The Who We Are Project

Did You Know? The U.S. Targeted These Movement Leaders, Too On Sunday, March 9, unmarked ICE agents, raided Columbia University student housing and arrested Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil is being targeted by the administration for his active role in leading pro-Palestinian protests in Columbia in 2024. On Sunday, Trump wrote: "Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University. This is the first arrest of many to come. We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it. Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country - never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here. We expect every one of America's Colleges and Universities to comply. Thank you!" Targeting protestors is a violation of the first amendment, but that hasn’t stopped the U.S. government from targeting activists in the past most famously during J. Edgar Hoover’s tenure at the FBI where he wrote in internal memos “discredit, disrupt, destroy” as part of his tactics to wipe out the progress of the Civil Rights movement. The agency targeted Martin Luther King, Jr. using surveillance to expose his extramarital affairs and attempting to blackmail and harass him and his family with the recordings, suggesting that King’s only alternative to their release was to kill himself. The FBI heavily surveilled Malcolm X as well, even planting FBI agents among Nation of Islam members to sow discord. And in an ongoing lawsuit, his family alleges government agencies colluded with his murderers, failing to stop his killing (where he was shot 21 times) and refusing to intervene to get him the medical assistance he needed on the scene urgently enough. The FBI was also involved in the killing of Fred Hampton. In fact, many scholars now believe it was a deliberate assassination by the FBI. 21-year-old Hampton and other Black Panthers were likely drugged in his home in 1969 by undercover informant, 20-year-old William O’Neal on the night that FBI officers raided the apartment, firing over 90 shots and killing Hampton on the scene. Only one return shot was fired by a Black Panther. A 2021 Associated Press investigation also found that Black Lives Matter protesters were targeted for police harassment and prosecution for their involvement in the movement. We have an administration that believes that the first amendment doesn’t apply to any view that opposes them.

“The only way to reduce ugliness in the world is to reduce it in yourself.” –Bayard Rustin

Did You Know? The U.S. has just over 45k farmers who identify as Black. They account for just 1.4% of the U.S.’ 3.4 million agricultural producers. But it wasn’t always this way. Black people were forcibly trafficked to the United States from 1619 to 1808 and produced over 90% of the country’s agricultural labor during slavery and remained well above 50% during Jim Crow due to sharecropping, prison leasing and other exploitative practices up until the Civil Rights era. Since then, a host of government programs have continued to shut out Black farmers from benefits that have advantaged white farmers. Including: Reparations for Enslavers. In 1862, Enslavers in the District of Columbia were compensated for their “loss of property” through the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act and paid $300 per enslaved person they had previously enslaved. That’s about $9,374.41 per enslaved person today if adjusted for inflation. Over 900 enslavers were paid a total of one million dollars in 1862, worth $31, 452,574.26 today. Revoked Reparations for *Some* Former Enslaved People. After the Civil War, over 40,000 formerly enslaved people were compensated for their enslavement with their promised "40 acres and a mule" under General Sherman's 1865 Special Field Order 15 in Georgia and South Carolina. This order was later revoked by President Andrew Jackson and the land was returned to former insurrectionists, enslavers and Confederates. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. The agricultural adjustment act allowed white landowners to receive subsidies for growing certain crops while continuing the practice of sharecropping (forcible indebted servitude that often functioned like slavery) of Black laborers on their farms. Discriminatory Lending Practices from 1930’s to the early 2000’s. It has been well researched and well documented that lenders colluded with white farmers throughout the U.S. to deny Black farmers loans in favor of white farmers, intentionally bankrupting Black farmers and leading to the transfer of land from Black farmers to white farmers across the country. “Between 1910 and 1997, Black farmers lost approximately 90 percent of their 19 million acres of land, decimating the number of Black-owned farms by more than 95 percent: from 925,000 in 1920 to a meagre 45,000 by 1975.” Now, DOGE cuts to USAID as well cuts to farmer subsidies have rural farmers (many of whom are white Trump voters) worried about how they will be impacted by the systemic harm caused by these slashes to aid. It’s an important lesson we would all do well to remember: What they are willing to do to some of us is a roadmap for what they may be willing to do to ALL of us. Do not accept harm for others that you would not accept for yourself. Written by Diana Cherry Designed by Juliette Hemingway

