It was a delight to be joined by the always-engaging Mary L Trump. We had some ground to cover: News and politics, history and the future, metaphors and political action.
We began by reflecting on the meaning of Juneteenth dating back to 1865—now a federal holiday passed in 2021 when Joe Biden was president—then explored everything from her uncle’s stupor at the G7 conference this week, his insult of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Iran surrender document signed at the Palace of Versailles, Mary’s new PAC and, finally, the algae in the Lincoln reflecting pool as a perfect metaphor of incompetence, corruption and failure.
In some ways, our conversation about Juneteenth and the necessary pursuit of racial justice provides a useful framing for the work that lies ahead. “I think we have to have some very, very serious, hard conversations going forward and be prepared when Democrats get back into power to do the work that we’ve never done as a people,” Mary said. “Juneteenth is a reminder of what that work is and what we need to do.
I hope you find our discussion valuable.
One other note: I want to share with you the piece I wrote three years ago on Juneteenth, which includes the spoken words and stories of formerly enslaved people and their thoughts on the meaning of freedom following slavery’s abolition. Its title: “The Complicated Path to Freedom.” I think you’ll find it interesting.
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