By Robert Jensen Editors’ Note: This is the Introduction to the book An Inconvenient Apocalypse, by Robert Jensen and Wes Jackson. In the many phone conversations between the authors when this book was under construction, one of us would say that a particular point was so important that we need to get it right up front. After a few of these comments, we joked that there … [Read more...] about Who Are We?
white supremacy
Stand in solidarity with our Councilmember (Versus voices of white supremacy / death…)
By Raymond Nat Turner I. Distant echoes—Sun revolving ‘round flat Earth— ‘round Inquisition; witch-burning; ‘round bubonic plague— ‘round pre-printing press politics… Embalmed voices—decomposing pogrom tones— crunch like dry leaves beneath boots of Strike-tober; beneath street heat of George Floyd Summer; beneath Occupy; Arab Spring— beneath … [Read more...] about Stand in solidarity with our Councilmember (Versus voices of white supremacy / death…)
The State We Are In
Excerpt from an online post by journalist Seth Abramson: There is an active insurrection inside the United States.… A large percentage of Americans—perhaps as many as 30%—no longer wish for this country to be a democracy. They do not believe in elections, or rule of law, or the peaceful transfer of power. They would welcome martial law, an authoritarian strongman, … [Read more...] about The State We Are In
Whiteness
ROBERT JENSEN Is the United States making progress in the quest to transcend its White-supremacist history? After the end of Jim Crow and legal racial segregation, the debate was over how and to what degree racism endured in less visible ways, with some arguing that the United States had become a “post-racial” society? That debate evaporated with the re-emergence in the … [Read more...] about Whiteness
Community-Based Restorative Justice Systems
What do we mean by community-based & restorative justice? Community and restorative justice is rooted in community values and works to restore all parties, rather than just punishing an offender. Community justice focuses on being transparent in its operation, easily accessible to all, and working to mend relationships throughout the community, to heal the community … [Read more...] about Community-Based Restorative Justice Systems
Do You Belong Here?
Miranda Davis Miranda is a Graphic Design/Illustration student at East Stroudsburg University. She describes her work as “a love letter to the black community and an acknowledgment of the trials found within and how the absolute comfort of the privileged majority prevents a seat at the table for minorities”. Return to spring 2021 Table of Contents … [Read more...] about Do You Belong Here?
The Americanization of Eastern and Southern European Immigrants
ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ[Link to the image of this book’s cover: https://images.app.goo.gl/iUjAjYfsYVbuccYK7] Mahmood Mamdani locates the founding moment of the modern nation-state at 1492. “That year marked the beginning of the nation-state… born of two developments in Iberia. One was ethnic cleansing, whereby the Castilian monarchy sought to create a homogeneous national … [Read more...] about The Americanization of Eastern and Southern European Immigrants
Against Hierarchy
ROBERT JENSEN It’s getting harder for people in the United States to turn away from the sexism, racism, and inequality that is woven into the fabric of society. From the women’s march of 2017, to the ongoing protests against white supremacy in policing and other institutions, to the wider attention being paid to extreme disparities in wealth — the demand for justice … [Read more...] about Against Hierarchy
Notes from the Editor – Left Turn #8
Let us Burn All Illusions in 2021 Left Turn welcomes the year 2021 without any illusions about the nature of the system that produced the severe political, economic, and public health crises of 2020 and the new horrors surely on their way if we as a society fail to counteract the ingrained tendencies and deliberate policies that have produced the present unsustainable … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor – Left Turn #8
A Reflection on Recent Events in Palmerton
by Maison Allen On July 18, in the small town of Palmerton, Pennsylvania, a non-violent protest in support of Black Lives Matter turned aggressive and dangerous as protesters were confronted by armed and hostile counter-protesters. My good friend, Sierra Hahn and I, both Palmerton natives, organized the original protest to raise awareness and help people understand racism … [Read more...] about A Reflection on Recent Events in Palmerton