Ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, Errin sits down with Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s The Weeds podcast, for a vibe check. They unpack where economic policy is failing Black women, the fallacy of approaching politics like a game show, and how young Black voters are approaching this election with a different lens.
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On today’s episode
Our host
Errin Haines is The 19th’s editor-at-large and writer of The Amendment newsletter. An award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of experience, Errin was previously a national writer on race for the Associated Press. She’s also worked at the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post.
Follow Errin on Instagram @emarvelous and X @errinhaines.
Today’s guest
Jonquilyn Hill is the host of The Weeds, Vox’s podcast for politics and policy discussions. Prior to joining Vox she was a senior producer for WAMU and NPR’s 1A, where she was a member of the team that helped launch the show and produced segments on everything from Cardi B to the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. While at WAMU she also created and hosted Through The Cracks, a podcast that examined the systems in place that led to the disappearance of 8-year-old Relisha Rudd from a DC homeless shelter. Prior to that, she worked on NPR’s 2016 Elections Desk, NY1, and NBC’s Washington bureau.
Follow Jonquilyn on X @jonquilynhill.
Episode transcript
Errin:
I respect somebody that actually knows the lyrics to, “And Then What?” So I’m happy to be here with you.
Jonquilyn:
Listen. “And then what?”
Errin:
Where were the yams? Where were the yams, Jonquilyn, do you know?
Jonquilyn:
Not at their auntie’s houses. They’ve never taken the yams to the auntie’s house.
Errin:
Never.
Jonquilyn:
And that’s the problem. That’s the America I want, personally.
Errin:
Yes. The state of our union is not knowing the words. Okay, great.
Errin:
Hey, y’all. Welcome to The Amendment, a weekly conversation about gender, politics, and power from the 19th News and Wonder Media Network. I’m your host, Errin Haines. Just a reminder about why we’re here: Our democracy is still unfinished business. There are still way too many people who are unseen and unheard in our politics, and we wanna bring them into the conversation. And that’s what The Amendment is about. That’s who The Amendment is for. Anybody who has been marginalized in our democracy. Together, we are gonna get to a better understanding of why our democracy remains unfinished and what we can do about it.
Errin:
So it’s already March. Wow. Cannot believe that. And tomorrow is President Joe Biden’s last State of the Union before the general election. This is an opportunity for President Biden to make his case to America for why he should be given four more years in office. And it’s also a chance for Americans to get on the same page about where we are and where we’re going. That feels particularly important at a time like this, where it really feels like a lot of us are kind of living in entirely different realities — whether we’re talking about the economy, democracy, race, you name it. So ahead of the State of the Union, I wanted to have a conversation about our political realities as I see them. My own state of the union, if you will. What are the policies that we need to be paying attention to?
Errin:
What are the myths that we need to be busting? What are the voters actually gonna do in November? Hello. Let’s have some 2024 real talk. And to do that, I could not think of a better person to unpack all of this with than Jonquilyn Hill, host of Vox’s policy podcast, “The Weeds.” If you are not listening, you need to check it out because Jonquilyn has really made thinking about the realities of our politics and policy her bread and butter, and I’m so excited to get into all of that with her today. So, welcome, Jonquilyn.
Jonquilyn:
Hi. I am so happy to be here with you just chatting.
Errin:
That is exactly what we are about to do. Let’s just kick this off. Obviously the economy continues to be kind of the focus of political journalism conversations, polling, you know, for voters, whatever. But like, let’s actually talk about what that means. So, we’ve discussed the ways that it can feel like politicians and journalists are kind of living in this alternate reality, right? Especially when it comes to the economy. On “The Weeds,” you recently talked about writing economic fanfic, right? What are the alternate realities that folks are spinning about the economy right now?
Jonquilyn:
Yeah, so I think a lot of the complaints we’ve heard is about the vibe session. And a lot of our colleagues and a lot of politicians are saying, “I don’t get why people think the economy is bad.” Like, all the markers say it’s there, inflation has slowed. You know, the things that were hot have cooled down. Like we should be in a good place. But if you talk to the everyday person, people aren’t feeling that great. So there’s a real disconnect there. The economy is technically good, like there’s tons of money. Markets are overall performing well, but the policy that we’ve implemented in this country means that most of us aren’t really feeling it. And that’s what makes the difference. So, for instance, retirement: Most people don’t have saved what they need to for retirement. The cost of housing is exponential. Today was payday for me, and, uh, those checks, I just keep thinking “towards the next month.” Like, all right, that’s, that’s rent right there.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
Like, that’s what everything is going to. Child care. Oh my God. Child care is so expensive. So expensive.
