Posts tagged with "TheAmericaYetToBe"

Naked Truths: Trump IS America’s Orange Plague

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By ePluribusAmerica

Trump shames America at home and he shames America abroad.

And his party remains silently complicit while feverishly turning the wheel of progress backward to fit a country and world that only values those with golden toilets. The wealthy, the ignorant and the racists are the only people “benefiting” from Trump.

At ePluribusAmerica, we operate on a core premise: Humanity Starts With Culture. Yet, when our political symbols and leadership degrade the cultural fabric of our nation, the world takes notice and responds through art, satire, and public protest. The latest mirror held up to American hegemony comes not from a political think tank, but from the halls of European democracy.

Need To Know

  • The Installation: On October 6, 2026, Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt unveiled “The Orange Plague,” an eight-foot (2.6-meter) statue covered in 23-karat gold leaf inside the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.
  • The Imagery: The satirical installation depicts a fully nude Donald Trump holding a golf club and scales of justice while sitting perched on the back of a frail bronze man, symbolizing the economic and environmental burdens placed on the public.
  • The Inscription: A proclamation at the base signed by the “King of Injustice” reads: “I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back.”
  • The Movement: Sponsored by Danish MEP Per Clausen, the exhibition distributed thousands of 3D-printed miniature statues to visitors and staff as protest “mascots” calling for global accountability on climate change and international agreements.

It is deeply disappointing to see this repugnant man who represents us as Americans not only behave badly in all social situations but is pushing to advance policies that divide and weaken us here and abroad. Rather than move us forward as a world that stands as one and beholden to goals rooted in humanity and prosperity, Trump is trashing his opportunity to make the world a better place for all of us. And that includes taking care of planet earth, allowing future generations to experience the miracle of life, nature and the universe.

With a decreased status as the world’s super power, thanks to our blood-thirst for perpetual and manufactured wars, neocolonialism and global piracy, America is perceptibly floating like an atom with nowhere to land, yet tap dancing away like Fred Astaire because “The Show Must Go On!” despite what’s at stake; isolation, nuclear war and the end of our Republic. And Trump’s recent off-script, old and tired foolery at the UN in New York didn’t go any better than his new threats against California, including former American presidents Obama and Clinton. 

Key Take-Aways

  • Art as the Ultimate Reality Check: Galschiøt’s work draws from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” using satire to expose the unvarnished reality of power when diplomatic and political language falls silent.
  • A Global Call Against Climate Apathy: The statue specifically targets systemic rollback of environmental protections, calling out international reluctance to confront destructive policies due to fear of economic retaliation or trade tariffs.
  • Decentralized Resistance: By releasing 3D-printable files globally, the artist echoes Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement, transforming a localized installation into a worldwide, crowd-sourced protest symbol.

Considering Trump’s hostile policies targeting immigration using ICE terrorists cosplaying federal agents, you’d think his family never immigrated to America from Scotland. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, migrated to the U.S. from Scotland, paving the way for his deplorable wretchedness and Nazi stain on all humanity. The hypocrisy that keeps him afloat, like his anchor babies, is astounding and sickening. Never mind that his Epstein affiliate third wife, Melania Trump, stands accused of lying on her own visa application for American citizenship. And following up with the audacity only delusional white supremacist embody, “Melanie” went on a cringe-worthy interview on Larry King Live to support her Epstein cupid-match birther movement to discredit the validity of an American born man’s, President Barack Obama, birth certificate. Today, “Melanie” is hiding in her Pandora box sealed with yellow Epstein tape, as she remains MIA as FLOTUS. 

The blatant racism, global thievery, bad behavior, hypocrisy, gluttony, bold-faced lying and the overall shameful human disposition of the Trump Crime Family, a family that has NEVER served in any U.S. military service or combat, including Frederick Trump (DJT’s grandfather) fleeing draft evasion charges in Bavaria in 1885, seeking refuge in the very nation whose door his grandson now tries to slam shut on others. Trump and his entire administration is setting a dangerous precedent for Americans, as they trumpet the call for Colonialism 2.0, normalize American brutality,  perpetuate crimes against humanity, all while modernizing the historic frequency of dog whistles only Christian white nationalists and Zionists, (white supremacists and the godless KKK) can hear.  

Implications for American Culture

The gilding of power in American politics has long masked underlying systemic flaws. When our leadership prioritizes opulence and individual gain over collective responsibility and global stewardship, the American brand abroad shifts from a beacon of democracy to a cautionary tale of excess. “The Orange Plague” exposes the friction between hyper-individualism and our shared global obligations. It challenges Americans to ask: Is this the image of humanity we wish to project?

The America Yet To Be

Satire can sting, but it also cleanses. While golden statues in foreign parliaments highlight our present embarrassments, they do not and can not define our permanent destiny.

