If your vote is “undecided” you can’t sit with us
ZORA Fam,
⬆️⬆️⬆️ That’s me trying to find what it is some people see in Trump. After watching the first presidential debate, I’m not at all surprised by how ignorant, angry, rude, wrong, and racist the current president is. What does continue to perplex me is why so many people still support this man, share his ideologies, and plan to keep him in power.
There are a disturbing amount of Americans willing to vote for, harass others over and, in some cases, even kill for this man. This man who has lied about the severity of a virus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans. This man who has locked children away in modern-day internment camps. This man who refused to denounce white supremacy and encourages violence against Black bodies. Really?! This is the man who’s captured America’s vote and threatens to do so again?
But that shouldn’t surprise me. In a right-on-time, article, our resident politics commentator, Danielle Moodie, points out that we’ve been here before. In the 40s and 50s, McCarthyism overtook American politics, persecuted innocent citizens and engulfed the country in paranoia and lies similar to what we’re seeing today.
“We don’t revere history or civics in America — maybe that’s why we continue to make the same mistakes over and over again and why Republicans never have to stray too far from their dusty playbook,” writes Moodie. “Create an enemy of a vulnerable community of people, instill fear in the public, rinse and repeat. In just four years, America has turned on its own people and made a mockery of our democracy.”
➡️ READ: America, Have You No Decency Left?
When our so-called “American values” are put to the test, America continues to show her true colors time and time again. Honestly, at this point, if you or people you know are still willing to support Trump, just admit you’re racist so we can all go on with our day. Admit that you care more about single issues than you do about human lives.
I think we tend to look back at the politics of the past with 20/20 hindsight and wonder how could we ever let something like that happen. Yet, here we are. It’s happening again. This is our opportunity to be who we say we would’ve been “back then.” Our time is now. How are you gonna act?
Make good choices!
Jolie A. Doggett
📚 Love to read? Join our virtual book club, hosted on Instagram. This month’s pick is Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward. You can find the reading schedule here. 📚
Zero to 💯
Who kept it 100 this week? Let’s take a look.
Megan Thee Stallion on SNL season premiere: 💯/💯
Meg just keeps on winning and rising. The rapper will perform in the return episode of Saturday Night Live with Chris Rock as the host.
Tanqueray becoming an actual millionaire: 💯/💯
Tanqueray, Tanqueray, Tanqueray. Thanks to Humans of New York, we all know the name of the designer, turned dancer, turned internet sensation, turned actual millionaire thanks to fundraising efforts after HONY shared more of her crazy life story.
Yara Shahidi to star as Tinker Bell in live-action Peter Pan remake: 💯/💯
We’re excited to see Yara bring some pixie dust to the screen for Disney’s Peter Pan and Wendy.
The Going Through It podcast delivers many gems 💯/💯
This season focuses solely on Black women who share pivotal moments in their lives when they had to decide whether to quit or keep going. The guests — including Raquel Willis, Danielle Brooks, Ihan Omar — and their stories are the balm we need to get through 2020.
Cece Winans says her appearance in a Trump Covid-19 ad is “not political” 🚮/💯
Winans is set to appear in a public health campaign created by the president, which sparked controversy. Winans quickly responded but didn’t set the record straight. We’re all looking at Cece, like…come on, now.
✨ The Best of Us ✨
ICYMI, here are some of our favorite ZORA stories
The Small but Mighty HBCUs Doing More With Less by Lisa Armstrong
Amerie Is Passionate About Reading. So She Started a Book Club by Tonya Abari
Tiffany D. Jackson’s Latest Novel Centers the Vulnerability of Black Girls by Ashley M. Coleman
At 14, I Worked in a Sweatshop. Here’s What I Think of Fashion Week by Soreyda Benedit-Begley
Mariah Carey Cements Her Legacy in Memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” by Ayana Contreras
🗣️ The Last Word 🗣️
“To tell the truth is to become beautiful, to begin to love yourself, value yourself. And that’s political, in its most profound way.” — June Jordan
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