, the Louisiana Parole Project helps people who have long juvenile sentences prepare for parole hearings and provides support after release. Paroled clients receive temporary housing, Bernardo Burnside (shown here as a youth and adult with his mentorship, help accessing insurance and bene- dog) was sentenced to life in 1994. your mom, crying. She’s happy fits, and case management. Clients take classes After a resentencing, he became for you.’ It was a blessing.” to catch up on everything from personal finance parole-eligible on 25 years served. At first, things went well. Burn- to how cell phones and email work to new social side found a job making more norms after decades of change. than $800 a month as a janitor at an apartment “One of our attorneys called it Rip Van Winkle complex. With an income, he qualified for a hous- syndrome,’” says Deputy Director Kerry Myers, ing assistance program. He took over his own lease who himself spent decades in prison. after six months. Myers says none of the Parole Project’s 137 re- “I was able to take care of my rent, pay my cell leased clients have been rearrested. “Many of our phone bill and still have money saved aside,” Burn- clients are now employed, married, have families,” side says. But when new management learned about he says. “A couple of them are becoming home- his past, they fired him. He says he was hired and owners.” The organization also helps clients find almost immediately let go from two other jobs, at a work and apply for subsidized housing. bakery and as a home health aide. While Philadel- “We want this program to show what we all know phia’s “ban the box” law prevents employers from the data says—that they’re generally low-risk and asking about criminal records on job applications, just have high needs,” Myers says. “It’s not a pub- they can do background checks later. lic safety issue or threat to release them, as long as “The Department of Corrections told us when they have the right resources when they come out.” we came home that our backgrounds wouldn’t be “I take full responsibility for what I did,” says held against us,” Burnside says, but he believes Burnside. “I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to fit in.” he would not have been fired if not for his back- Now, he says, “I’m not the same person. I think for ground. “I thought I was going to be able to come myself. I stand on my own two feet. And I’m proud out here and get a nice job and start living—I to say, you know, I’m doing what a man is supposed don’t want to say a normal life, but a peaceful to do. I’m out here, taking responsibility.”

32 IN THESE TIMES + NOVEMBER 2020 SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

Despite the challenges, Burnside is grateful. “One of the best things is sleeping in a soft bed,” he says. “Taking a bath—not a shower all the time. Picking That same day my own food, eating when I want to eat, being able to just walk out my front door… I don’t take much that I came out, it for granted being out here. … I have a dog, a little “ pit bull. Being home and just sitting in bed, I’m content. He can’t talk back to me but he listens. I’m just started raining. The grateful for the little things. “It’s been a blessing,” he adds. “But it’s also been only thing I could a letdown.” do was just stand there and look at The Next Step the sky. People were espite evidence that juvenile offenders are unlikely to reoffend, some states continue to give children JLWOP sen- like, ‘That’s your tences. In Louisiana, 57% of children sen- Dtenced for murder since the Miller decision have mom, crying. She’s been sentenced to life without parole, according to the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. Even happy for you.’ It the 23 states that have abolished JLWOP continue to give children lengthy sentences: Around the country, some 7,300 people are serving life (with parole) was a blessing.” for crimes committed as children. — BERNARDO BURNSIDE “We’re a very retributive culture,” Levick says. “We think of our criminal justice system as having, for the most part, no other purpose than pun- 2004, when Jones was 15. After Miller, Jones had a ishment and retribution. Rehabilitation almost hearing that reaffirmed his sentence. Jones v. Mis- never comes up. … The fundamental question is, sissippi specifically asks the Court whether a sen- what does justice mean? And we need to change tencing authority is required to “make a finding how we answer that question.” that a juvenile is permanently incorrigible before The JLC and CFSY support a ban on sentencing imposing a sentence of life without parole.” Oral children to life in prison without parole. arguments will likely begin in November and have “As an organization, we believe that children are implications around the country. fundamentally different from adults, they have an Paredes is watching closely. “They said it eight innate capacity for positive growth and change, times in Miller, that you can’t give life without pa- and they should never be sentenced to die in pris- role to anyone, unless they’re ‘irreparably cor- on,” says Rebecca Turner, of CFSY. rupt’ or ‘permanently incorrigible’ or ‘incapable of Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has not fin- change,’” Paredes says. “And six times, they said ished weighing in. In addition to challenges over [JLWOP] … has to be [for] a ‘rare individual.’ It’s lengthy sentences for children, another key ques- clear what the Court has said. … And ultimately, the tion is whether Montgomery applies to “discre- Supreme Court is going to rule that we’re right.” tionary” JLWOP sentences, the life sentences that were not mandatory minimums. Advocates inter- This article was supported by a grant from the Leon- pret the decisions to mean all JLWOP sentences ard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Report- are unconstitutional, unless a court specifically ing. Fact-checking was provided by Maddie Cruz. finds an individual “incorrigible.” In March, the Supreme Court took a case that KATIE ROSE QUANDT is a freelance jour- will add some clarity. Brett Jones was sentenced to nalist who often writes about criminal justice and JLWOP for killing his grandfather in Mississippi in incarceration.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 33 CULTURE

