Connecting past resistance to modern civic issues

The campaign against Jamaica’s Beach Control Act of 1956 is closely connected to the broader reparations movement because both seek to challenge the enduring legacy of colonialism, dispossession, and racial inequality. The Beach Control Act facilitated the transfer of some of Jamaica’s most valuable coastal lands into the hands of private developers, foreign investors, and tourism interests, often restricting local communities' access to beaches that had historically been shared public spaces. Reparations advocates argue that this process represents a continuation of the economic exclusion that began during chattel enslavement and colonial rule, where African-descended people were systematically denied ownership and control over land and resources. The struggle to reclaim access to Jamaica’s beaches is therefore not only an environmental or tourism issue but also a reparatory justice issue, centred on restoring economic rights, cultural heritage, and community ownership. In this context, the demand for beach access forms part of a wider call for reparations that seeks to repair historical harms by returning control of land, resources, and economic opportunities to the descendants of those whose labour built the nation. #reparations #1956beachact #jamaica #coloniallaws #

What can the past teach us about tackling the climate crisis? This week Pawley Emily, an environmental historian at Dickinson College, explores how lessons from past social movements can inspire action today. 📈 Good News: Social movements have already reshaped our lives in profound ways—often more than we realize. From the Clean Air Act’s life-saving impact to the rights many enjoy today, history shows that incremental, local efforts can build to sweeping change. 📉 Not So Good News: This change is rarely straightforward. Social movements are messy, imperfect, and require ongoing vigilance to prevent erosion. Learning from the past is essential to ensuring future solutions are truly just and equitable. 💪 What You Can Do: Engage with local groups already working toward positive change. Offer your own unique skills and resources. Be ready to adapt and innovate, drawing inspiration from the tactics—and mistakes—of past movements. We can't do this alone; but history teaches us that we CAN do it together.

New from me in Lawfare: “Process as Punishment: An American History of Political Spectacle.” The House UnAmerican Activities Committee was disbanded 50 years ago. But its tactics — show trials, smears, guilt by association, pressure on institutions to punish the accused — are back. I wrote about the return of process as punishment, and detail how HUAC operated during its 30 years in existence (most people think it was just a blip). For the first twenty years, many of the individuals hauled before the committee and accused of subversion were deferential -- as were the industries and institutions that blacklisted them. But the history of HUAC also provides clues to how these spectacles are ultimately defeated: not by silence or appeasement, but through defiance and solidarity. This essay examines spectacle hearings, guilt by association, and institutional capitulation in the face of bad-faith political power. With universities, civil society organizations, law firms, and an ever-expanding list of groups under attack from both Congress and the executive branch (see, for example, Harvard and Columbia's recent fights, as well as the absurd continuation of "censorship" hearings in Congress), we can learn a lot from this history. https://lnkd.in/e-ncEtU8

The history of Native American peoples is deeply tied to the land, culture, and knowledge systems that existed long before modern nation-states were formed. Yet much of this history has been simplified or ignored in popular narratives. Generations of Indigenous communities experienced forced removal, broken treaties, cultural suppression, and systemic discrimination. These events were not isolated moments but long processes that reshaped entire societies and disrupted languages, traditions, and family structures. The harm went beyond population loss. Many communities were pushed off ancestral territories, sacred sites were taken, and traditional livelihoods were restricted. Policies of forced assimilation including boarding schools and cultural bans aimed to separate children from their heritage and replace Indigenous identity with imposed norms. The effects of these policies are still felt today through intergenerational trauma, economic gaps, and ongoing legal and social struggles. At the same time, Native American nations have shown extraordinary endurance. Languages are being revived, cultural practices are being taught again, and tribal governments continue to assert sovereignty and legal rights. Artists, scholars, and community leaders are bringing forward Indigenous perspectives and correcting historical records. Their work helps broaden public understanding and challenges incomplete versions of the past. Learning this history matters because it shapes how justice, rights, and respect are understood in the present. Listening to Native voices, supporting cultural preservation, and acknowledging historical wrongs are practical steps toward a fairer future. Remembering is not only about the past it is about recognizing living communities whose cultures and contributions remain vital today.

