Before the Statue of Liberty became, in effect, the patron saint of immigrants – c. 1903, in the midst of a great wave of them – she stood for the end of American slavery. She stands on broken chains, along with the whip and the brand, the mark of slavery.

Not that Donald Trump, who grew up in NYC, a son of immigrants, would know that. Lady Liberty is about the freedoms Donald Trump would throw away for all but himself. Fortunately, he’s one man; Stephen Miller is one man; and Trump’s GOP are a shrinking minority of women and men, who prefer power more than liberty. We can tolerate them, but it is ourselves we should empower.

Ellis Island is a tour every American should take, especially the right, it might open their eyes some. You can take it by boat and walk the island, there are many exhibits about the process for arriving immigrants, holding areas etc, It certainly wasn’t straightforward, as in welcome to the USA and here you go. There were procedures to include medical and ideological screenings and no one was guaranteed acceptance, but more were accepted than were rejected. Even then those who could say they had a job waiting or a relative already here were given preference. The rail taking one into the hinterland started right behind the boat landing in Jersey City. There are also stories such as the woman who was rejected being given a jacket by a man who was accepted, the jacket having the right colored patch. The only conclusion you can have is that America is a patchwork of people from everywhere. Bigots and non bigots alike found their futures here. The hope was that the bigots would assimilate over time to the civilized and there was progress, but not enough. Today Trump and home grown bigots like Stephen Miller and the boogaloo boys threaten that history and we have to RESIST if we want a future.

Ew,
“ There’s no chance Trump would pay tribute to the abstract idea of freedom.”
The bully mouths epithets splashing droplets of spittle in the gutter.
The statue in the harbor monumentalizes aspirations dreamt.
The night mare confluence of Covid-19, White Supremacy, Voter Suppression will fade like any dream NOV 4 2020.

Another woman and sculpture that might be relevant now is Augusta Savage and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Savage links together many ideals we cherish about democracy.

Some fun facts that link together the connections between Liberty, Black Lives Matter, Mount Rushmore, and where we are today:

Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor who designed and oversaw the construction of Mount Rushmore from 1927 – 1941, with the help of his son, Lincoln.

Gutzon’s younger brother, Solon Borglum, was a lesser known sculptor and artist.

Augusta Savage, born in 1892 in Green Cove Springs, near Jacksonville, FL, was a young sculptor who won a prize at a fair in West Palm Beach, FL. As a result, she received a letter of recommendation to study with Solon Borglum in NYC. But he referred her instead to Cooper Union where she immediately received a scholarship.

Augusta Savage was commissioned to create a sculpture for the 1939 NYC World’s Fair. She chose as her inspiration the song written by James Weldon Johnson and his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson (from Jacksonville, FL.), “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Her stunning, elegant, powerful 16 ft. sculpture also came to be called “The Harp” because of its resemblance to one. The Johnson brothers’ song is now known as the Black National Anthem.

Two decades ago, I made a concerted effort to try to persuade library and city officials to replicate Savage’s sculpture to place in front of a new Main library. It would face directly toward, and in contrast to, a Civil War monument in the park across the street (in front of City Hall.) There was ample “Art in Public Places” money to do this. But I was unsuccessful. More recently, after the Charleston and Charlottesville murders by white supremacists, I again tried to persuade city officials to replicate this sculpture. But, again I was unsuccessful.

There is still hope, though. It’s being reported that the NFL may actually play the Black National Anthem before Week 1 games. Maybe one day the city of Jacksonville will also recognize the healing potential of Augusta Savage’s sculpture, as well. Maybe they can find a way to talk about this and come up with some preliminary ideas before the RNC convention at the end of August.

“Jaguars’ Chris Conley Comments on NFL’s Reported Decision to Play Black National Anthem” – Sports Illustrated Jacksonville Jaguars News, Analysis and More, 7/3/20

https://www.si.com/nfl/jaguars/news/chris-conley-comments-on-nfls-reported-decision-to-play-black-national-anthem

Among others, the Rev. W. Douglas Banks — fifth-generation grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings — with some of his family, tapped the Liberty Bell in a ceremony today.

Here is what Rev. Banks said ahead of the ceremony, prefaced with some background:

The bell was originally just called the “State House Bell,” and was renamed the “Liberty Bell” in the 1830s by an abolitionist group. Following the Civil War, the bell traveled around the country to “help reunite a divided nation” before settling in Philadelphia for good in 1915. It was also used as a symbol of religious freedom and a symbol of suffragists for the right of women to vote.

The in-person tapping will be administered by several descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence — donning masks and gloves and maintaining six feet apart — including Lucy Duke Tonacci, a descendant of Richard Henry Lee, and the Rev. W. Douglas Banks, fifth-generation grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

Banks said he wanted to speak at the event to acknowledge the complicated nature of his heritage.

“Freedom was not at all a part of our reality on July 4, 1776,” he said. “Even in this time of uprising, with people acknowledging things that they may not have acknowledged before, it gives opportunity to bring clarity to some of those issues and speak to them in a different way.”

He noted that although the bell might not have an overtly racist connection, it still has connotations to race and power, and the dichotomy between those who are free and those who are not.

“I think it is a great representation of what freedom really is in this country,” he said of the bell. “It’s cracked, it’s fragile, everybody cannot handle it, it’s only for a select few. That crack means a whole lot symbolically.”

Banks will be accompanied by his wife and three of his children. “They’re looking forward to it, and we will have our Black Lives Matter shirts on. The statement we’re making will be clear,” he said.

Also in attendance will be 100-year-old Lt. John Edward James Jr., a longtime member of the society who, after being denied his promotion in World War II due to his race, is celebrating his second year as a U.S. Army officer.

(emphasis added, internal links removed)

They did wear their Black Lives Matters shirts, photo here.

OT, but it seems to me that the GRU revelations about their accounts isn’t accidental. They’re too good at their tradecraft to be caught in a rookie mistake like having their money traced.

Is it possible that Putin’s asset DJT is getting his burn notice?

I learn so much here… thanks everyone who helps educate me every day!!

In related liberty crushing news…
The NYT’s is a disappointment.

Using catch phrases like “leaning into the culture wars,” to describe Trump’s Mt. Rushmore speech is weak as water, lazy and irresponsible.

Bet Putin loved the speech.

The President should be asked who wrote it? He should be asked why he fails to use language to unify the country? He should be asked how such divisive language helps the economy when it hurts our image and trust with allies.

Speaking of Stephen Miller, scuttlebutt has it that Trump’s determination to throw out foreign students – whose schools provide only distance learning and not f2f instruction (which includes Harvard for 2020-2021) – is part of his election strategy. He’s using the students as pawns to get their schools, colleges, and universities to open up and provide in-class tuition. He hopes that a brief appearance of normality will help his forlorn bid for re-election. The likely sickness and death of thousands? Meh.

The US hosts tens of thousands of foreign students each year. Many are among the best and brightest their home countries have to offer. They usually pay full tuition to their schools, colleges, and universities, which is recycled through local economies. (They pay more for their travel and living expenses.) Some are wealthy or have government subsidies, but many depend on the sacrifices their extended families make for that education.

That’s a lot of people and money on the line, and Trump wants to use it as a weapon. He is willing to upend the lives and futures of thousands, and put many more thousands at risk during the Covid-19 pandemic. He’s happy to threaten the finances of colleges and universities, which rely on those full-tuition students to pay their bills. All as a minor aid to help his re-election. Who else would he happily put at risk to stay in the Oval Office and to avoid accountability for his crimes?