Errin:
Yeah. Yeah. It’s hard out here even for, you know, rich aunties, like yours truly. I mean, kind of related to that though, on “The Weeds,” you just ran this series on Black women and policy. For those of you who haven’t heard it, Jonquilyn, talk to me about why you really felt compelled to do that series and, and where you think the political establishment just continues to fall short on focusing on Black women.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah, I think focusing this series on Black women, this year in particular, was really important. One: because Black women voters, like, we have a tendency to hold it down. Like, just very steadfast, very steady. And, you know, when Black women don’t show out, we get a lot of blame. And when we do show out, we get credit for like a day.
Errin:
When do we not show out again? When is that?
Jonquilyn:
Never.
Errin:
Okay, just checking.
Jonquilyn:
Exactly. And also, when I look at policy, the way that I judge if a policy is good or not is how it’s impacting those who are the most marginalized. And a lot of the time that’s Black women.
Errin:
Yes. That is the thing, right? When you actually do center issues that affect Black women, you improve the situation for everybody because Black women are usually at or near the bottom on “insert your issue here.”
Jonquilyn:
Exactly. It’s a sense of rising tides lifting all boats. Because if people are falling, you know, like through the cracks, if they’re not getting what they need, like to me, that’s evidence that the policies aren’t really working that well. And so in this series, we took three topics. You know, I love talking about what I call kitchen table topics, like things that impact you on your day-to-day life. So we talked about housing, and in this sense we talked about evictions because Black women get evicted at a higher rate, particularly Black women with children. And it has all these impacts, including health impacts. We talk about marriage, which, you know, a lot of people may not think as a policy issue, but it most certainly is a policy issue.
Errin:
Absolutely.
Jonquilyn:
‘Cause there are policies in place that are keeping people from getting married, especially now that marriage is more of a capstone event than a cornerstone event. It used to be that marriage was sort of the thing that kicked off adulthood. And now it’s thought of more as, “okay, I’ve done these things, I’ve checked these boxes, I’m ready to start a family.”
Errin:
Especially for us. Especially for us.
Jonquilyn:
Yes. And, you know, um, the scholar I talked to about it, Dianne M. Stewart, she talks about this idea called wealth spread. When Black people get money, you know, we’re paying our own bills, we’re doing things, but you know, we got a cousin in college, we got, like, mama’s mortgage. We have so many other things we’re paying for.
Errin:
Hello? Rich auntie checking in. Yes, absolutely.
Jonquilyn:
Listen…
Errin:
I love my niece, but yes, absolutely.
Jonquilyn:
Listen, rich auntie … the amount of dinosaur toys I bought this Christmas, that baby just looked at me and said, “That’s a velociraptor.” And now I’m like, “Alright, you gotta own all the dinosaurs,” right?
Errin:
Yes, yes. Back to swiping that debit card all day long.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah, it’s like, I gotta make the children happy.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
And then our final one, I told a little bit of a personal story. Um, I recently had my fibroids removed. I had them removed back in December. And, you know, we don’t know what causes fibroids. About 77% of people with uteruses will get them in their lifetime. Black women are more likely to be diagnosed, more likely to be diagnosed younger. I was only 25 when I was diagnosed. We don’t know what causes them. It could be stress. I joke that the 2016 election gave me fibroids. It really didn’t. But we don’t know. So it could…
Errin:
You don’t know that it didn’t! I mean, you don’t know exactly. You don’t know that.
Jonquilyn:
Exactly, exactly.
Errin:
No, but, I mean, I love the way that you’re framing that and, and, yes, Black women dealing with their fibroids, shout out to you. I did that myself, uh, about 10 years ago. It is really life changing. So I will absolutely say congratulations to you for…
Jonquilyn:
Thank you
Errin:
…for getting your health back. And, for anybody who’s listening, who’s even thinking about that, I really appreciate you sharing your story on social media. I did see that, and I thought to myself, “Oh, thank God. Another Black woman who is no longer gonna be suffering needlessly.”
