In his groundbreaking book, The Broken Heart of America, one of the ambitious goals Walter Johnson sets out to explore when looking at St. Louis is to answer the question, “what happened here?” For me, the tone that goes with the words is one of bewilderment.
Johnson is a native Missourian and Harvard University professor of history. He believes the starting point of answering that question is the acknowledgment that St. Louis is a reflection of U.S. history. Johnson further asserts that “American history has unfolded from the juncture of empire and anti-Blackness in the city of St. Louis.” That ugly truth goes a long way in explaining the lack of overall progress in the Gateway City, and especially when it comes to racial justice and equity.
If what happens in St. Louis is mirror for the rest of the country, it calls for a more serious approach to building a more inclusive and democratic society where the status of the most disenfranchised and marginalized are elevated. Those of us who consider ourselves change agents in this experiment must understand the historic forces who control the gameboard—who gets to play, what are the rules of engagement, who gets to win.
Just as we faced a course-changing national election last November, voters face a similar local scenario that could put the power in the hands of a few, white people who say they know what’s good for the rest of us non-white, non-male, non-gender conforming , non-Christian nationalist majority.
One of the arenas where we must see more change and impact is governance. Change agents must understand the government, its functions, its processes and its limitations. We have often shown up unprepared for a battle with those whose primary mission is to maintain the white supremacy status quo. The forces of reaction are in constant motion to control the situation by creating divisive narratives, pumping out misinformation and changing the rules of engagement.
Jamala Rogers
For most people in this country, elections are the means to the end. The end is the strengthening of democracy. We know there is power in elections because it has become a battleground for crushing candidates and ballot initiatives that move us forward.
The will of The People does not count in the world of a sorta-democracy. The majority of St. Louis voters said they favored a woman’s right to choose. We also want an increase in the minimum wage and paid sick leave. For decades, we continually expressed the need to have local control of our police department, which consumes about a third of the city’s annual budget. Yet these democratic wins are being blocked at every “junction of empire and anti-blackness.”
Since the inauguration of a dictator as U.S. president, we’ve witnessed the strokes of a pen that advances empire and white supremacy. Our response must be to understand the period we are in and get better organized. This is way deeper than a singular election or hollow posturing.
Just as we faced a course-changing national election last November, voters face a similar local scenario that could put the power in the hands of a few, white people who say they know what’s good for the rest of us non-white, non-male, non-gender conforming , non-Christian nationalist majority.
As we go to the ballot box on March 4, take seriously what Walter Johnson tells us: St. Louis is the projection of a nation trying to turn back the clock of progress. Then think about a vision for what St. Louis should be/could be. That analysis should inform us about who and what will get us there. Where someone went to high school, whether they wear hair extensions or what kind of car one drives are not qualifications for being a true defender of democracy. We have to be more sophisticated than that.
We are on the brink of a man-made constitutional crisis, and most of us don’t even understand what that means for this country or for our individual lives. Even the constitutional scholars don’t know because we haven’t been here before. The oligarchy that is positioning itself to run the country does not have our interests at heart nor the world’s interests. Let’s not go down in history as passive, confused spectators in the demise of democracy.