Raiding Plantations, Disabling Education, Dismantling Dams of Colonization

KTF Weekly Newsletter

Hi everybody,

We’ve got highlights this week on a surprising story from Black history, Republicans trying to reincarcerate freed federal prisoners, the failures of “special” education, some inspiring indigenous environmental advocacy, the armed conflict in the DRC, and a really deep dive into the world of today’s White Christian nationalism.

Also, stay tuned tomorrow for a special announcement on how you can help us out with some end-of-year charitable giving. Alright, let’s get into it!

Sy’s recommendations:

• I recently read a thread on Mastodon by historian D. Elizabeth Glassco about the first armed military operation led by a woman in American history. It was a one-of-a-kind raid on southern plantations during the Civil War, leveraging a network of spies to free as many enslaved people as possible under cover of darkness, devastating the local Confederate war effort. The mostly-Black soldiers freed over 700 people in a single night, with only one casualty. And the woman at the helm? Harriet Tubman. Read the thread for the details of how she deployed her experience from the Underground Railroad to coordinate this incredible covert operation. And let her consistent boldness and insistence on working for the freedom of everyone—long after she was free herself—give you hope.