Jonquilyn:
Mm-Hmm.
Errin:
Because there are so many of us who still are. But, I mean, you’re right: Health care is an economic issue. Marriage is an economic issue. And really just the way that you unpack that really does get at kind of that horse race poll question, you know, “How is the economy working for you?” And when somebody says “It’s not working,” we need to understand exactly what that means. And so hearing what that means from Black women feels certainly very urgent and important and could definitely factor into this election. And it’s a message that I think, you know, all the candidates need to hear at this point.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah. And it’s so interesting because whenever people talk about the vibe session, I can like see and hear the eye-rolling where it’s just like, “Oh, we’re tired of talking about it. This isn’t true.” Like the economy’s fine, but you can’t ignore people’s lived experiences
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
And lived reality. Like, you can show me as many numbers as you want, but at the end of the day, I’m the one who has to open up my pocketbook.
Errin:
I mean, you can’t just dismiss all of it as vibes, right? Like some of it is real life for people. So just in terms of how this State of the Union could shape up, what economic policies do you think that President Biden should be talking about at [the] State of the Union?
Jonquilyn:
Well, the thing about the State of the Union is his number one job is going to be to not look old, which is hard because, you know, he is old. Both the front runners are old. And so he’s really gonna have to make that appeal to young voters. I think student loans, that’s gonna be a big one. And I know, you know, it’s DOA, we have that ruling from the Supreme Court, but student loans are gonna be a big one.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
Child care in particular is gonna be a big one. I don’t know if we’ll hear about this, but parental leave. Like that should be something, you know, that’s in the discussion, but it’s just not right now.
Errin:
Yeah. I mean, I totally agree with you. And all those issues, by the way, are tied to what we tend to think of when we think about really those cornerstones of American life and American democracy, right? Like he’s running on democracy. What does it mean to have a healthy democracy? I think child care is part of that equation. You know, being able to have access to an education is part of that conversation. Being able to have a parental leave policy that allows you to participate in the workforce, but also to have a family life — that is part of what makes a healthy democracy. And so I think that it is important that those things don’t get lost, even in kind of the performative nature of where we are right now with so much focus on his age.
Errin:
I don’t want folks to lose sight of the actual governing. That is not always something that happens in public every day for people to see. What they see is, you know, him out there every day, and so that does draw attention to the reality that he is 81 years old. But you can be 81 and still get stuff done, which, you know, I think is the case that he is certainly trying to make to folks. So what happens if he kind of doesn’t talk about some of these things that you raise? I would think that, you know, certain people are not gonna feel seen, uh, in this State of the Union. They’re gonna wonder, “Where am I in this vision of America that you have?”
Jonquilyn:
Yeah. I think what he doesn’t talk about will really highlight what voting blocks he’s taking for granted.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
I definitely think, you know, what he’s saying will be important, but what he’s not saying will be important. And, you know, after the fact, they could make the case of like, “Well, we have these policies. It just wasn’t mentioned.” Like, “There’s only so much time,” et cetera, et cetera. But if you are making the case to Americans, I mean, yes, this is the State of the Union, but it’s also a little bit of a campaign speech, and you’re gonna have to appeal to everybody. And, you know, if you ignore women, if you ignore people of color, if you ignore young people — people who have traditionally tended to be more likely to vote democratic — it’s gonna say like, “Hey, are you taking these votes for granted?” Like, “Do you think you’re just going to automatically get our vote?” And maybe not even “get our vote,” but like, do you really think everyone’s gonna vote at the top of the ballot if they’re unhappy? Do you really think people are gonna show up if they’re unhappy? So that’s gonna be something to keep an eye on.
Errin:
Yeah. I mean, if people don’t feel like he’s gonna govern with them in mind, right, then that does impact, you know, whether or not they are gonna get off the couch and head to the polls, right? Which is so much of what we are also discussing in this moment.
