As another election season draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a familiar refrain — one that has grown all too weary with age. It is the lamentation of the allegedly apathetic African American male, a narrative that persists in depicting my brothers as disengaged and disinterested in shaping our collective future.
As a minister, a professor and a proud, 28-year member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, I am here to tell you that this stereotype is as damaging as it is inaccurate. It is a misrepresentation that not only erases the fundamental contributions of Black men but also absolves our broader society of its responsibility to dismantle the systemic barriers that hinder true equality.
I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of justice, to the empowerment of marginalized communities and to the fostering of difficult yet necessary dialogues around race and inequity. Through it all, I have consistently found my brothers, my fellow Alphas, standing shoulder to shoulder with me on the frontlines of change.
Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans, was founded on a bedrock of service, scholarship and social justice. From our inception on Dec. 4, 1906, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, we have understood that the fight for true equality demands more than sporadic outrage; it requires strategic mobilization, institutional building and an unwavering commitment to the uplift of our people.
Our legacy is one of transformational leadership. Alphas have left an indelible mark on American society, includingMartin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes to name a chosen few. These men, and countless others like them, didn't simply bemoan the challenges of their time; they actively organized, advocated and broke down barriers, often at significant personal cost.
Today, that legacy endures. Through our "A Voteless People is a Powerless People" campaign, Alphas has worked tirelessly to educate, register and mobilize Black voters nationwide. We recognize that true power lies not merely in protest but in the ability to shape policy, hold elected officials accountable and ensure our voices are heard in the halls of power. Beyond the political realm, our "Go to High School, Go to College" initiative has inspired generations of young Black and Brown boys to pursue academic excellence and understand education as a liberating force. Through mentorship programs, scholarships and community outreach, we are helping to cultivate a new generation of leaders — men who understand their potential and their responsibility to uplift their brothers and their communities.
Yet, despite this rich history and ongoing commitment to service, the stereotype of the apathetic Black man persists. African American men have always understood the stakes of our struggle. We've always known that freedom is not a destination but a journey that demands constant vigilance, strategic action, and an unwavering belief in our inherent worth and dignity, even in the face of systemic racism and discrimination.
Along with 10,000 men worldwide, I’m pleased to model a brand of leadership that is not merely reactive but proactive — that understands the power of collective action, the importance of institution-building and the enduring value of service to others. So, America, let's move beyond the tired stereotypes and lazy narratives. I invite you to recognize African American men's accurate and abiding contributions, not just as occasional voters but as steadfast leaders, organizers and change-makers.
In celebration of the fraternity's founding by our Seven Jewels — Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle and Vertner Woodson Tandy — we celebrate their legacy and all who've come before us. Together, we wholeheartedly commit to inspiring a new generation to embrace the challenge and the privilege of leadership in their communities and world. Remembering the most accurate measure of a people is its ability to survive, thrive, transform and leave the world better than it found it. Such is the Alpha way:
“First of All, Servants of All, We shall transcend All.”
Johnson is a United Methodist pastor, the author of "Holding Up Your Corner: Talking About Race in Your Community" and program director for the Bridge Alliance, which houses The Fulcrum.
Ben Droz
Ben Droz
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska.
The President Invited Iran to Bomb My Home
I was driving home to San Diego from Los Angeles on Monday night when I heard that the President of the United States had offered both cities up to Iran as bomb targets. At a rally in Nebraska, defending his war, Trump told the crowd, “let [Iran] take out Los Angeles, let ‘em take out San Diego.” It was, he said, “a very small price to pay.”
I was coming from a Bernie Sanders rally for Proposition 40, the one-time tax on California billionaires that would send 90% of its revenue to healthcare. We desperately need it to pass because, in order to give tax breaks to billionaires, Trump signed a law that will strip health coverage from 10 million Americans; this tax will make sure we can still cover Californians. Call me crazy, but I think taxing billionaires one time so we can make sure kids in California get to see a doctor is a very small price to pay. I also think that even if Trump were joking, it is indefensible to make jokes about the potential destruction of so many lives. Human life is never a small price to pay. Human life is priceless.
Plus, the reality is: here in San Diego, we’re already paying the price for Trump’s actions, and it’s not small at all. He has gutted FEMA, tried to kill climate resiliency programs, and destroyed public health standards, while his signature law is set to cut off health insurance and food support for hundreds of thousands of San Diegans. Like plenty of American cities, San Diego is already busy finding local solutions to respond to the problems this president has recklessly created.
