Along with a copy of the 13th Amendment, I typically carry a copy of historian Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” in my satchel when I’m headed out of the door in the morning. Both are small and fit well into the pocket next to my laptop. The amendment, with its loophole for enslavement, remains a frank reminder of American imperfection. Snyder’s book aims to help citizens of every nation learn from history and it’s filled with needed lessons on how to resist those who seek to exploit those faults for power and profit.
I hadn’t read either in quite a while, but I pulled them both out to read during President Donald Trump’s first week back on the job. Snyder’s first bit of advice in the book has successfully entered the national lexicon: Do not obey in advance.
We’ve seen an inordinate amount of that craven obeisance, even prior to Trump’s second election to the White House. Newspapers and networks have curtailed their coverage, endorsements, and even staff in a vain effort to please him.
Corporations and their (mostly White) oligarchic leaders have kissed the ring with their donations and moves to eliminate diversity and equity programs. For the criminally convicted president, all of this lines up perfectly with his primary priority to undermine civil rights and liberties.
Cued up by Project 2025, Trump issued orders for ICE raids and arrests, rejected established gender categories, and naturally, stopped diversity and equity initiatives in the federal government. It has been a sloppy, drive-by blitzkrieg that even swept up the Tuskegee Airmen in the process, as the Air Force removed videos about the airmen from its training curriculum.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that a venerated group of Black heroes who fought Nazis would end up in the crosshairs of the new Trump administration. It also isn’t all that astonishing that new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reversed the move after only a few days of national rancor. Resistance works, sometimes very quickly.
It is always worth standing up to racism, in all its configurations — even when that protest takes the form of self-preservation. But how do we resist what seems to be so chaotic? That’s what we want to examine at length in The Emancipator.
The newborn horrors of this administration inspired us to spend Black History Month not merely reciting the past, but planning for the future. Our theme for February is resistance.
Among the writing we’ll feature:
Courtesy of Twanna Hines.
Blaxiting, stage left. Even prior to the last administration, Black folks had been relocating out of America because of Trump’s politics. As the president goes to war with immigrants within our own country, a good number of us have either considered expatriatism or gone through with it. Journalist M.J. Gray reports on the phenomenon.
An interview with Cole Arthur Riley, creator of Black Liturgies. One thing I’ve learned from the Pittsburgh native and New York Times–bestselling author is that resistance must become habitual. It is not merely something we must do, but something we practice. Next week, we’ll feature our colleague Adeline Gutierrez Nuñez’s interview with Riley, author of “Black Liturgies” and creator of the popular social media feed of the same name.
The triumph and trauma of resistance. Frankie Huang, our contributing senior editor, is also the granddaughter of Chinese revolutionaries who resisted imperialist aggressions and authoritarian rule. Seeing firsthand the heavy toll of revolution upon her family, her essay will confront some uncomfortable realities for those raring to resist instances of encroaching racism, neo-fascism, and oligarchy.
We’ll also have more on resistance in our coverage, including these newsletters. We hope you stay engaged with all we’re doing, and we welcome your contributions; please pitch us!
Thanks for reading. Please subscribe to this newsletter if you haven’t yet done so. Stay safe, and stay in the fight.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
To republish, simply copy the HTML below, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The Emancipator. Please review our republishing guidelines and email us at partnerships@theemancipator.org with any questions.
Jamil Smith is the editor-in-chief of The Emancipator. An incisive opinion writer, television producer, and cultural critic, Smith has primarily covered the intersection of politics, culture, and identity during his decades in media. He also co-hosted “One Year Later,” a limited radio series for KCRW, as well as several podcasts. In 2019, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Smith its prize for arts reporting for his Time cover story about the film “Black...
More by Jamil Smith
Do not obey in advance
Share this:
Along with a copy of the 13th Amendment, I typically carry a copy of historian Timothy Snyder’s “On Tyranny” in my satchel when I’m headed out of the door in the morning. Both are small and fit well into the pocket next to my laptop. The amendment, with its loophole for enslavement, remains a frank reminder of American imperfection. Snyder’s book aims to help citizens of every nation learn from history and it’s filled with needed lessons on how to resist those who seek to exploit those faults for power and profit.
I hadn’t read either in quite a while, but I pulled them both out to read during President Donald Trump’s first week back on the job. Snyder’s first bit of advice in the book has successfully entered the national lexicon: Do not obey in advance.
We’ve seen an inordinate amount of that craven obeisance, even prior to Trump’s second election to the White House. Newspapers and networks have curtailed their coverage, endorsements, and even staff in a vain effort to please him.
Corporations and their (mostly White) oligarchic leaders have kissed the ring with their donations and moves to eliminate diversity and equity programs. For the criminally convicted president, all of this lines up perfectly with his primary priority to undermine civil rights and liberties.
Cued up by Project 2025, Trump issued orders for ICE raids and arrests, rejected established gender categories, and naturally, stopped diversity and equity initiatives in the federal government. It has been a sloppy, drive-by blitzkrieg that even swept up the Tuskegee Airmen in the process, as the Air Force removed videos about the airmen from its training curriculum.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that a venerated group of Black heroes who fought Nazis would end up in the crosshairs of the new Trump administration. It also isn’t all that astonishing that new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reversed the move after only a few days of national rancor. Resistance works, sometimes very quickly.
The newborn horrors of this administration inspired us to spend Black History Month not merely reciting the past, but planning for the future. Our theme for February is resistance.
Among the writing we’ll feature:
Blaxiting, stage left. Even prior to the last administration, Black folks had been relocating out of America because of Trump’s politics. As the president goes to war with immigrants within our own country, a good number of us have either considered expatriatism or gone through with it. Journalist M.J. Gray reports on the phenomenon.
An interview with Cole Arthur Riley, creator of Black Liturgies. One thing I’ve learned from the Pittsburgh native and New York Times–bestselling author is that resistance must become habitual. It is not merely something we must do, but something we practice. Next week, we’ll feature our colleague Adeline Gutierrez Nuñez’s interview with Riley, author of “Black Liturgies” and creator of the popular social media feed of the same name.
The triumph and trauma of resistance. Frankie Huang, our contributing senior editor, is also the granddaughter of Chinese revolutionaries who resisted imperialist aggressions and authoritarian rule. Seeing firsthand the heavy toll of revolution upon her family, her essay will confront some uncomfortable realities for those raring to resist instances of encroaching racism, neo-fascism, and oligarchy.
We’ll also have more on resistance in our coverage, including these newsletters. We hope you stay engaged with all we’re doing, and we welcome your contributions; please pitch us!
Thanks for reading. Please subscribe to this newsletter if you haven’t yet done so. Stay safe, and stay in the fight.
Jamil SmithEditor-in-Chief
Jamil Smith is the editor-in-chief of The Emancipator. An incisive opinion writer, television producer, and cultural critic, Smith has primarily covered the intersection of politics, culture, and identity during his decades in media. He also co-hosted “One Year Later,” a limited radio series for KCRW, as well as several podcasts. In 2019, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists awarded Smith its prize for arts reporting for his Time cover story about the film “Black... More by Jamil Smith