Ben Johnson

just read his new Atlantic piece, total trash

Ben Johnson standing next to Porvenir historical marker

Stones left at the base of the marker

Paying my respects

Insane in the membrane

our murderous federal government

Ashes & Solidarity Worshippers at a Chicago-area Ash Wednesday Mass bore witness to atrocities unfolding on U.S. soil. For these Catholics, Trump's cruelty against migrants is nothing less than a spiritual crisis.

"the liturgies unfolding over the past year are different from those predecessors because they bear witness to atrocities unfolding here on U.S. soil, to the authoritarian violence afflicting American cities, neighborhoods, schools, and businesses."

www.commonwealmagazine.org/nickerson-ic...

The UT System's New 'Controversial Topics' Policy Is About Policing Knowledge When politically appointed regents and administrators determine which topics are “germane,” academic freedom quietly shifts into political compliance.

This Texas historian thoroughly agrees with María del Carmen Unda that ". . . You cannot teach Texas history honestly without confronting conquest, segregation, labor exploitation, border regimes, and racialized policymaking."

www.texasobserver.org/ut-system-ne...

See you tomorrow, RGV!
Join the discussion with RTF co-founder, @benjaminhjohns1.bsky.social and learn why “Texas Is Bigger Than You Think It Is,” as well as a roundtable discussion on Trouble in the Borderlands. All community members are welcome.

New Blog Post ➡️ refusingtoforget.org/terror-is-th... Refusing to Forget member @leahlao.bsky.social demonstrates how the violence that the world is witnessing in Minneapolis and the murders that have occured in other cities since Trump resumed office, is horrific....but it is not new.

the 2020s, sadly so much like the 1910s

refusingtoforget.org/terror-is-th...

My governor, learning from history

She never lived to see this moment, but it’s worth remembering that none of this would have happened without Virginia Giuffre.

She had the courage to speak out against power and privilege when it was just her word against Andrew’s.

Thanks to her, justice & accountability may finally have its day.

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Democracy in Crisis? International Perspectives. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In recent years, the ideals and assumptions of democracy—as well as its inevitably imperfect institutions and practices—have come under attack. In light of recent developments and debates surrounding ...

The OAH is running a discussion about history and democracy tomorrow morning, with three distinguished international scholars of US history as panelists. You can register here

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

and find a brief description if you scroll down here: www.oah.org/2026/01/13/u...

so much winning

Sick fourth-grader among 4 Columbia Heights students held by ICE Columbia Heights Public Schools says four students remain detained by ICE after Liam’s return, including 10-year-old Elizabeth, who has fallen ill.

Elizabeth is a Columbia Heights fourth-grader who loves volleyball, learning English and giggling in the halls with her friends. She's been held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for nearly a month, and she and her mom have both fallen ill. sahanjournal.com/education/co...

list them anyway, the press usually reaches out on your behalf

Texas A&M faculty, students rally against policy they deem censorship A professor says he’s speaking up for others “deathly afraid” of losing their jobs or being targeted by state leadership.

proud of Aggie students and faculty. @tamu-aaup.bsky.social As usual, @aaup.org plays a critical role.

www.texasstandard.org/stories/texa...

What Happens When Public History Disappears In January 2026, the National Park Service removed the slavery exhibition at the President’s House site in Philadelphia, PA

my colleague Tikia Hamilton: "erasure of African Americans’ experiences in history is thus itself a form of racial violence, which becomes reproduced in our inability to come to grips with our troubled American past.”

www.forbes.com/sites/marybe...

great explication of the Canales hearings, photos are searing.

refusingtoforget.org/the-canales-...

Trump announced today that he was going to keep housing prices up, sued the US taxpayers for $10B, threatened Canada, made a few dozen posts about how he won in 2020, posted about prosecuting Obama for treason, then went to a movie about his wife that Bezos spent $75 million on.

We’re gonna win, USA NUMBER ONE

Today we remember the Porvenir massacre and the lives that were lost. Read more here: refusingtoforget.org/porvenir-mas...

Holocaust Remembrance, a Houston Childhood, and Texas History — Texas: An American History On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2026, I am reproducing a talk I gave last year at Holocaust Museum Houston , to open their hosting of the traveling version of the exhibit “Life and D...

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, as masked agents of the US government promised "total immunity" by our leaders execute people on the street and kill others in detention, here is a talk about the memory of the Holocaust and Texas history.

www.texasanamericanhistory.com/blog/holocau...

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced the Democrats have to push their hand immediately. The parallels with the delays and subsequent failures after January 6th are blaring warning signs about what will happen if they don’t go after the issues with ICE and CBP at the root RIGHT NOW.

Dems should introduce legislation now defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave the state. One sentence bill. Demand an immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding bills (or other bills) until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.

Damhaus is a political hack, not an educator. Reinstate Tom Alter now! defendtomalter.org

It’s time.

I want the see Steve Kerr’s Warriors and Minneapolis’ Timberwolves agree that they simply cannot play this game tonight.

A strike in solidarity with the besieged city and its murdered and abducted residents.

Sayre: "My background is in international humanitarian response in conflict zones in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine. What I've seen here is what I've seen there. A powerful entity violently and intentionally terrorizing people."

2/3 of Minneapolis murders this year perpetrated by ICE.

from a somewhat centrist (and deeply principled) House Dem

It’s a Police State in Minnesota Minnesota is experiencing a state-wide police riot backed by the full authority of the federal government.

“Absolute immunity” as the death of democracy and rule of law. progressive.org/op-eds/its-a...