America’s true greatness has never resided in leaders who demand to be carried on the backs of others, but in the resilient, diverse communities who strive every day for justice, civil rights, and environmental harmony. Our nation is an evolving tapestry, continually redefined by courageous voices, cultural pioneers, and citizens dedicated to progress. We can look at the golden mirror held up in Strasbourg not just with despair, shame and guilt, but as an urgent invitation to reclaim our values, restore our humility, and build the compassionate, united America yet to be.

Is D.C. Still ‘Chocolate City’? Unpacking the Demographic Shift and the Cost of Cultural Change

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A City’s Soul: The Enduring Value of Black Washington in a Changing America

For decades, Washington, D.C., was known to many as “Chocolate City,” a tribute to its predominantly African-American population, which peaked at 71.1 percent in 1970. Today, the District has transitioned into one of the most diverse cities in the U.S., raising a profound question: What does the fading of “Chocolate City” mean for the nation’s capital and for American culture? This transformation is a pivotal moment that compels us to look beyond statistics and recognize the bedrock of culture and history that Black Washingtonians laid.

Need To Know

D.C. is no longer a Black-majority city, having dropped below 50 percent Black population for the first time in half a century. The District now joins a small number of states without any one racial group forming a majority.

  • Demographic Shift: The Black or African American population represented less than half of the city’s total population as of July 2024, according to a WTOP analysis of census data. As of 2014, the Black population was 49 percent, while the white population had risen to 43.6 percent, narrowing the difference to 5.4 percent.
  • Causes of Change: Experts cite multiple contributing factors, including new waves of immigration, a diversifying economy, and shifting housing patterns.
  • Gentrification and Displacement: Gentrification has dramatically transformed neighborhoods like Shaw, U Street, and Petworth, which were once almost exclusively Black. The rise in property values has made D.C. one of the most expensive cities in America, forcing many long-time residents to move to more affordable suburbs in Maryland.
  • Voluntary Migration: It is important to realize that the movement is not solely displacement. According to Michael Bader, middle-class Black D.C. residents are also leaving for the suburbs like Prince George’s and Montgomery County for reasons similar to other racial groups: a search for more space and schools with better reputations.

Take-Aways

The shift in D.C.’s demographics presents complex realities about urban change and opportunity.

  • Diversity and Segregation Coexist: While D.C. has become one of the most diverse metropolitan areas in the country, a high degree of racial segregation persists. The majority of the city’s mono-racial census tracts (90% or more of a single race) are located East of the Anacostia River, an area that has remained virtually unchanged racially for 35 years.
  • The Threat to Culture: As the city transforms, there is concern that the cultural identity established by Black residents is being eroded. The once vibrant African-American cultural and business heart of Shaw is now home to new condominiums and fusion restaurants, leading some residents to lament the potential loss of D.C.’s distinct musical heartbeat, Go-Go.
  • Suburban Growth: The Black population is not necessarily declining, but rather, as demographer Hamilton Lombard notes, the city’s population growth is outpacing it. Simultaneously, the suburban regions of Maryland and Virginia have seen their Black populations rise.

Implications for American Culture

The story of D.C.’s transition underscores a crucial American tension: how to achieve progress and diversity without erasing the foundational culture and history of marginalized communities. The decline of “Chocolate City” reflects a national pattern where economic revitalization often pushes out the people who created a city’s character. Black Washingtonians, who were drawn to D.C. during the Great Migration in search of educational, economical, and political opportunities, established cultural landmarks and institutions that shaped the nation’s capital. The struggle to create stable racial diversity and address the extreme racial isolation east of the Anacostia River remain pressing challenges for D.C..

The story of Washington, D.C., is a microcosm of the American story—one indelibly shaped by the perseverance and unmatched value Black people have created in this nation. Despite the systemic brutality of chattel slavery, Jim Crow, and long-upheld oppression, Black Americans built institutions, communities, and culture that shaped our nation’s capital, from the style of its neighborhoods and the infrastructure they developed to its distinct food and the entertainment heartbeat of U Street, which gave rise to Jazz and Go-Go. In D.C., the question of belonging echoes Langston Hughes’ poignant truth in America Was Never America To Me. Yet, the ongoing demographic change is not an ending, but a new phase in the unyielding work to realize the America yet to be—one that truly lives up to its creed of being a beacon of hope for mankind, ensuring freedom and liberty for all people, and enforcing the belief that all men are created equal.

The Barrier Breaker: How One Black Woman Mastered Science and Politics

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The convergence of Black History Month and the enduring legacy of the Women’s Suffrage movement offers a vital moment for reflection, compelling us to see American history not as a set of separate struggles, but as interwoven battles for equality. We celebrate the trailblazers who shattered barriers, laying the groundwork for the more perfect union we still pursue. This February, we honor a woman whose achievements in science, academia, and politics exemplify the perseverance required to overcome the dual challenges of racial and gender bias in America: Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb.

Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb: A Pioneer of Science and Justice

Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb was a profound trailblazer, achieving a series of “firsts” that opened doors for generations of Black women in the United States. Born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1923, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Tuskegee Institute (now University). In 1949, Dr. Johnson Webb graduated from the Tuskegee Institute College of Veterinary Medicine, becoming the first Black woman to graduate from veterinary school in the United States and the first Black woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the country. That same year, she became the first Black member of the Women’s Veterinary Association.