Fighting Fascism Through Literature Arundhati Roy’s new essay collection raises important questions about how we can resist authoritarianism by expressing not only outrage but joy

BY APOORVA TADEPALLI

n the early 2000s, historian and corruption. To challenge fascism, Roy Ramachandra Guha called Arundhati argues, one must challenge the “sophisti- Roy crazy. For years Roy had been writ- cated set of fake histories” that fascism ped- ing scathing essays against globaliza- dles. Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalism tion and the myth of progress, detailing and Donald Trump’s American exceptional- the human cost of big government’s ef- ism mirror each other in these efforts, riling forts toward nuclear development and up voters with hatred and false origin sto- industrial dams. Throughout her career ries about what has been taken from them. Roy has lambasted the treatment of Kash- With fiction, Roy writes, one can explore Imiris, Muslims, Naxalites, Dalits and poor how “stories intersect below the surface of villagers; Guha disapproved of her wide range the grand narrative of class and capital.” of issues, implying that she lacked serious- In Roy’s nonfiction, the grand narrative of ness as she “hops from cause to cause.” In class and capital is an omnipresent frame- an interview with Frontline, Roy respond- work for descriptions of injustice. She is ex- ed: “He’s right. I am hysterical. I am scream- plicit about calling out oppressors for what ing from the bloody rooftops. And he is going they are. Her journalism and essays portray Shhhh … you’ll wake the neighbours!” endless images of the unprecedented atroci- Roy has been trying to wake the neigh- ties carried out in Kashmir on the pretext of bors for more than two decades, publishing anti-terrorism. In Azadi, she recounts sto- numerous books of acerbic nonfiction. Her ries of “soldiers entering villagers’ homes latest essay collection, Azadi: Freedom. Fas- and mixing fertilizer and kerosene into their cism. Fiction. (published in September), re- winter food stocks … teenagers, their bodies sponds to catastrophes in India and around peppered with shotgun pellets … hundreds the world, recently and throughout histo- of children being whisked away in the dead ry. Azadi (Urdu for “freedom”) explores the of night.” Her talent is in exposing these sto- idea that literature “provides shelter” from ries of power and abuse—by governments, these catastrophes—“places off the high- corporations, religious communities—with way,” “fragile” but “indestructible,” built horrific detail. Stunningly, Roy has not be- and rebuilt by readers and writers. come desensitized. Her objective is to make Roy has a long history of activism against sure we don’t, either. fascism. She believes writing offers a unique Understandably, then, Roy’s trademark way of clarifying and processing the world voice is one of urgency, alternatingly plead- around us, especially a world so full of chaos ing and furious, heartbroken and dripping

34 IN THESE TIMES +N OVEMBER 2020 with sarcasm. Anger comes quickly to her, albe- the sake of credibility and good manners, we it justifiably. Her writing often comprises long groom the creature that has sunk its teeth into lists of “things we must not look away from.” us—we comb out its hair and wipe its dripping The essays in Azadi are piercingly human. jaw to make it more personable in polite com- Roy is particularly unforgiving about our pany,” she seethes in Azadi. The outrage Roy own complicity in atrocities—when we accept inspires is her antidote to this everyday com- them as inevitable—committed by powerful plicity with the project of fascism. people and institutions. Her fury is directed According to Roy, her nonfiction and fic- toward the way fascism takes hold not only in tion take on the same task of resistance, but government but in our hearts, how quickly we in diametrically opposite ways: The former is lose the energy and the spirit for outrage. “For “quick, urgent and public,” the latter “slow- cooked.” Both struggle against fascism’s at- ILLUSTRATION BY KIM RYU tempts to silence literature. Hope lies in the

