You may have heard of Virginia-based folk singer Oliver Anthony. He became a hero of conservative folk thanks to the populist anthem “Rich Rich North.”
But as Eric Levitz details in New York magazine, Anthony's populism is distinctly right-wing.
Anger over inequality and the precariousness of working-class life permeate the rest of the song. But Anthony channeled his anger from the bosses and shareholders who profited from his unfair labor to targets sanctioned by conservative orthodoxy, including tax-raising politicians, a cabal of pedophiles, and obese welfare fraudsters. He pointed relentlessly.
I'm not particularly interested in Anthony or the song in question (though Levitz's work is good and I highly recommend reading it). But as a nearly lifelong Virginian, I find it interesting that this musical spokesperson for conservative populism hails from Farmville, Virginia, a town historically important to the civil rights movement. St. Petersburg was once the political stronghold of the “Readjuster” movement of the late 19th century.
One of the most common misconceptions about Jim Crow is that it resulted directly from the defeat of Reconstruction. But Jim Crow, a system of white supremacist class rule, was not a response to Reconstruction, but to its aftermath. At that time, interracial coalitions of workers and their allies continued to vie for power and influence throughout the world. Former Confederate states.
In Virginia, this took the form of a readjustment movement. The movement took its name from calls for a partial repudiation, or “rebalancing,” of state debt to sustain social services and, above all, public schools, which conservative elites wanted to dismantle. In the name of “economy, layoffs, and self-sacrifice.”
The Readjusters, an independent coalition of (mostly) black Republicans and white Democrats led by former Confederate general and railroad tycoon William Mahone, ruled Virginia from 1879 to 1883 and It elected the majority of Congress and the majority of its parliamentary delegation. In “Before Jim Crow: The Politics of Race in Post-Emancipation Virginia,” historian Jane Daley writes that the Readjusters were “the most successful interracial political alliance in the post-Emancipation South.” It is written that it was.
The Readjusters, a majority black political party, legitimized and promoted civil rights and political power for African Americans by supporting black suffrage, public office, and the jury system. To a degree hitherto unseen in Virginia, and unparalleled elsewhere in the 19th century South, the Readjusters became an organized force for the protection and advancement of black rights and interests. became.
By supporting policies that favor debtors over creditors and workers over the wealthy, the Readjusters and other similar independent parties “understood common interests that emphasized class status and civil rights and downplayed race.” He represented the efforts to find a clue to “profits''.
The Readjustment movement, once fraught and tenuous, still represents a moment of possibility in the history of the American South. Its success would overshadow the movement's inexorable “property counter-revolution” that cemented the dominance of the American South. lines of race and class for much of the next century.
Compared to some distinctive moments in Virginia's history, such as the Settlement of Jamestown, Bacon's Rebellion, the Battle of Yorktown, and the Surrender at Appomattox, the rise and fall of the Readjusters was completely unknown to anyone other than those involved. It is obscure, if not known. A deep interest in America's past.
For me, despite sitting so close to this history, the fact that the latest populist voices to come out of the Commonwealth of Nations have ultimately chosen to offer solace to those in trouble I can't help but think there's some irony in that. He compresses his neck with a boot and despises those who try to help lift his neck.
what i wrote
My Tuesday column was about the anti-democratic tendencies of the anti-abortion movement.
This is why the war over abortion rights is properly seen as a war on bodily autonomy, and why attacks on reproductive freedom go hand-in-hand with new attacks on gay, lesbian, and transgender communities. This is the reason. It's all part of the same tapestry of reactions. And this reactionary impulse extends not only to the ends of the anti-abortion political project but also to its means.
My Friday column was about Rudy Giuliani, past and present.
With their clear eyes, you can immediately tell that these two are your type. They share the same demagogic instincts, the same unbridled resentment, the same authoritarian ways — Giuliani tried to stop the 2001 mayoral election in order to stay in office beyond term limits. It's not for nothing that we're told – and the same thing is the willingness to indulge in racism and use it for one's own political ends.
Elsewhere, she joined her friend Amanda Smith on the Disaster Girls podcast to talk about the 2003 film The Core. And on the latest episode of the podcast with Jon Ganz, we discussed Dead Presidents, the 1995 crime thriller directed by the Hughes brothers.
Reading
Justin Chan talks about Christopher Nolan's “Oppenheimer'' with the Los Angeles Times. (I don't usually comment on content in this section of the newsletter, but I think this is the best of the movie.)
Colin Bradley talks about John Rawls' critique of capitalism in Aeon magazine.
Jane Who talks about the anti-Barbie.
Grace Lavery speaks about women and gender for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
David Scott talks about CLR James for Boston Review.
This week's photo
As I was cycling around town to kill time, I noticed an orange sofa against a bright green background. I took a photo and this is the result. I like that!
What I'm eating now: Rye flour brownie
I made these with my 5 year old on a Friday afternoon. The lessons of breaking eggs, learning addition, subtraction, and fractions were mostly successful. And as you can see from the photo above, it turned out beautifully. As always with brownies, be sure to use the highest quality chocolate and cocoa powder available. That makes a big difference. New York Times Cooking Recipes.
material
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11/156 grams unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, extra for greasing bread
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10 1/2 oz/300 grams bittersweet chocolate (60-70 percent cacao), chopped
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Whole grain rye flour 1 1/2 cups/200 grams
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Dutch unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup/50 grams
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1/2 teaspoon/3 grams baking powder
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1/5 tsp fine sea salt
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4 large eggs
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Granulated sugar 1 cup/200 grams
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light brown sugar 1 cup/200 grams
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Vanilla essence 1/15 ml tablespoon
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1/5 tsp flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, to sprinkle on top
direction
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Using a double boiler or placing a metal bowl over a saucepan with 1 inch of boiling water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water), melt the butter and chocolate and use a heatproof rubber spatula to melt the butter and chocolate. Stir. Let cool.
In a separate bowl, combine rye flour, cocoa, baking powder, and sea salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stir in melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in flour mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt and bake until brownies are almost set but slightly wobbly in the center, about 25 minutes.
Let cool completely and then cut into squares. Eat it with ice cream or, as I did, with a nice Petite Sirah.
