@charlesmckinney.bsky.social
Father. Husband. Son.
Professor of History and Africana Studies, Rhodes College. Think and write about Civil Rights, Black Politics, MLK and the pursuit of Greater Freedom.
Semi-retired Saxophone player. Closeted Poet.
Never Post-Black.
Professor of History and Africana Studies, Rhodes College. Think and write about Civil Rights, Black Politics, MLK and the pursuit of Greater Freedom.
Semi-retired Saxophone player. Closeted Poet.
Never Post-Black.
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As we honor the life of #ClaudetteColvin may we learn from our mistakes. The movement REFUSED to defend her. Why? Because colorism, classism, elitism, rumors of pregnancy. Colvin was deemed "inappropriate," & many wouldn't defend a Black girl for the same reasons today. RIP #respectability
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 PM
As we honor the life of #ClaudetteColvin may we learn from our mistakes. The movement REFUSED to defend her. Why? Because colorism, classism, elitism, rumors of pregnancy. Colvin was deemed "inappropriate," & many wouldn't defend a Black girl for the same reasons today. RIP #respectability
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The New York Shooting That Defined an Era | Adam Gopnik
On a mild December day in 1984, a man named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teen-agers on a subway. The incident galvanized the city. Are we still living in its wake?
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
On a mild December day in 1984, a man named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teen-agers on a subway. The incident galvanized the city. Are we still living in its wake?
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The New York Shooting That Defined an Era
On a mild December day in 1984, a man named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teen-agers on a subway. The incident galvanized the city. Are we still living in its wake?
www.newyorker.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:41 PM
The New York Shooting That Defined an Era | Adam Gopnik
On a mild December day in 1984, a man named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teen-agers on a subway. The incident galvanized the city. Are we still living in its wake?
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
On a mild December day in 1984, a man named Bernie Goetz shot four Black teen-agers on a subway. The incident galvanized the city. Are we still living in its wake?
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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Garbage workers have a level of latent labor power that exceeds many professions that get paid a lot more than them. Good piece by Alex Skopic:
www.currentaffairs.org/news/all-pow...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/all-pow...
All Power to the Garbage Workers!
From New York in 1677 to India in 2025, the people who collect our trash are among the labor movement’s greatest heroes.
www.currentaffairs.org
January 19, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Garbage workers have a level of latent labor power that exceeds many professions that get paid a lot more than them. Good piece by Alex Skopic:
www.currentaffairs.org/news/all-pow...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/all-pow...
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It's a problem that actual elected officials post on social media as if they are powerless observers and commentators.
January 19, 2026 at 10:14 PM
It's a problem that actual elected officials post on social media as if they are powerless observers and commentators.
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In December, I traveled to Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum, which traces the story of Black America from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration. I wanted to understand how the museum & its affiliated sites were operating in a moment where so much of the history they present is under attack.
The Power of Private Museums
The Equal Justice Initiative’s historical sites in Montgomery, Alabama, show what’s possible when history isn’t subject to federal funding cuts or executive orders.
www.theatlantic.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:35 PM
In December, I traveled to Montgomery to visit the Legacy Museum, which traces the story of Black America from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration. I wanted to understand how the museum & its affiliated sites were operating in a moment where so much of the history they present is under attack.
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New — I wrote about ChongLy Scott Thao, the elderly Hmong American wrongly arrested and forced out of his home by ICE in his underwear during the punishing Minnesota winter, what witnesses saw, and DHS's racist claim that he fit the description of another Asian man they were looking for.
My story:
My story:
Behind the disturbing image of ICE snatching a half-naked, elderly Hmong American from his home
DHS has claimed without evidence that they were looking for someone else when they took ChongLy Scott Thao.
www.thehandbasket.co
January 20, 2026 at 12:29 AM
New — I wrote about ChongLy Scott Thao, the elderly Hmong American wrongly arrested and forced out of his home by ICE in his underwear during the punishing Minnesota winter, what witnesses saw, and DHS's racist claim that he fit the description of another Asian man they were looking for.
My story:
My story:
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this from @juliaazari.bsky.social is great and has me thinking — as circumstances often do these days — about something that has been lost in the age of trump, which is the presidency as steward of the constitution.
Does the American presidency exist anymore?
Last week Donald Trump flipped off a worker at a Ford plant for yelling “pedophile protector” at him.
goodpoliticsbadpolitics.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:40 AM
this from @juliaazari.bsky.social is great and has me thinking — as circumstances often do these days — about something that has been lost in the age of trump, which is the presidency as steward of the constitution.
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MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.
January 19, 2026 at 2:55 PM
MLK was only 39 when he was killed. Growing up, I thought that was old. But I’m 43 now and I’m stunned by the burden he shouldered at such a young age. I’m also a lot more aware of how hard it is, at any age, to carry the hopes and dreams of an oppressed people on your shoulders, as so many do.
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i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
January 19, 2026 at 3:05 PM
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
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No one, including me, knows what Democrats would do if they won the House and/or Senate. Additionally, everyone who is currently alive now sees that they aren't doing anything now. Unsurprising that people hate them. I'm surprised that they are 2 points ahead the fascists in the generic ballot poll.
January 20, 2026 at 1:25 AM
No one, including me, knows what Democrats would do if they won the House and/or Senate. Additionally, everyone who is currently alive now sees that they aren't doing anything now. Unsurprising that people hate them. I'm surprised that they are 2 points ahead the fascists in the generic ballot poll.
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Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
A great thread on King.