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 35 texts which “keep alive our intricacy, our complex- rage. In a lecture Roy delivered at Trinity College, ity and our density against the onslaught of the ter- University of Cambridge in February, printed in rifying, sweeping simplifications of fascism,” she Azadi, Roy notes: “My world … is divided very sim- writes in Azadi. Fiction, though, is “uniquely po- ply into two kinds of people—those whom Anjum sitioned” because it has the “capacious- will agree to accommodate in her guest ness … to hold out a universe of infinite house … and those she will not.” complexity.” Roy’s writing about fiction To be so morally sure of one’s role and praises its ability to treat every human community—indeed, to be so sure of being as a “Russian doll” containing anything—seems a strange choice for a “identities within identities, each of which novelist trying to resist “sweeping simpli- can be shuffled around.” fications.” Roy’s outrage is necessary for a Roy’s most recent novel, The Ministry of more just world, but at times it can tip into Utmost Happiness (2017), is excerpted heav- a depressing determinism. “What does it ily in the essays in Azadi. At the center of mean to go to school,” she asks in Azadi, Ministry—amid an increasingly globalized, AZADI when Kashmiri children return after sev- unequal city and a whirlwind of Maoist and Arundhati Roy en months of lockdown, “while everything Kashmiri insurgency—is the character An- around you is slowly throttled?” jum, who builds Jannat (“paradise”) Guest House Roy doesn’t seem interested in explicitly answer- in a Delhi graveyard as a place explicitly for shelter- ing her own question, but Italian novelist and es- ing the poor, oppressed and marginalized. The nov- sayist Natalia Ginzburg—whose stories are often el takes an activist, almost journalistic tone toward set against the backdrop of fascism—often answers injustice and seems to view the world in terms of it quite well. Despite the fury of Roy’s writing, she oppressor and oppressed, victim and enemy. Con- advocates for fiction that is more tender and sensi- sequently, the only moral response to fascism is out- tive to individual human nature than numbers and

“For us to build power, we need to be able to tell our own stories.”

EDDIE CONWAY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Marshall "Eddie" Conway, a former member of the Black Panther Party, was an internationally recognized political prisoner for over 43 years.