Errin:
I think you make such a good point about how many boxes he has to check, right? Because it is an election year. Whatever he may think are his priorities in a speech like this are not as important as what we know are the priorities of the voters. So with that said, let’s talk more about voters and really the new emerging small-d democratic majority that is making up our electorate. So polls show that President Biden is losing ground among Black, Hispanic, youth voters. What do you think is spurring that turnoff?
Jonquilyn:
I think it goes back to this idea of being taken for granted.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
I also think, you know, 2020 was a very unique year for a lot of different reasons. Like we were all inside because of the panoramic, you know?
Errin:
Yes.
Jonquilyn:
We saw uprisings that were allegedly going to turn into reckonings that did not. I think that’s a factor too. The reckoning that wasn’t — especially for Black voters, young Black voters, that’s definitely a factor. And so trying to, you know, repeat that again in 2024, where there’s just a different set of circumstances, is going to be hard. I think a lot of that turnout we saw was, you know … it wasn’t necessarily votes for Biden, but votes against Trump. And, you know, we may see that again this year because it’s looking like it’s going to be the same matchup. But, who can say for certain? And, especially, it was different at the time because Trump was in office, so people, you know, would see him on TV all the time. People would … people saw him a lot more. People who weren’t stans saw him a lot more. And you know, we’ve … the media in general has kind of changed the ways that we’ve covered Trump. Like I remember when it’d be nothing to turn on cable news and just see like a rally from start to finish — no editing, no cutting in, no fact-check. People aren’t doing that anymore. So for those voters who are turned off by Trump, they’re not seeing him.
Errin:
To your point though, does the anti-Trump mobilizing force work if we don’t see Trump all the time?
Jonquilyn:
I mean, yes and no. Like when he is not in your face and selling you, you know … now he got shoes. I’m like, “Not this Nike drop!”
Errin:
Yes, yes.
Jonquilyn:
Not this StockX moment we’re having. So there are moments like that. But I think the way that Biden may play this is putting Trump’s policies up to vote. Like, you know, policy is not necessarily sexy, but there are instances where there have just been policies enacted that Democratic voters are just not in favor of. I think of abortion. The Biden campaign is going to make sure that abortion is on the ballot this year in November.
Errin:
Front and center.
Jonquilyn:
I mean, look at the guests that they’ve invited to the State of the Union. They’ve invited Brittany Watts, who was, the woman in Ohio who had a miscarriage and was, prosecuted for it. There’s Kate Cox, who had to leave the state of Texas to get her pregnancy — her non-viable pregnancy — terminated. Like they are going to take moments like that and really try to put them center stage in the run up to November.
Errin:
Yeah. Who’s in that box is always a tell, you know. You wonder if maybe even somebody who’s gotten their student loans taken care of…
Jonquilyn:
Mm-Hmm.
Errin:
…would be somebody that they would put in that box. Um, those are definitely tells in terms of cues that we can look for about, you know, what the administration’s priorities might be headed into the rest of this election. So you do have this dominant narrative that Biden needs to find this more compelling economic message. But what does that mean in terms of younger voters? Is that even the thing that really matters to them? And I say that with the caveat that there’s no such thing as a single issue voter, people.
Jonquilyn:
I think, for especially a lot of younger people, the economic piece, it’s gonna be student loans, it’s gonna be housing — you know, we don’t have a lot of housing, interest rates are high — to cool down that economy. There’s a lot of people saying, “Hey, will I ever own a home?” And I will admit that, you know, the Biden administration is in a tough spot, particularly when it comes to student loans because, you know, we did have this move to have them forgiven. And then, you know, that was overturned by the Supreme Court. So it is this question of like, “Dang, like what can I do?” But I don’t know, they’re gonna have to figure it out.
Errin:
Yeah. They are gonna have to figure it out because this is a moment — especially kind of on the other side of this reckoning — where you had young people saying, you know, “Incremental change really is not working for me.”
Jonquilyn:
Mm-Hmm.
Errin:
Right. And where they see their vote as a moral statement as much as it is a political one.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah. I think a major factor is, you know — and especially, I think, of like young Black voters in particular —
Errin:
Mm-Hmm.