RFK's Plans to "Re-Parent" Kids Is Nothing New...But It Is Dangerous. In a 19Keys YouTube interview in 2024, U.S. Health and Human Services Chief, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said every Black kid is being put on unnecessary antidepressant and antipsychotic medications and suggested this solution instead, “Those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented — to live in a community where there’ll be no cellphones, no screens. You’ll actually have to talk to people.” These “healing farms” –as he later referred to them– where American kids can “reconnect with America’s soil” don’t sound voluntary. If you know your history, RFK Jr.’s plan sounds all too familiar. “After emancipation, white planters exploited the apprenticeship laws already in place to wrest custody of Black children from their parents as a source of forced labor.” — Dorothy Roberts, Torn Apart For instance North Carolina allowed Black children to be “‘bound out’ without parents’ approval to work for white planters without their parents’ approval… if they found the parents unfit.” White supremacists across the U.S. asserted that “Black children needed guidance that incompetent Black parents could not provide.” — Dorothy Roberts, Torn Apart Forcible removal of and institutionalization of indigenous and Black children in “residential schools” began in the 1870’s. Children were stripped of their cultural identities, languages, brutalized, sexually abused, forced to labor, were murdered and often went missing without notifying their parents of what had happened to them. After a series of hearings from 1974 to 1977, Congress acknowledged the abuses these schools caused to Native children (to some extent) and passed the Indian Child Welfare Act. And yet, so-called “Correctional” facilities today often echo similar abuses today, housing disproportionate numbers of Black and brown children forcibly removed from their homes, forced to labor for the state. These institutions have high rates of abuse and little oversight. For more, read: "Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families -- And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World" by Dorothy Roberts Slide 10: Written by Diana Cherry Designed by Juliette Hemingway Sources: Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World https://lnkd.in/gAk4j2f9 https://lnkd.in/gG5XQHZM.

What Did They Do? The Black Panthers’ Survival Programs When you hear the words Black Panthers, what do you think? Black communities have faced repressive regimes before and the intentional theft of their land and labor while being denied the wealth, food, and healthcare their labor should have afforded them. In this new series, we’ll explore what different community efforts Black activists and organizations have engaged to fight back against repression. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in October 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Initially founded to combat police brutality, the Panther Party quickly expanded to include other social programs in Black communities all across the nation. They called these programs “Survival Programs.” Healthcare Panther leaders were skeptical that integrated hospitals would provide equal access to quality medical care for Black patients and felt that poverty should not be a limiting factor to accessing care. In response, they opened 13 free medical clinics across the country. Food The Black Panther Party also set up free breakfast programs all around the nation. Panthers worked with local businesses to fund and provide food for these programs, threatening loss of business for those who refused to support community efforts. From 1969 to 1980. The program fed over 20,000 young people in its first year alone. Education The Black Panther Party also established Freedom Schools in nine cities across the U.S., most notably their Oakland Freedom School, which aimed to educate Black students about Black history and to eradicate the racism Black students often faced in integrated public schools. As more and more public institutions are under threat of being dismantled under this administration, what can we learn from how groups like the Panthers mobilized to serve their communities? Written by Diana Cherry Designed by Juliette Hemingway Sources: https://lnkd.in/gMcY89g9 https://lnkd.in/gefusVY8 https://lnkd.in/dDHfEKC

The Myth of Black Bodies as Superhuman & Subhuman at the Same Time During Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s recent Health and Human Services confirmation, comments he made in a 2021 panel discussion resurfaced. He said, "We should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule that's given to whites because their immune system is better than ours." United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He doubled down during the hearing claiming, “Blacks need fewer antigens,” a claim not supported by evidence and refuted by experts in the field. According to one NIH study, “Infectious disease mortality among Blacks is higher than among whites, with a relative risk of 1.53 after adjustment for age and sex and 1.34 after further adjustment for income and education. Death from infectious diseases contributed to 9.3% of the difference in all-cause mortality. “In the United States, infectious diseases account for nearly 10% of the excess all-cause mortality rates in Blacks compared with Whites.” These disparities are socially constructed, not biologically determined. Racist myths about Black bodies as “superhuman” have long led to devastating outcomes for Black people when it comes to scientific research and medical care. According to a 2013 study in “The American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, Black and Hispanic people — from children who needed adenoidectomies or tonsillectomies to elders in hospice care — received inadequate pain management compared with white counterparts.” – The New York Times “A 2016 survey of 222 white medical students and residents published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that half of them endorsed at least one myth about physiological differences between black people and white people, including that black people’s nerve endings are less sensitive than white people’s.” The New York Times A 2020 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that Black babies were three times more likely to die when cared for by white doctors. The study also found that this disparity was cut in half when Black babies were cared for by Black doctors. Myths about Black bodies as superhuman and subhuman have consequences. So do decisions to hire people into public health leadership positions who are ignorant about this information and call them “merit hires.” Sources: https://lnkd.in/gxVvzyct https://lnkd.in/gBvyjBS9. https://lnkd.in/gjMSVpUT https://lnkd.in/eV7bjRv