THEREALNEWS.COM

36 IN THESE TIMES +N OVEMBER 2020 news reports (in Azadi essay “The Graveyard Talks making clothes. She plays solitaire, turning cards Back: Fiction in the Time of Fake News,” first pre- over and pretending to read the future: “Let’s see sented as a lecture at Trinity College, University of if Alberto will become a great doctor. Let’s see if Cambridge). The lesson is an urgent and valuable someone will give me a lovely cottage. Let’s see if one—upon which Ginzburg has much to teach. fascism will last for a while.” When Giuseppe is ar- Several of Ginzburg’s books have been reissued rested, Lidia takes him fresh clothes and nuts and in the past few years, introducing her to a new gen- oranges in prison. She goes out in the morning to eration of American readers. Where Roy’s work responds to fascism with high-volume anger, Ginz- burg meets tyranny with a quiet watchfulness and poignant mundanities, a radically undramatic nar- Outrage alone is rative voice. “Domestic life, its frustrations and miseries, occupies the foreground,” one review- insufficient in the face of er says of Ginzburg’s writing, “the outside world barely discernible at the edges.” fascism. We also need the Ginzburg’s storytelling answers Roy’s question neatly: What does it mean to go to school—or car- little joys of daily life. ry out any of life’s daily activities—while the world is unraveling? For the young child Natalia Levi, the the market with her basket, singing, “I’m going to protagonist of Ginzburg’s autobiographical novel see if fascism is still on its feet. I am going to see if Family Lexicon, life was rich and layered even de- they’ve toppled Mussolini.” spite Mussolini’s fascism; it contained what Roy To answer Roy: Perhaps everyday life goes on, for might call a “universe of infinite complexity.” The better and for worse. For many, life carries on even members of the Levi family are more than simply against the backdrop of fascism. Our aspirations, victims of an authoritarian government; each is a dreams and personal struggles continue to matter “walking sheaf of identities.” in spite of everything. Perhaps, when Lidia is wring- By contrast, Roy’s descriptions fall short in Minis- ing water out of her hair and dancing around the try, whose characters are too defined by moral ab- house singing about toppling Mussolini, Mussolini solutes to live up to this complexity. Roy’s pain and becomes small and insignificant in a way that anger anger are invaluable, but unsustainable. Outrage and activism cannot make him. alone is insufficient in the face of fascism. We also Vittorio Foa, a friend of Ginzburg’s, observes in her need the little joys and unhappinesses of daily life. writing a strong coexistence between “the continu- Natalia Levi’s family shows us these pieces of ity of daily life—with its tiny details, its tediousness, irrepressible humanity. Around the dinner table, its little unhappinesses—and the tragic interrup- the mezzorado (a yogurt base) is referred to as “the tions.” Foa goes on: “Natalia pays attention to the mother.” All overripe fruit is handed immediately person and not purely to the political machine.” to her father, Giuseppe, who laughs and eats them In our increasingly undemocratic world, we must in two bites. During meals, her mother, Lidia, talks make room for Roy’s tireless fury toward the insti- endlessly about the cheese, her father endlessly tution as well as Ginzburg’s loving attention to the about walnuts; they scold each other for repeating individual, the mundane, the simple pleasures that themselves and Giuseppe insists it’s vulgar to talk remind us why we fight in the first place—because about food all the time. “Nitwitteries!” he shouts. life matters. While Ginzburg’s own granddaugh- Giuseppe is a pessimistic, overbearing bully; Lid- ter calls her style “sober and austere,” it may be ia sings everywhere she goes, reads Proust and that Roy’s writing is actually the harsher of the two, bathes in cold water, joyfully shouting, “I’m freez- more closely attuned to “the political machine”— ing!” The family constantly fights about politics, and Ginzburg’s work may actually be closer to the though they are all staunchly antifascist. Being on “Russian doll that contains identities within iden- APOORVA the right side of history, it would seem, comes in tities.” Even when the undercurrent of Ginzburg’s TADEPALLI many shades of human. stories is tragedy wrought by fascism, her narra- is a freelance writer from Mussolini is central to the Levi family—and many tive voice takes on a tenderness and a love of people Bombay. Her work of Ginzburg’s other stories—but Mussolini is large- that fascism is incapable of doing. The details of her has appeared in ly witnessed from this vantage of perfunctory fam- stories can be shuffled around, infinitely layered The Point, Guernica, ily life. Lidia is always doing new things “to not be and—in brief and remarkable glimpses—be seen as Electric Literature bored,” playing piano and learning Russian and something like joy. and elsewhere.