Jonquilyn:
Black voters … We have a reputation well-earned, I think, of being very pragmatic. Um, people don’t always like to give Black voters that credit, but Black voters are very pragmatic. They think, “Okay, what can I do to get the results that I want?” And I think in 2020 we saw a lot of Black voters saying, “Okay, I don’t like the admin — the Trump administration. How do I mitigate this harm?” And that is by picking the most electable person. And the most electable person — in the views of a lot of Black voters, right or wrong. And, I think, a lot of times, right — is like, “Okay, we need an older White man to do this. That is who America will accept. This is the person closest in line with us. Let’s do this.” I think young Black voters are just as pragmatic as their parents and grandparents, but they want different results. And they’ve just seen it done a different way. They’re saying like, “Okay, I’m gonna withhold, I’m gonna disrupt. I need a complete overhaul, and making these people uncomfortable is what’s gonna get me the overhaul that I want.”
Errin:
Yeah. I can’t believe that you brought up the P word, Jonquilyn — pragmatic — because that was something that I said so much in 2020, especially in terms of Black voters. And, you know, people acted like that was a bad word, you know, that voters get to be pragmatic. But I think that kind of gets at this idea: Nobody seems to be super excited about Biden or Trump. We know that, right? But maybe that’s not the point. I mean, I like to remind people an election is not a marriage, right? It’s not your wedding day. It’s more like a one night stand.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah.
Errin:
Okay? But we talk about, you know, voter enthusiasm where I think a lot of voters actually are a lot more pragmatic. So like, where does this idea come from that people need to be excited about the candidate they cast their vote for? I mean, I think probably, you know, in our recent, uh, elections, you know, people were obviously super excited about President Obama, and then you did have people that were super excited about President Trump. And so then that … creates kind of this idea that you have to be in love with the person that you cast your ballot for. I have voted in several presidential elections. Love is not what I’m thinking about when I’m standing in that ballot box.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah. I think, you know, what’s that adage that they used to say? Like, um, “Democrats fall in love and Republicans fall in line.” I feel like that’s flipped. I think 2016 really flipped that. You know, we did an episode a while ago about “what stan culture tells us about politics.” Like people stan their politicians now and that makes for an interesting situation. And so, I think, because people are just so used to stanning, they have to sort of get out of this idea of like, “Oh, I need to be obsessed, kind of, with the person I’m voting for.” Because here’s the thing, especially with politics: There is never going to be someone that you 100% align with. And also, I mean, if you are a person who has critiques of the system and doesn’t like the way the system is run, like, voting for a person who is working within that system is going to leave you unhappy.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
Like that’s just the fact of the matter.
Errin:
Once upon a time, we thought about voting as a responsibility. But now, voting is like this reality show, right? We’re approaching our politics like we approach “The Bachelorette” or “American Idol” or something. And it’s like, “No, these candidates, sadly, are not necessarily as exciting as, you know, Clay Aiken.”
Jonquilyn:
Yeah.
Errin:
Wait, wow. I’m dating myself. [I] Don’t watch American Idol anymore, you guys. Obviously, you have figured that out. But, I mean, there’s also like, just the idea, to your point, that voters are motivated by their own interests or issues and not even an individual, right? There’s that kind of voter enthusiasm that I don’t think that we talk about.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah, I think that’s a good point. Like people are more…and I think we’re seeing more and more issue motivation. I point to abortion.
Errin:
Yes, exactly
Jonquilyn:
…As a huge, huge example of issue motivation. And, honestly, I think we’re gonna see the Israel-Hamas war as a major motivation come 2024, come November — depending on how that tends to play out over the next few months.
Errin:
Yeah. And motivation in terms of even whether somebody decides to come out or stay home.
Jonquilyn:
Exactly.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
And so I get … I understand why people also bristle at the idea of staying home. Like, my mom’s family is from Dallas County, Alabama, so that means Selma was the big city for my grandma and grandpa growing up, which, you know, that’s very country and I love it.
Errin:
Yeah.
Jonquilyn:
I love every bit of it. And so when the Voting Rights Act passed, that was the first time that my mother’s grandparents were able to legally vote and it was a big deal. They sent my grandparents who were up living up in Seattle a telegram about it. It was so exciting. And because of that, there’s just always sort of been this, um, conversation in my family about the importance of voting. And so I do understand, especially older Black folks, kind of bristling at the idea of not voting, but I also think of that as: it’s symbolic of the political power that Black people now have, where whether we go to the polls or stay home can now make or break a candidate in a country where we initially were not considered fully human beings.