Not to mention, at least 19 American service members have been killed in this war already. Human rights monitors have documented more than 3,600 dead in Iran by April alone. Here at home, gas is sitting just pennies below its all-time record. Taxpayers have already spent more than $45 billion on the war, while Trump’s oil and gas portfolio has grown by roughly $15.5 million this year alone. Of course anything is a “small price” to someone paying free.99 for this war, and profiting from it. Meanwhile, We the People are paying twice: first for the war, and then for the consequences of that war. But now he wants San Diego to pay a third time, flippantly offering us up to Iran.
It is worth noticing which cities he thought to name. Were San Diego and Los Angeles strategically chosen to signify something to his audience, or were they simply the first cities that came to mind as expendable places? Either way, the effect is to normalize—-and to gauge a crowd’s reaction to–the idea of massive violence in major California cities, suitable targets because of their perceived liberal lean. So what if Iran needs to bomb a little bit of America before the war can be over? Who cares, says Trump, if they target Los Angeles and San Diego?
By the way, why didn’t he offer up San Francisco, the free-love hippie-town MAGA loves to hate (and also my birthplace)? Could it be because that’s where the tech titans live? The same ones who joined Trump for Xi Jinping’s state dinner, a guest list worth a combined $2.4 trillion?
San Diego may have fewer billionaires, but it is home to more than 115,000 active-duty service members and 230,000 veterans. One in six active-duty sailors–in the entire Navy–is stationed here. So is one in four Marines. You cannot throw a rock in this county without hitting a military family: brats and spouses and veterans are among us. I got out of the Navy last year after ten years, and eight of those were here in San Diego. When Trump says “let ‘em take out San Diego,” he’s talking about the backbone of the United States military. He’s also talking about the people fighting his war.
San Diego has not been watching this war from the sidelines. Today, the USS Abraham Lincoln returns to North Island after an almost yearlong deployment to the Middle East that featured food shortages, broken toilets, and mold in the showers after 286 days at sea without a single port call. Eight sailors in the Lincoln’s strike group attempted suicide, but in August, when a reporter asked whether the deployment had gone on too long, Trump said “not nearly long enough.” Now he has told a crowd in Nebraska that we should let Iran take out the city those sailors call home. These are sociopathic sentiments.
Last week at Quantico, Pete Hegseth closed his address to the force by telling them, “President Trump has your back and so do I.” To the contrary, President Trump has put one of the biggest military towns in the country forward as a target for our adversaries. With friends like these, the “domestic” in “against all enemies, foreign and domestic” starts to sound a lot less hypothetical.
San Diego is home to Naval Air Station North Island, Naval Base San Diego, Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, the Point Loma submarine base, Camp Pendleton, and Miramar (and I have been permanently stationed at or trained at all of them). If Iran bombed San Diego and Los Angeles, aside from the devastating loss of life, it would cripple an immense share of our national security readiness.
And for what, exactly? Trump says the war is “essentially almost over with.” This is the same man who claimed in June 2025 that Iran’s nuclear program had been “obliterated,” then launched a war over it anyway on February 28. More than seven months later, he wants us to believe two things at once: that we’ve basically won, and that we might need to sacrifice an American city or two to finish winning. If the war is almost over, why does anybody need to take out San Diego?
I wonder if Trump’s endorsed candidate for California’s 48th District here in San Diego County will respond to these remarks. He recently said “no pain, no gain,” when referring to the gas prices San Diegans are paying. Jim Desmond, would you apply that same mindset if we were bombed? Or do you have the moral courage to stand up for the people you’re running to represent?
Last November, six Democratic members of Congress, all veterans, including Senator Mark Kelly, recorded a video reminding troops of their duty to disobey unlawful orders, restating the law that says so. Trump called it “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” and then his Justice Department went looking for an indictment, which a grand jury refused. The president treated reading the law out loud to the troops as a capital offense, but then he himself invited a foreign enemy to destroy two American cities, possibly as a punchline. Is anyone calling the latter sedition? Who is demanding accountability?
Calling our lives a small price to pay affirms a moral bankruptcy, as well as an obvious dereliction of duty to the office he holds. While we can’t impeach him or invoke the 25th Amendment ourselves, we must stop being so quiet about what we’re paying already. We can make our voices heard by calling our representatives, writing op-eds, knocking doors, phone banking, and voting in defiance of the man who threatens the safety of our city. Ballots are already arriving in mailboxes. Vote, and vote yes on 40 (and no on 41 and 42).
Trump has been harming our cities for a while, but now he is inviting our military adversaries to join him in the harm. If we have any self-respect as Americans, we must not tolerate our leaders disregarding the dignity of lives in this way. We must fight for our home.
Julie Roland was a Naval Officer for ten years, deploying to both the South China Sea and the Persian Gulf as a helicopter pilot before separating in June 2025 as a Lieutenant Commander. She has a law degree from the University of San Diego, a Master of Laws from Columbia University, and is a member of the Truman National Security Project.