During the Civil War, there were essentially two wars being fought in tandem. One was to keep the United States united. And one was to liberate Black people from slavery. At the beginning, abolishing slavery seemed both impossible and, to many northerners including Lincoln, a really bad idea. But through the immense struggle and sacrifice of enslaved people and abolitionists, the course of the whole war was changed. The Combahee River raid played an important part in that process. There are timely parallels to today. Today, many who oppose Trump are hemmed in by ideas of what will keep this country together, when what we really need is a massive, unprecedented (and in these conditions, nonviolent) movement to defeat fascism.
- a contribution from Mark Tinkleman, a Refuse Fascism Podcast co-producer.
The Podcast has no episode this week. We’ll be back Sunday March 1.