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 37 COMICS

TERRY LABAN

38 IN THESE TIMES +N OVEMBER 2020 COMICS

EMILY FLAKE PIA GUERRA Relics of the Early Pandemic

MATT BORS

NOVEMBER 2020 = IN THESE TIMES 39 THESE TIMES THOSE TIMES PERSON COMMUNITYRUTH BADER GINSBURG’S LEGACY first heard the news while cook- ing dinner: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is dead. I was waiting for some water to boil and checked my Instagram, scrolling past square THIS MONTHafter square of Notorious RBG photos (looking fierce as ever) before I realized what they were—not the usual memes of her badassery, LATE CAPITALISMbut tributes, remembrances. As I digested what had happened, I found myself sinking to my Ikitchen floor in shock, water bubbling over the lid, spilling onto my stovetop. As of press time, we still don’t know the depth of the horrifying political fallout coming. We may face a wholly conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades. And that so many of the protec- tions we enjoy today should seem to have rested on BY SADY DOYLE the shoulders of one woman is deeply troubling and The Supreme Meme Queen is, in many ways, the story of women in the an utter failure of our democracy. upreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Gins- emotions and expression were even more strictly policed burg makes for a spectacularly unlikely Internet than they are now; she is quiet, polite, ladylike. She believes 20thcelebrity. century. She’s 82 years old, From for one thing, an born upbringing that being angry is a waste in of time. which Despite disagreeing with But for so many I’ve spoken to, especially women, in 1933, two years before the Hoover Dam was fellow Justice Antonin Scalia on pretty much every impor- her completedmother and just told13 years after her women never were tant toquestion get of our angry, day, Ginsburg is to friends with him. the loss feels deeply personal, as though Ruth had guaranteedS the right to vote. She’s instantly recognizable— And yet. The kids are really into Ruth Bader Ginsburg— distinctive glasses, hair tightly pulled back, lace collar—but, aka Notorious RBG, a play on the name of rapper Notorious unlessraising voluminous black children robes are your thing, while she’s not eas attending- B.I.G., and the title of law a popular school, Tumblr by Shana Knizhnik. been a close friend. Sady Doyle tried to make sense ily described as “glamorous.” Nor is she very hip; her abiding Ginsburg has become a feminist and pop culture icon. A musicalto passionbeing is opera. outright (Her early 1990s exercise asked classes, byquick aInternet professor search turns up pictures why of her face Photo- of this phenomenon through the lens of internet she once noted, were set to “loud music, sounding quite shopped onto Marvel’s Black Widow and Game of Thrones’ awful to me.”) She lives for work, and her work is writing Khaleesi. T-shirts are sold, emblazoned with “You Can’t technicalshe legal was opinions taking in a style she describes a spot as “bland.” away Handle fromthe Ruth” and a “Ruthmale Badass stuGinsburg.”- (One fea- culture in our December 2015 issue, with her story, Indeed, unlike famous feminist firebrands, Ruth Bader tures a cartoon of Ginsburg flipping off the viewer, with the

dent … to earning a seat on the Supreme NOTORIOUSRBG.TUMBLR.COM VIA PHOTOS Above “The Supreme Meme Queen.” The internet “turned Ginsburg’s affect bears the marks of a time when women’s word “DISSENT” beneath it.) Planned Parenthood and the Court, every gain made by women in the and below: Ginsburg into an icon of dissent,” Doyle writes: CONTINUED ON PAGE 43 Sady Doyle 20th century has been played out in the wrote “The THE MEMES ABOUT HER FEROCITY STEM FROM gains made by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Supreme Meme the relatively few dissents she has issued: “People can see themselves in her,” Queen” for against the 2006 gutting of the Voting [Shana Knizhnik, co-author of Notorious the December Rights Act, against the Hobby Lobby deci- RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader 2015 issue of In sion, against Citizens United. While it’s fun to Ginsburg,] tells me. “She has gone through These Times. imagine Ginsburg mowing down her ene- struggles and she hasn’t always had things mies with targeted insults, the fact is these easy, and her work ethic and her stance on TEA PARTY SAFARI • D'SOUZA'S JAILHOUSE CROCK DECEMBER 2015 Bernie's dissents are powerful precisely because life is to always get back up.” rules for radicals Ginsburg is so cooperative and reserved. The Notorious RBG is now permanently Climate catastrophe's cash cow … This explains why Ruth Bader associated with the act of dissent. For wom- Ginsburg deserves your respect, but it en and young people—both of whom tend to doesn’t quite explain her Internet fan- feel underrepresented in the political pro- dom. Ginsburg isn’t the first or the only cess—it is inspiring to see a woman in the female Supreme Court Justice, nor the nation’s highest court whose power comes ROBOT only liberal justice, [nor] the only jus- from saying “no.” … And we need those REVOLUTION tice ever to offer a memorable dissent. women, badly. … How did a quiet 82-year-old opera fan RBG’s legacy is now on us, to say “no” to injustice PLUS

become the face of feminist rage? VIA NOTORIOUSRBG.TUMBLR.COM PHOTOS Sady Doyle on again and again and again, as long as it takes. the Notorious RBG One answer … is that Ginsburg’s story — DIANA BABINEAU

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