What Are Illegal Protests? In a Truth Social post on March 4, 2025, timed on a day of planned nationwide protest, President Trump says he will cut federal funding to any Universities that allow American students to participate in “illegal” protests. Is this an illegal protest? [painting of the Boston Tea Party] How about this? [picture of Civil Rights marchers with "Give Me Freedom or Give Me Death" signs] Or this? [picture of Jan. 6th insurrectionists] The first amendment protects free speech, stating, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Source: Written by Diana Cherry Graphic Design by Juliette Hemingway https://lnkd.in/dnk5qzqT

An excerpt from “DEI is not ‘overreach.’ Our efforts haven’t gone far enough” by Dr. Ben Danielson for The Seattle Times “…It is so disappointing to see how quickly organizations and institutions have preemptively abandoned equity language and programs even before the bullying tactics of these executive edicts are deemed enforceable. Preemptive abandonment sends a chilling message to those facing the greatest threats today and encourages the bullies to keep bullying. Besides, anyone who thinks appeasement will keep them off the threat list is kidding themselves. I appeal to everyone to be guided by your conscience, ancestral wisdom, evidence, common sense and compassion. This blizzard of hatred from our highest government office is also a test. How we respond today — through gathering, legal action, vocal protest, resistance — will say much about who we are as individuals and as communities. We will need to look at ourselves in the mirror for the rest of our days." For the full piece, please see the link below. https://lnkd.in/gWnMEgiT.

What is the Bystander Effect? The “bystander effect”, also known as the “genovese syndrome” is named after the horrific, public brutalization and murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964. At least 38 onlookers watched as she was stabbed to death. During a Coeur d’Alene town hall on February 22, 2025, three men dressed in civilian clothes who refused to identify themselves (one brandishing a gun) demanded Idaho woman, Teresa Borrenpohl leave the meeting after being “disruptive”. Over 450 town hall attendees (some visibly upset and vocal) ultimately stood by as she was assaulted and forcibly dragged off. After the Genovese murder in 1964, social scientists, horrified by the incident, spent years researching why so many people stood by and did nothing. Here’s what they concluded: Why do so many people so often do nothing? #1 Apathy in Numbers The more people are around to help, the less likely any one person is to actually help. #2 Group Think When people are in a group, they feel less personally and individually responsible to act. #3 Situational Ambiguity When a situation feels unclear or unreal (especially when stakes are high or the event(s) are shocking), people are less likely to take immediate action. What would you do when confronted with a situation like this? How do you know? The time to think about it and make a plan is now. Written by Diana Cherry Designed by Juliette Hemingway Sources: https://lnkd.in/gJVavVBJ https://lnkd.in/gwbuhMPx https://lnkd.in/gKaqWyuz https://lnkd.in/gUbrkUiN

What are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)? Historically Black Colleges and Universities (often called HBCUs) are defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as, “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education]…” —National Museum of African American History and Culture Most HBCU’s in the United States were established between 1861 and 1900. In fact, over ninety, including Morehouse and Howard University were established during that time. Their goal: To prepare Black teachers and preachers for service during a time when American Universities still barred Black students from entry. HBCUs have a long history in the U.S., providing Black students (and now any student who attends) with a rich and vibrant cultural and academic experience. Many early American Black leaders attended HBCU’s including: W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. Written by Diana Cherry Designed by Juliette Hemingway Sources: https://lnkd.in/g6Yt-Kz4 https://lnkd.in/evjMz5u5 https://lnkd.in/eNbJpsPz