 | | A statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va.Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times |
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Of the 10,688 people who lived in Charlottesville, Va., in 1920, about 28 percent — or 2,947 residents — were black. Of them, 46 percent were both literate and of voting age. And of those, an estimated 30 people, or 1 percent of the city’s black population, cast a ballot in the presidential election that November. This was typical throughout the South, which at this point had disenfranchised most of its black population through poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses, as well as outright violence. |
If you consider voting rates a proxy for political representation, then it is fair to say that Charlottesville’s black residents lacked any meaningful input into the city and its governance. And this was almost certainly still true in 1924, when the city erected its monument to Robert E. Lee, part of a wave of Confederate memorialization meant to celebrate Jim Crow and the triumphant establishment of white supremacy. |
I’m mentioning this just to make a small point about the current wave of Confederate statue removal, some of which has happened by force, most of which involves community input and deliberation. Even when done by bands of protesters, it is arguably a more democratic process than the one that erected the statues in the first place. |
Confederate memorialization of the kind you might see in Atlanta; or Richmond, Va.; or Birmingham, Ala., could take place only with the mass disenfranchisement of black Americans in those communities. The monuments, in other words, are markers of that disenfranchisement. They represent conquest, not any kind of “history.” |
I’ll be taking a little break next week, and this newsletter will be on hiatus. I’ll see you on July 10. |
The president, who lives in a cocoon of praise and flattery, is unable to see that he is losing whatever grip he had on the public: |
| The obvious problem with building a cocoon of praise and sycophancy around oneself, as any failed authoritarian could explain, is that it hinders one’s ability to respond to conditions on the ground, whether that’s a pandemic or a presidential race. You can’t change course if you refuse to see what’s happening in front of you. |
| But the Black Lives Matter platform isn’t just about criminal justice. From the start, activists have articulated a broad, inclusive vision for the entire country. This, in fact, has been true of each of the nation’s major movements for racial equality. Among black Americans and their Radical Republican allies, Reconstruction — which was still ongoing as of 150 years ago — was as much a fight to fundamentally reorder Southern economic life as it was a struggle for political inclusion. The struggle against Jim Crow, likewise, was also a struggle for economic equality and the transformation of society. |
Clare Malone on how the Republican Party made itself the party of white America, at FiveThirtyEight. |
Sarah Churchwell on the history of American fascism, in The New York Review of Books. |
Emma Green on the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, in The Atlantic. |
If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to friends. They can sign up here. If you want to share your thoughts on an item in this week’s newsletter or on the newsletter in general, please email me at jamelle-newsletter@nytimes.com. |
 | | Culpeper, Va.Jamelle Bouie |
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As of late I have been trying to find thematically appropriate photos for each of these newsletters and I think this works for this week. I took it last year in an alleyway in Culpeper, Va. It is, as always, a message worth hearing. |
Now Eating: Brown Bean, Squash and Corn Succotash |
I made this for dinner earlier in the week, and it was a big hit. I have only one modification — add a tablespoon of butter at the end, just to give it a little more fat and flavor. Recipe from the Cooking section of The New York Times. |
- 3 cups cooked brown beans, such as Good Mother Stallards, pintos or borlottis, with broth
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small red or yellow onion, chopped
- 1¼ pounds summer squash, diced (about 4 cups)
- Salt to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Kernels from 2 ears corn
- 2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, minced
- Freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro (more to taste), plus cilantro sprigs for garnish
- 4 to 5 cups cooked quinoa, brown rice, wild rice or bulgur (to taste)
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco or feta
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Set a strainer or colander over a bowl and drain beans. Set broth aside to use for moistening the succotash. |
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes, and add squash and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until squash begins to soften and look translucent, 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic and corn. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often. Add minced chile pepper and season with salt and pepper. |
Add beans and about ½ cup bean broth and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you want this to be a little moister, stir in more bean broth or just spoon the broth over the bowls. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat. |
Spoon grain of your choice into 6 wide or deep bowls. Top with the succotash. Moisten with more bean broth. Sprinkle queso fresco or feta on top, garnish with cilantro, and serve. |
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