Dear John,

Happy New Year, friends. After a restful break, this has been a horrific and hopeful week.  

As many of you know, part of the reason we started the News Digest in 2017 was to help each other make meaning of Trumpism and white nationalism, wrestle with the news, and uplift a thriving, multi-racial, people-centered democracy that’s being born.

Yesterday’s attack on our U.S. Capitol by right-wing militants was an attack on all of us. It is the failed, violent coup attempt the progressive movement has anticipated for months. Being mentally prepared does not lessen the shock. It does not cushion the trauma of watching police allow a violent, white mob to breach the U.S. Capitol, after brutalizing Black and brown protestors this summer. We have said this countless times: white supremacy – rooted in racism, sexism, antisemitism, xenophobia, and bigotry of all kinds – hurts all of us. The collective grief is palpable.

If you haven’t done this for a few days, breathe now. In and out. Relax your body. Our bodies hold the pain and shock. We want to affirm that however you’re feeling – rage, sadness, numbness, excitement – all of it is right.

People are the insurance policy of our democracy. We hold the line, and we decide the future. This looks like removing Trump from office and holding complicit officials to account. It also means choosing to celebrate the organizing led by Black women and multiracial coalitions in Georgia that delivered the U.S. Senate. Feel it all, but do not lose hope.

Giving birth can feel like death. Extrication – the process of cleaning house – can look like the biggest mess in the middle of it. The important thing is to keep going. 

We decide if better days are in front of us. Do something that brings you joy this weekend. Let us know how you’re doing. We’re with you.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week: 

1. Impeachment

Democrats are moving forward. See the latest. Members of Minnesota’s Republican Congressional Delegation must resign and be held to account. Listen here.

2. Georgia

The reproductive justice framework was essential to Senate wins in Georgia. Read about it in the New Republic. 

3. D.C. Police

Police responses to the attempted coup in D.C. were drastically different from what Black, Somali, and Muslim organizers and activists in Minnesota have experienced. Hear from them. 

4. Insurrection

White supremacy is part of this country. For Black people, this isn’t new. Read and learn. 

5. U.S. History

Understanding our country’s history is essential to building a just future. Read this from The Cut. 

6. #StopLine3

We deserve a future with clean water. We must stop Line 3. See this powerful article from Winona LaDuke in The Nation.

7. Basic Income

This is the year for guaranteed income. Read about the movement for Universal Basic Income in the U.S.

8. The South

Along with a huge coalition of community and political organizations, Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff made history. Celebrate.   

9. Bridgerton

Did you watch it? Love it or hate it? Let us know. Here’s the trailer for the new Netflix show getting buzz.

10. TikTok

That’s a wrap. Seriously, let us know how you’re doing.

--Kenza Hadj-Moussa & LyLy Vang-Yang