Her commitment to education continued; she earned a Master’s degree in Anatomy from Michigan State University in 1950, stating her interest was sparked because the department head of anatomy was a woman. Dr. Johnson Webb returned to Tuskegee to teach anatomy, rising to Associate Professor before serving as a professor of biology and mathematics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) from 1959 to 1978.

Dr. Johnson Webb’s leadership extended into politics when she was appointed as the first Black woman in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1971 (serving in 1972). She served as the Chairperson of Minority Affairs for the North Carolina State Democratic Executive Committee, was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976, and was president of Democratic Women of North Carolina. Today, her dedication to teaching and focus on companion animals are recognized by North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where one of the four houses is named House Webb, bearing a crest with a dog and the motto: fairness, equity, and justice.

Need to Know

  • Veterinary Pioneers: Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb and Dr. Jane Hinton were the first two Black women to earn DVM degrees and become licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the U.S. in 1949.
  • Tuskegee’s Legacy: The Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine was founded to provide professional training to Southern Black Americans when education was segregated, and today it has graduated approximately 50 percent of the nation’s African-American veterinarians. Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson, who received his doctorate from Cornell, overcame tremendous obstacles to establish the veterinary college at Tuskegee.
  • Political Trailblazer: Dr. Johnson Webb was the first Black woman to hold a position in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Take-Aways

  • Pioneering Mentorship: Dr. Webb’s decision to attend Michigan State was influenced by the fact that the department head of anatomy was a woman, highlighting the importance of seeing women in leadership roles, especially in science.
  • Sustained Political Action: Beyond her professional career, Dr. Webb remained active in the Democratic Party, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to political engagement and minority affairs.
  • Legacy of Justice: The naming of House Webb at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, with its motto of “fairness, equity, and justice,” encapsulates the enduring principles of her life’s work.

Analysis and Context: BHM and Women’s Suffrage

Black History Month (BHM) is a critical time to acknowledge not only the prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement but also the everyday heroes who pushed boundaries in their professional lives, like Dr. Johnson Webb, and those who fought for interconnected rights. The establishment of institutions like the Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine, founded by figures like Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson and Dr. E.B. Evans, was a direct response to the enormous social and economic hurdles Black Americans faced, particularly in the segregated South.

The struggle for Women’s Suffrage, culminating in the 19th Amendment in 1920, was a monumental step, yet the right to vote primarily benefited white women at the time, with women of color often excluded from elected office until the 1960s and 1970s.

Historic figures associated with both movements, celebrated as part of BHM, demonstrate the deeply linked nature of the fight for racial and gender equality:

  • Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper: Born a slave in 1858, she became an advocate for gender equality, civil rights, and women’s suffrage. Her book, A Voice from the South (1892), is foundational to Black feminism and described the specific oppression faced by African American women. She advocated for women’s suffrage, arguing it would establish the “supremacy of moral forces of reason and justice and love in the government of the nation”.
  • Pauli Murray: A towering civil rights and gender equality activist, lawyer, and poet, Murray co-founded the National Organization for Women and wrote crucial legal arguments, such as those used to retain “sex” in Title VII. Murray wrote in 1971 about how the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) would specifically benefit Black women.

Dr. Johnson Webb’s journey—from pioneering veterinary medicine to breaking the color and gender barrier in the North Carolina General Assembly—serves as a tangible link between these movements, showing that progress in one area often fueled progress in another.

Implications for American Culture

The life of Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb is a powerful counter-narrative to the homogeneity that once defined American professions and political institutions. Her success, achieved despite systemic barriers, is a testament to the resilience and talent that has historically been marginalized. Her contributions underline the fact that diversity is not just an ethical obligation but a source of strength, as demonstrated by Tuskegee’s continuing legacy of championing minority students in veterinary medicine. For American culture, recognizing figures like Dr. Webb means accepting a fuller, more complex history, one that requires us to examine the intentions behind movements; for instance, noting that some suffrage advocates like Chief Justice Walter Clark supported women’s votes primarily to strengthen “White Supremacy,” rather than out of a belief in true equality for all. Dr. Webb’s career—focused on science, education, and political reform—shows the potential for genuine, inclusive leadership to shape a more just society.

We stand at a crossroads today, where the pursuit of justice remains our most urgent, unfinished work. The fight for parity—for women, for Black Americans, and for all oppressed people—is a shared American destiny. Women, particularly Black women, who have historically suffered the most and continue to carry the burden of a nation unwilling to fully recognize their contributions and value, are vital to finally realizing the dreams of America. Their enduring resilience, exemplified by pioneers like Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb, Dr. Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, and Pauli Murray, is the bedrock upon which we must build a future unyielding to the racism and unjust social construct and fabric that continues to divide us.

In line with this year’s Black History Month celebration, A Century of Black History Commemorations, we must continue to collectively pursue justice and the America yet to be; one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.