A growing body of historical and economic scholarship most notably The Black Tax by Andrew W. Kahrl, advances the empirically grounded argument that racially discriminatory taxation policies functioned as a systemic mechanism of wealth extraction from Black Americans in the post-Emancipation United States. Drawing upon archival tax records, property assessments, and municipal finance data, Kahrl demonstrates that local and state governments routinely imposed inflated property valuations, punitive tax liens, and opaque fee structures on Black landowners. These practices disproportionately resulted in tax delinquency, forced sales, and land dispossession, thereby undermining Black wealth accumulation during critical periods of economic development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Quantitatively, the estimated $600 billion loss represents a modeled approximation of intergenerational wealth erosion attributable to these discriminatory fiscal policies resources that, under equitable conditions, could have contributed significantly to narrowing the contemporary racial wealth gap. Importantly, this analysis situates taxation not as a neutral administrative function, but as a historically contingent instrument of structural inequality, operating in tandem with other exclusionary systems such as segregation, credit discrimination, and labor market inequities. Beyond historical reconstruction, this body of work raises pressing policy considerations. It underscores the necessity of examining public finance systems through a racial equity lens and invites discourse on reparative frameworks, including tax reform, restitution mechanisms, and targeted investment in historically dispossessed communities. Ultimately, the scholarship compels a critical interrogation of how past fiscal injustices continue to shape present-day socioeconomic disparities, and whether meaningful redress is possible within existing institutional structures. For more data on this topic click on the link below: Mullen AK, Richardson ET, Bassett MT, Darity WA. A plan for black American reparations. BMJ Global Health. 2026;11:e017216. https://lnkd.in/gfda6A2C "Transitional Justice refers to how societies respond to the legacies of massive and serious human rights violations. It asks some of the most difficult questions in law, politics, and the social sciences and grapples with innumerable dilemmas. Above all, transitional justice is about victims." "To remember one’s culture is to safeguard the psychological, historical, and spiritual integrity of the self. Research across anthropology, psychology, and Africana Studies affirms that cultural memory is a stabilizing force that sustains identity and well-being. When individuals or communities are uprooted from their cultural foundations, patterns of identity loss, internalized oppression, and mental distress emerge. Thus, without cultural remembrance, both sanity and identity inevitably begin to unravel." #WE

When protest works: examples of success Protest arrives with a clear sense of purpose. Annie Leonard and Andre Carothers do not attempt a grand theory of dissent or a fixed framework to explain why movements succeed or fail. Instead, their book draws on a wide range of movements—from abolitionism to climate activism—to advance a simple claim: protest works. The authors acknowledge disagreements within movements—between those who favor disruption and those who prefer restraint—but do not try to settle them. These tensions are treated as part of how protest functions. There is little effort to establish causality or test counterfactuals; examples do most of the work. Protest is shown to accelerate change already under way, often appearing disruptive before becoming accepted. The argument sharpens when the authors turn to the present. They suggest the right to protest is under pressure, shaped by legislation & litigation that recast activists as security threats. From environmental lawsuits to the branding of protesters as extremists, the pattern is presented as global. This will not surprise readers familiar with the narrowing of civic space. The book places that trend within a longer cycle. Protest has long been contested; states tend to tolerate it when marginal, and move against it when it becomes effective. The environmental stakes are especially visible. In climate activism—where the issue is both immediate & diffuse—blocking a road or disrupting an event can seem disproportionate to some observers. The authors return to a familiar claim: disruption forces attention. Without it, the issue may remain peripheral. This points to a tension in current debates. Many support the right to protest in principle but object to particular tactics. The authors give these objections limited space. Their focus is on outcomes. Rights such as the eight-hour workday or the expansion of civil liberties are presented as products of sustained pressure, not incremental advocacy. This emphasis risks flattening the historical record. Not all protests succeed; some provoke backlash or are co-opted. The book acknowledges this, but the choice of examples tends to reinforce the central claim. That selectivity appears deliberate. The authors push back against treating rights as settled once achieved. By revisiting the conflicts that produced them, Leonard and Carothers restore a sense of contingency. These rights were contested and often unpopular. The historical sections are strongest. Figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela appear as actors operating in uncertainty rather than settled icons, often facing public disapproval. The implication: today’s protesters may occupy a similar position. The book largely avoids the moralizing common in writing on activism. There are few claims about inevitable progress. Instead, the authors make a narrower case: collective action can shift outcomes, even if slowly and unevenly. 📢 https://lnkd.in/g778ysiG

