Theodore R. Johnson

Black History Month Is Radical Now A nation that wants to forget its past must be reminded of all of it.

I have a new essay out this morning about Black History Month, remembering in a moment when those in power want us to forget, and the importance of seeing people in the past as people www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Opinion | It took one year for Black MAGA to crater The African Americans who voted for Trump are no longer feeling the “love.” Here’s why.

"Like most of MAGA, many Black voters who backed Trump expected an exit from foreign entanglements and to reap dividends from a bustling economy," @drtedj.bsky.social writes.

"They’re getting neither." https://wapo.st/4kG7XIN

Opinion | The cratering of Black MAGA Trump is losing African American voters because of a lack of results and respect.

"In the 2024 election, Trump proved there were Black voters willing to give him a shot, and he convinced enough of them that MAGA held a place for them. But their experience in it — and the lack of anything to show for it — did not meet expectations. The honeymoon is over."
wapo.st/4s0qeD5

What does it mean to be brave right now? Watch now | A conversation with Ted Johnson, columnist at The Washington Post

I had a fascinating conversation with Ted Johnson, Senior Fellow at @newamerica.org and columnist at @washingtonpost.com, on civic bravery and how its incumbent on us as ‘moral patriots’ to call out our nation’s institutions when they fall short.

open.substack.com/pub/thebeaco...

Opinion | America’s mistrust is misplaced. Minneapolis shows why. The chaos points to a flaw that Black history exposed — and reconstruction can fix.

"The lesson of Black history is that preventing republican institutions from clawing back democratic gains and making government more responsive requires vesting more authority in more citizens," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/409mq6g

Opinion | America’s republic is due for reconstruction. Black history shows how. The nation’s founding institutions should finally answer to the people.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.

America’s values are tested when it must share power with the people it once excluded. In this way, Black history is a definitive measure of the nation’s progress and capacity to live its creed - and evidence of the urgent work that remains

Opinion | America’s republic is due for reconstruction. Black history shows how. The nation’s founding institutions should finally answer to the people.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.

America’s values are tested when it must share power with the people it once excluded. In this way, Black history is a definitive measure of the nation’s progress and capacity to live its creed - and evidence of the urgent work that remains

YEARS of crap like this

Most people cannot fathom the amount of racist, hateful things that Black columnists routinely receive.

“The most visible symbol of our thinning republic is ICE, whose actions have become shorthand for unaccountable federal power … it’s a democratic republic in structure, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.”

Opinion | The republic won’t snap back after Trump The greatest risk is that America accepts presidential excess.

It’s a democratic republic in structure and process, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.

Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.

Opinion | Citizenship has become fragile. History shows where that leads. The government’s battle over who belongs seeks to reshape the nation’s identity.

"In practice, citizenship's legal meaning and the rights it confers have been eclipsed by partisan judgments about who belongs," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4sHdoKT

Opinion | Citizenship has become fragile. History shows where that leads. The government’s battle over who belongs seeks to reshape the nation’s identity.

Citizenship did not protect Renee Good from those who wear the shield. Democracies can survive policy fights and constitutional debates. But they cannot survive when citizenship no longer imposes obligations — on institutions, on the state, or on those who wield force in its name.
wapo.st/49AsFEv

My column made it to late night!! 😂

Opinion | This shouldn’t be part of life in military uniform Venezuela makes me reflect on what I never had to question in the South China Sea.

"Grappling with the morality of a mission is part of life in uniform," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. "Questioning the legality of operations shouldn’t be." https://wapo.st/3LgHiVF

Opinion | America’s military needs more than just orders A lesson about service from a crisis in the South China Sea two decades ago

"Sometimes service requires acting in gray areas — moral ones, certainly, but democratic ones, too.

Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs."
wapo.st/3YppRVR

The “Redemeers” in the South were proficient at this. See Massacres at Colfax, Tulsa, Elaine, and so on.

Opinion | Venezuela reveals what Trump covets most Leading in war is the hallmark of great American presidents.

They telegraphed the whole thing months ago. The operation in Venezuela wasn't a policy choice - it was an ego stroke.
(gift link)
wapo.st/4ptASAy

Opinion | There are two Black Americas. Not everyone is happy about it. The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.

Thanks for sharing! (here’s a gift link for your followers)
wapo.st/4iRqbG3

I was *just* briefing some folks on why I think this matters for organizing.

Opinion | There are two Black Americas. Not everyone is happy about it. The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.

"The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America."

Very informative piece.

Opinion | There are two Black Americas The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.

“The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America.”

When the pursuit of glory is a preoccupation...

🧵Ecstatic + GRATEFUL to share the cover of my first book, The Price of Exclusion: The Pursuit of Healthcare in A Segregated Nation (HarperCollins June 2026). I can’t wait to share this in community with you. Pre-orders are available today, wherever books are sold : bookshop.org/beta-search?...

Opinion | The local affordability issue driving elections Data centers are spiking electricity rates and angering voters.

"If this month is any indication, artificial intelligence has disrupted yet another part of American life: electoral politics."

The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:

Opinion | Soaring electricity bills help flip state elections Data centers are spiking utility rates and angering voters.

All politics is local … but the desire for economic security - or, at the very least, predictability - is universal.

Opinion | Veterans like me did not fight to be called fraudsters After leaving the military, veterans face lucrative health benefits and hard choices.

"There are certainly deceitful people and practices, but the far more common find among the nearly 7 million disabled veterans, which includes me, are people who want to understand the available benefits and accept no more," @drtedj.bsky.social writes.

"And no less."

Opinion | The real cost of an unchecked president Blind partisanship is eroding the nation’s system of checks and balances.

"If [Trump] gets his way, the country’s government will consist of little more than a presidency with two servile branches"

The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:

The unregulated industry that coaches veterans to pile on benefits The number of vets receiving 100 percent disability ratings has surged in recent years. For-profit firms, influencers and the VA play a large role in the trend.

The stories I could tell about “consultants” trying to sell me the pathway for increasing my 30% disability rating to 100%
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...