CleverPeople.com: Group Blogs: November 2025}

Trump's DOJ Wants Segregated Schools

Gary Wright II — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 11:39:18 -0500

The DOJ is fighting to have civil-rights era cases dismissed in an effort to segregate the schools again. They have claimed that racism no longer exists, and so those landmark cases are no longer necessary.

The Heritage Foundation wrote Project 2025, which the Trump administration has being using as their playbook. They have completely dismantled the Department of Education in an effort to turn the responsibility of schools back to the states. There's so many problems with that plan, not to mention the states can't afford it. Another huge problem is that many states aren't planning to offer the same civil rights protections to racial minorities and the disabled that were guaranteed by the federal government.

The Department of Justice is supposed to be fighting for those protections, but instead they're trying to remove them. The DOJ Civil Rights Division's new focus falls into three main areas: gun rights, religious freedom rights, and investigating the persecution of White people. The last two areas are closely related, because they are promoting Christian Nationalism, which is a racist and perverted interpretation of religion.

The latest DOJ legal moves have been focused on the State of Louisiana, where state officials have been trying to overturn those old civil rights cases. Instead of DOJ fighting to preserve the hard-earned protections, they are now fighting to remove them by claiming they are a federal intrusion into local school decisions. Dozens of those cases are still open or still have effective orders because the states have never fully accomplished de-segregation.

The DOJ lifted a 1966 order in Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish school district, and now they're trying to dismiss a 1965 case against the Concordia Parish school system in central Louisiana that was filed by Black families who were trying to gain access to the all-white school system.

Since the two (normally) opposing parties of the state and federal government are agreeing to have the case dismissed, that's usually what would have happened. Thankfully, Federal District Judge Dee Drell has rejected that idea. The judge wrote: “At the heart of this case is public policy and the protection of others, and the court has been tasked with ensuring the resolution of this matter in accordance with long established legal precedent." Judge Drell offered Concordia Parish a hearing to prove it has fully dismantled the state-sponsored racial segregation. On Tuesday, they appealed that order.

I can't believe that decades later, we are still having to re-fight these same battles. But here we are... Here's the court docket for Smith v. Concordia Parish (Case #1:65-cv-11577) that started in 1965 and is still ongoing:
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6105774/smith-v-concordia-parish/?order_by=desc

National Security Presidential Memo 7 Targets Activists

Gary Wright II — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:21:08 -0500

By Trump designating foreign anti-fascist groups in Germany, Italy and Greece as "foreign terrorist organizations" they are able to enhance the prison sentence and fines for anyone they allege supports them. They've created an "antifa" bogeyman that doesn't exist. Antifa isn't an organization in the US, and there are no leaders to target.

The only people that actually exist are the anti-Trump and LGBTQIA+ protesters who have been clearly targeted by the memorandum by claiming: "Common threads animating this violent conduct include anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality." That "traditional American views" phrase says a lot!

Under the umbrella of stopping "political violence" they create these broad definitions of groups that are open to interpretation. We've already seen arrests of people who committed no crime, but posted "concerning" things on social media that drew their attention so they claimed they had "suspected ties" to antifa. They are also targeting leftist organizations and their donors who are just exercising their First Amendment rights.

This memo not only mobilizes the police to target people, it uses the full force of the entire intelligence apparatus to investigate and prosecute voices of dissent. This memo takes us even further into the territory to having a fascist government ran by a mentally unwell authoritarian. We are all in danger!

Here's a link to the memo: Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence – The White House

Criminal Justice Reform - Moth to Flame Newsletter by Beth Shelburne

Gary Wright II — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 15:29:25 -0500

I'm attending the screening of "The Alabama Solution" on Saturday in Montgomery, and I already know it will be a life-altering experience. You can stream it on HBO Max.

If you are interested in criminal justice reform and the death penalty, I highly recommend subscribing (free or paid) to the "Moth to Flame" newsletter by Beth Shelburne. She has covered crime for over 20 years as a news reporter, and she continues writing about the state of our criminal justice system.

Beth's latest writing is about the mindset that everyone in prison is evil and "deserves whatever they get" while incarcerated. That mindset makes it difficult to acknowledge the horrible conditions in Alabama facilities (and I'm sure across the country). Our current Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is of that mindset, which is a big problem. We need prosecutors and AGs who enforce the law, but who are also compassionate and aware of the major causes of crime.