Is history repeating Itself? 111 years ago, President Woodrow Wilson made a decision that would forever alter the trajectory of Black workers in the federal government. By segregating the civil service, Wilson not only enforced physical and social separation but also set the stage for systemic inequities that persisted for decades. Under President Wilson's administration: -Separate offices, bathrooms, and lunchrooms were created for Black and white federal employees. -Black employees who protested the segregation order were immediately fired. -Many Black workers were reassigned to menial roles or jobs slated for elimination. -Opportunities for promotions and better-paying jobs were deliberately cut off. The impact was profound and long-lasting: -The Black-white earnings gap in civil service widened. -Black homeownership in Washington, D.C., declined after Wilson’s presidency. -Segregation in the federal workforce persisted for decades, creating structural barriers to advancement. Fast forward to today, January 23, 2025 and we are witnessing a resurgence of policies that threaten equity in federal spaces. The discontinuance of telework, elimination of supplier diversity programs, removal of non-binary gender categories, and impending reductions-in-force disproportionately impact Black public servants. The echoes of 1913 are loud and clear! This is not just a federal issue—it is a human issue. It is about how we treat each other in our workplaces and our communities. The lessons from history demand action. Businesses and organizations have an opportunity—no, a responsibility—to do better. What can employers do to ensure employees are not discriminated against? -Audit Policies and Practices for Bias: Regularly review hiring, promotion, and retention practices to identify and address inequities. -Support Telework and Flexibility: These policies are lifelines for many employees, particularly workers with disabilities as well as those who face geographic and economic barriers. -Prioritize Equity in Reductions-in-Force: Ensure layoffs do not disproportionately impact underrepresented groups. -Create Clear Career Pathways: Invest in mentorship, sponsorship, and development programs for employees. -Foster Transparency and Accountability: Track and share metrics and progress. -Amplify marginalized voices: Ensure employees are not only heard but also empowered to lead initiatives and inform policy. The stakes are high, y'all! We must ask ourselves: Will we repeat the mistakes of the past, or will we forge a more equitable future? The answer lies in our actions today. To my network: Let’s hold each other accountable. Let’s build workplaces where everyone can thrive. It’s time to stop history from repeating itself. #technology #HR #innovation #historybuff #phd #computerscience #IT #compensation #talentacuisition #workforce #benefits #policy #healthcare #publichealth #healthcareadministration #education #business #cybersecurity

As the Trump administration tries to dismantle Federal agencies and the public services they provide, civil society can fill some of these gaps and challenge the democratic backsliding we are witnessing. The scientific community has a key role to play in building independent science activities (https://lnkd.in/eYcau7Ga). In a new Nonprofit Quarterly piece, Saul Levin and I argue that drawing from history, we can apply these time-tested strategy of building parallel institutions to undermine authoritarian threats. “One strategy that has been especially effective across diverse geographic, cultural, and political contexts is building parallel institutions: filling the voids of government functions, services, and resources created by authoritarian regimes and their abandonment of obligations to the people. By showing government shortcomings instead of just talking about them, then organizing regular people to help fill those gaps, parallel institutions build alternative power and influence. From Brazil to Ukraine and India to Sudan, parallel institutions have been effective at safely and peacefully undermining authoritarian control by taking care of people where the government won’t.” https://lnkd.in/e8t-wvzE

For Nonprofit Quarterly, Carmen Rojas, PhD (she/her) and I wrote about how philanthropy, including Marguerite Casey Foundation and RWJF, can help empower a Third Reconstruction. As an essential first step, we must recognize that philanthropies have often been on the wrong side of the work to dismantle structural and systemic racism. By acknowledging that history, we can avoid previous mistakes, begin to repair damages of the past, and fully join in building a better, more just future.    The fights for freedom, justice, and equality have never moved along a straight path—and they’ve always faced backlash.   After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people organized to pass the Reconstruction Amendments that expanded and safeguarded the fundamental rights of every American. They built political power, and turned out to elect public officials, including the first Black members of Congress. That progress was met with brutal lynch mobs and the oppressive segregation of Jim Crow laws.     The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s marked a second period of Reconstruction. Brave Americans marched and staged nonviolent protests to end segregation and win protections for voting rights, moving the nation toward a more equitable society. But it too faced backlash: voter suppression, economic exclusion, mass incarceration, and disinvestment in public services.    In 2020, the murder of George Floyd was a shocking reminder of the persistent structural racism in America and the deadly toll it can take. But that all-too-brief movement towards racial reckoning, energized by peaceful marches in communities across the nation, met another backlash. Our fundamental freedoms and the core American values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are once again under attack.   In this moment, we need a movement to build a Third Reconstruction—one that is durable in the face of resistance, and resilient to the inevitable backlash.   To get there, philanthropic foundations must play a critical supporting role. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/evnT5HmJ  

Could the resistance to #DEI be less about individuals and more about how our systems are built? I first explored this question in a paper for my Fielding Graduate University PhD course, Systems Approaches to Leadership, Organizations, and Society. The assignment, in short, was to “develop a detailed intervention plan that applies systems thinking to address a complex issue within an organization, business, or nonprofit of your choice.” I chose to focus on resistance to DEI in organizations. Because, I’m (we’re) living it! Being that this topic is so urgent and relevant, I didn’t want to leave it in the classroom. So I transformed my final paper it into a blog post for The Winters Group, Inc.'s The Inclusion Solution blog. In the post, I explore how DEI resistance often goes unrecognized because it’s not always loud (although, under the current administration, it certainly has been!). It’s quiet. It’s cultural. And most importantly, it’s systemic. Using tools like the iceberg model, I examine what’s really driving the stall in DEI progress—and offer 5 system-level strategies for interrupting it. 💭 I’d love to hear from you: What are some of the mental models you’ve seen or heard that quietly shape resistance to diversity, equity, and inclusion in your space? And what are the structural or cultural patterns that continue to hinder real change? Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/eFZTqgYy