Dear President Trump, Well, where to start on this 110th anniversary of International Women’s Day (111th if we count its initial instantiation in 1909 in NYC as National Women’s Day)? There are so many relevant directions one could go, but I think I’ll start by telling you that Friday night when we went to the … Continue reading Imagine…. if there were no International Women’s Day
History
45 to 0
Dear President Trump, Has covid-19 got you spooked? Seems so. You’ve been tossing out baseless, rosy hunches all morning (who in their right mind would trust a hunch of yours?), including that the fatality rate is only 1%. You’re also pushing the name “covid-flu” and telling people to go ahead and go to work as … Continue reading 45 to 0
Heartbroken and resolute
Dear President Trump, So it appears that the US white male patriarchy has a reprieve for (at least) another four years as far as the presidency goes. I know there hasn’t been any real doubt about this for the last month or so, and really, it was probably just a relatively small handful of us … Continue reading Heartbroken and resolute
Highly consequential lies
Dear President Trump, Last night Laura and I got to talking about the Civil War and her father’s family, who were from Cloverport, Tennessee, a tiny, tiny bulge in the road, which is sort of near Toone, which is sort of near Boliver. I think I told you in another letter that we drove through … Continue reading Highly consequential lies
Apologies and amends
Dear President Trump, As you know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about historical corrections and it occurs to me that I should clarify that there are at least two different types of historical corrections: 1) corrections to the historical record itself (e.g., telling the story more completely and accurately by bringing in points of … Continue reading Apologies and amends
Righteous prohibitions
Dear President Trump, Following on from yesterday’s letter about history and privilege and how we are finally getting some traction with new, corrective history, today was pretty much a banner day. First, earlier today the US House passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act 410-4, making lynching a federal hate crime (for the record these four … Continue reading Righteous prohibitions
History and privilege
Dear President Trump, Yesterday morning I read poet Lisel Mueller’s WP obituary first because it was at the top of the stack (Katherine Johnson had just died and so hers hadn’t yet made it to the main page) and about midway through there was an interesting quote in reference to her poem “Happy and Unhappy … Continue reading History and privilege
In death as in life
Dear President Trump, A few months ago I told you about having devoured all of the biographies in my K-8 library about women generally and men of color as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve told you how much I enjoy reading the WP obituaries about people from these demographic groups (along with a … Continue reading In death as in life
“VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Dear President Trump, I’m sure you missed it so I’ll tell you that not only can Natalie Portman embroider, but she’s up for embroidering for a cause. She used gold thread to embroider the names of eight women directors who didn’t receive Oscar nominations this year down the left edge of her black Dior cape. … Continue reading “VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Dear President Trump, Just a few minutes ago out the back window to the East, the light on the huge fir trees (and one birch) in the distance was doing this incredible glow/shadow thing where some of the faces of the trees were bathed in golden light and other faces were charcoal-looking, like they couldn’t … Continue reading Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Daily Trump Letters 