Here is Beth's latest newsletter:
https://bethshelburne.substack.com/p/do-the-crime-do-the-time

Gen Z Is Toppling Corrupt Governments

Gary Wright II — Sun, 16 Nov 2025 13:13:14 -0500

We've already seen Gen Z protesters topple two corrupt governments this year, and the young people are just getting started!

First, they toppled the corrupt government in Nepal. They forced the prime minister to resign, they dissolved their House of Representatives, and installed an interim government to oversee new elections. Then, in Madagascar they forced their president to flee the capital for trying to run for another term, and so the military took over an interim government. They've also held massive protests in Morocco, Peru, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, to take on issues like corruption, economic inequality, and political instability.

Today, the young people in Mexico have attacked the riot police and dismantled barricades surrounding the National Palace in Mexico City because of the cartel violence. They feel like many of their politicians are complicit in protecting the cartels that influence their local elections and governance through assassinations and violence.

And in the Philippines, there are hundreds of thousands of people protesting on the streets of Manila after it was revealed many of their elected officials stole the funds that were intended for flood control projects.

I hope we will see the young people in the US being inspired by the actions of their peers across the globe, and take to the streets to help us protest our corrupt government here. Gen Z has their future at stake, so my only question is "Who is next???" ✊
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Z_protests

How Can You Get Involved in Anti-Trump Resistance?

Gary Wright II — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:38:02 -0500

If you attended the No Kings protest, you should be receiving news alerts about ongoing resistance activities in your community and across the nation. Between the national protests, there are lots of local activities that you can be involved in, as well as other related activist groups who organize their own anti-Trump actions. If you didn't attend any of the first two nationwide protests, you can still join to participate in the upcoming No Kings 3.0 protest that is being organized, as well as their other upcoming events.

In Chicago, Portland, and other communities that are under attack by ICE, they are organizing groups to assemble and distribute ICE kits that contain whistles and multi-lingual Know Your Rights cards. You loudly blow the whistle with three short bursts if you see federal agents, and you loudly blow three long bursts if you see a detention or police action in progress. Keep blowing your whistle until a crowd shows up, and if you hear whistles being blown then you should find them and record what is going on. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a People Power group, offers legal assistance, and has lots of other important information for activists.

The Black Voters Matter Fund has lots of actions planned, including their We Ain't Buying It pledge campaign to use our economic power to force change by boycotting companies that don't support the community. Voting with your wallet is one way for all of us to make a difference, regardless of our financial resources. Grassroots organizations like the Black Voters Matter Fund, Indivisible, and Until Freedom organize local events, and they are urging shoppers to boycott companies who reneged under pressure from Trump on their promise of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts such as Target, Amazon, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, Ford, Wal-Mart, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Tesla. The goal is to support the retailers that have stood up to Trump, as well as the Black, minority, and immigrant-owned businesses, and all of the small and local businesses who support the community.

Blackout The System is a national movement across all races, cultures and classes to strategically and peacefully withdraw our labor and spending. They have planned a Mass Blackout for November 25th through December 2nd where participants will limit their spending by only using cash and supporting local businesses if you need to spend money. You can sign up for more upcoming events, as well as learn about divestment and mutual aid projects.

On Veterans Day, there are lots of anti-Trump protests organized in several major cities across the country. The "Vets Say No" protests are organized by the veterans group About Face, and May Day Strong, which is an anti-authoritarian movement. The "Vets Say No" protests are to say “no to ICE, no to occupation, no to fascism, and no to cuts stripping away life saving services our communities need.”

For separation of Church and State issues, I recommend joining Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Their motto is “Freedom Without Favor, Equality Without Exception” and they do great work! There's also the Southern Poverty Law Center who is great at racial justice issues. And there is the Equal Justice Initiative that has some must-see museums like their Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama. My visit to their Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park really was eye-opening and life-changing.

For LGBTQIA+ activism, I love working with groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, GLAAD, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays PFLAG, Lambda Legal, and the National LGBTQ Task Force, just to name a few. Many of these groups are organized at the local level in order to provide vital services for the community, and so it's easy to get involved.

For political activism, there are the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) who organize local events such as protests and mutual aid.

Regardless of your interests, you should be able to find several groups where you can get involved with local activism. All of the groups that I have mentioned support change through non-violent actions, so be sure to leave your weapons at home (even if they're legal), and commit to de-escalation with counter-protesters and authorities.

Did I leave out an organization that deserves to be listed? There are so many to choose from, but if you have suggestions and are a site member, please leave a comment below.