“But what deeply troubles me now is that for all the steps we've taken toward integration, I've come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house."
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
Dr. King said this famous quote on March 27th, 1968, mere days before his murder. But the context around the quote is interesting...
January 20, 2026 at 4:06 AM
A great thread on King.
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this is the sickest shit ive ever seen
January 16, 2026 at 9:38 PM
this is the sickest shit ive ever seen
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this is the most incredible interview i’ve ever read. the aei guy tries so hard to get sliwa to trash mamdani and he simply won’t. he also brings up flaco (rip) unprompted.
www.wsj.com/opinion/free...
www.wsj.com/opinion/free...
![How would you describe Mamdani's politics?
He's not a communist. People call him that. That's ridiculous. He is a democratic socialist. David Dinkins [New York mayor from 1990-93] was a democratic socialist. We've had a long history in New York City of socialism.
What's the biggest challenge Mamdani faces as mayor!
I don't think the Zohranistas totally understand the fiscal irresponsibility we just went through with the Adams years and how little money there's left.
There's not enough money to do all the things that Zohran wants to do.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ssxnmhdtz6le6nxu7jfhglz6/bafkreic7pxra6vmrjmqo4jmw4vdagiluj6xtkovqb3f4ex7fc55m7pzaxu@jpeg)
January 1, 2026 at 11:16 PM
this is the most incredible interview i’ve ever read. the aei guy tries so hard to get sliwa to trash mamdani and he simply won’t. he also brings up flaco (rip) unprompted.
www.wsj.com/opinion/free...
www.wsj.com/opinion/free...
You: You’re a professor? What do you teach?
Me: History.
You: I hate history.
Me: Well, history probably hates you, too.
#PlotTwist
Me: History.
You: I hate history.
Me: Well, history probably hates you, too.
#PlotTwist
December 30, 2025 at 4:00 AM
You: You’re a professor? What do you teach?
Me: History.
You: I hate history.
Me: Well, history probably hates you, too.
#PlotTwist
Me: History.
You: I hate history.
Me: Well, history probably hates you, too.
#PlotTwist
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Sneaky MFers
Keep that in mind for mail in ballots
Have postmaster stamp it or better yet use ballot drop box
🤔🤔🤔🤔
Keep that in mind for mail in ballots
Have postmaster stamp it or better yet use ballot drop box
🤔🤔🤔🤔
December 29, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Sneaky MFers
Keep that in mind for mail in ballots
Have postmaster stamp it or better yet use ballot drop box
🤔🤔🤔🤔
Keep that in mind for mail in ballots
Have postmaster stamp it or better yet use ballot drop box
🤔🤔🤔🤔
Reposted
damn that baby looks cool as hell
December 29, 2025 at 11:11 PM
damn that baby looks cool as hell
When there are people in your community living in terror, the question to you is simple: what are you doing to give them aid and comfort?
December 30, 2025 at 3:44 AM
When there are people in your community living in terror, the question to you is simple: what are you doing to give them aid and comfort?
Co-sign. This book is devastating and so very powerful. An essential read.
December 30, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Co-sign. This book is devastating and so very powerful. An essential read.
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The idea that enhancing surveillance in academic buildings will protect students from mass shootings is absolutely fucking preposterous. What it will increase is the criminalization of our students. Reject it!!!
GUN CONTROL IS THE ANSWER TO GUN VIOLENCE.
BEAT THE GUNS INTO PLOWSHARES.
GUN CONTROL IS THE ANSWER TO GUN VIOLENCE.
BEAT THE GUNS INTO PLOWSHARES.
December 16, 2025 at 10:42 PM
The idea that enhancing surveillance in academic buildings will protect students from mass shootings is absolutely fucking preposterous. What it will increase is the criminalization of our students. Reject it!!!
GUN CONTROL IS THE ANSWER TO GUN VIOLENCE.
BEAT THE GUNS INTO PLOWSHARES.
GUN CONTROL IS THE ANSWER TO GUN VIOLENCE.
BEAT THE GUNS INTO PLOWSHARES.
One more time for the shlubs in the back.
The obsession over the Epstein files *as* a mechanism to “get” Trump is a mystery to me. How many “smoking guns” has there been since 2016? And how many times have MAGA followers shown that they *don’t* care? Grievance doesn’t care about hypocrisy.
December 30, 2025 at 3:27 AM
One more time for the shlubs in the back.
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Every poll: 80% of Americans want gun control, legal weed, medicare for all, AI restrictions, bans on data centers, end corporate welfare, high speed rail, universal education, and massive taxes on billionaires
Democrats: "aw, gee whiz, if we ran on that platform we'd only get 80% of the vote"
Democrats: "aw, gee whiz, if we ran on that platform we'd only get 80% of the vote"
December 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Every poll: 80% of Americans want gun control, legal weed, medicare for all, AI restrictions, bans on data centers, end corporate welfare, high speed rail, universal education, and massive taxes on billionaires
Democrats: "aw, gee whiz, if we ran on that platform we'd only get 80% of the vote"
Democrats: "aw, gee whiz, if we ran on that platform we'd only get 80% of the vote"
National Democrats folding on AI regulation in 5, 4, 3, 2...
There’s a funny Politico story showing that the latest polling on AI shows 80-20 in favor of heavy regulations, an absolute slam dunk platform, but Dems are worried about not winning back mask-off tech CEO donors
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
December 30, 2025 at 3:22 AM
National Democrats folding on AI regulation in 5, 4, 3, 2...