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Medicare Health Insurance Card. Social Security Card with Stethoscope and pen

Trump’s plan for Social Security risks undermining its future

A fictional, fanciful sign depicts the results of voter suppression through the unfair, partisan manipulation of district lines (gerrymandering).

The worst congressional gerrymanders of the 2020s

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

Four men talking

A president, not a king

Podcast: Is America in a third reconstruction?

Podcast: Is America in a third reconstruction?
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 10, 2023
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Peniel E. Joseph, author of The Third Reconstruction: America's Struggle for Racial Justice in the 21st Century, joins this episode of Democracy Works to discuss how the era from Barack Obama's election to George Floyd's murder compare to the post-Civil War Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.

Joseph argues that racial reckoning that unfolded in 2020 marked the climax of a Third Reconstruction: a new struggle for citizenship and dignity for Black Americans, just as momentous as the movements that arose after the Civil War and during the civil rights era. However, Chris Beem and Candis Watts Smith are not so sure he's right about that conclusion.

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Supreme Court
Rule of Law

Is the rule of law in trouble? If so, judges could be the problem.

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Open For Business: The U.S. Government
photo of Capital Hill, Washington, D.C.
Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash

Open For Business: The U.S. Government

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to the impending government shutdown deadline, the Senate swiftly passed a bipartisan plan early Saturday. This plan is designed to fund federal operations and provide disaster aid temporarily.

“Tonight, the Senate delivers more good news for America. There will be no government shutdown right before Christmas,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor ahead of final passage.

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Hugo Balta

The Fulcrum's new executive editor: Hugo Balta

As co-publishers of The Fulcrum, we are proud to announce that, effective Jan. 1, Hugo Balta, The Fulcrum’s director of solutions journalism and DEI initiatives, will serve as executive editor.

Hugo is an award-winning, 30-year multimedia journalism veteran with multiple market and platform experience, including leadership positions in NBC, Telemundo, ABC, CBS, and PBS, among other storied news networks. A nationally recognized diversity in journalism advocate, he is the recipient of the 2024 Cecilia Vaisman Award from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Hugo is the only person to serve twice as president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Hugo and his family live in Chicago.

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Cell phone showing logos of Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsfot
Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Big Tech is suppressing industrial liberty

This is the second entry in “Big Tech and Democracy,” a series designed to assist American citizens in understanding the impact technology is having — and will have — on our democracy. The series explores the benefits and risks that lie ahead and offers possible solutions.

Industrial liberty — once a cornerstone of American antitrust policy — has faded into obscurity in the shadow of Big Tech’s overwhelming dominance. In short, industrial liberty refers to your ability to use and benefit from your skills, your knowledge and your passion. It manifests as entrepreneurs and small-business owners, through patents and innovations, and as everyday folks finding good work every day. This erosion of this specific sort of liberty not only undermines the principles of competition but also stifles the aspirational spirit that has for so long distinguished the American public.

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The words "Diversity Equity Inclusion"
Dzmitry Dzemidovich/Getty Images

The potential false dichotomy of rethinking DEI

The notion that we can "rethink" DEI reflects a dangerous oversimplification of deeply rooted historical and social issues. This intellectual approach, while well-intentioned, often needs to be revised and is potentially harmful to those who have experienced the real-world consequences of systemic inequities.

Meaningful change requires more than mere philosophical reconsideration or academic debate — it demands concrete action, institutional reform and a genuine willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. Actual progress necessitates critical thinking, practical applications and sustained commitment to transformative action at both individual and societal levels.

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