Errin:
Yeah. You make such a good point about, kind of, the shift and the mentality of younger Black voters in particular. Because I do see, especially with a lot of the organizers that I talk to that are trying to kind of shore up young Black voters or even first time voters — whether it’s a young person or somebody who just really has not participated in our politics recently or regularly. Like, that argument is: This is not about any one candidate or, you know, somebody who is trying to get elected in their power, but instead it is about that voter’s power and the power that they have to make change, to weigh in, to make their voice heard. And it feels like we are in a moment where the voters are needing to be reminded that they absolutely do still have power, right? I mean, these politicians, in theory, these politicians work for the people. It’s not really supposed to be, you know, the other way around.
Jonquilyn:
The cynic in me thinks that politicians have forgotten that.
Errin:
And elections are a chance to remind them of that.
Jonquilyn:
Mm-Hmm.
Errin:
Okay. So we have obviously had our State of the Union here together. Uh, let’s turn back to President Biden. Given everything that we’ve talked about, uh, what are you thinking tha President Biden is gonna say tomorrow? And how much do you anticipate this speech really being in contrast to Trump? Or is this his chance to really focus on himself, his agenda and the positive vision that he wants to present for the country?
Jonquilyn:
I think that he’s primarily going to focus on himself. I think he will play it overall pretty safe. He will not wanna make any gaffes, no slip-ups, no misspeaks. That’s gonna be really important to him and his campaign. I think if Trump does come up, it’ll be, you know, maybe once — not by name, just like a slight dig. I imagine it’s going to be a measured campaign speech that lays out probably his agenda should he win in November.
Errin:
Well, I know that we’ll be tuned in. If those of you out there are gonna be tuning in, let us know what you think. We are certainly curious to know how you are thinking about the State of the Union, and hopefully we have helped unpack some of the vibes with the real talk that is what this election is actually about between now and November. I know I will be talking to you more, Jonquilyn, but thank you so much for coming to hang out with me to talk about all this today.
Jonquilyn:
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Errin:
Okay, so my 19th hive knows this already, but in case you are new to the 19th or The Amendment, we have an asterisk in our logo. And that asterisk is there to signify the fact that while the 19th Amendment granted some — but not all — women the right to vote, that was really not the whole story. So the asterisk really reminds us that our work is far from finished in this democracy. And so that is the journey that we’re on. Thank you for being on this journey with me. And so to end each show, I’m gonna give you my asterisk on the news. So, uh, with that: We’ve been talking about the State of the Union. The State of the Union is gonna happen tomorrow, which is also the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Just by way of background: On March 7th, 1965, you had hundreds of people, most of them Black Americans, gather at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
Errin:
That was supposed to be the start of this march to the state capitol in Montgomery to fight for voting rights. But when they tried to cross the bridge, they were met with violence from state troopers who really beat and trampled them — really, some of them, within inches of their life. And that moment, which was, um, captured on video and broadcast to millions of Americans across the country, ended up being this turning point in the Civil Rights movement and a real catalyst for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is one of the seminal pieces of legislation in our country’s march to a freer, fairer and more equal democracy. So even though the timing of this speech may be a coincidence — I mean, I certainly don’t think that speaker Mike Johnson had that anniversary in mind when he sent the invitation for this date to President Biden — you know, this is a consequential election year where democracy is literally on the ballot. So I think this timing does present an opportunity for President Biden. He’s somebody who campaigned in 2020 saying that that, you know, race was a battle for the soul of America. In 2024, he’s positioning himself as like this champion and protector of democracy. So I’m not sure whether or not President Biden plans to address the anniversary, but I really can’t imagine him ignoring it and ignoring this moment, not taking advantage of this moment. He’s gonna be addressing a Congress that failed to shore up the Voting Rights Act, which has been gutted over the past decade. He’s going to be standing in a building that was literally the site of an insurrection that was sparked by false claims of a rigged election. So the symbolism is gonna be very thick in the room.
Errin:
But what about the substance? You know, to our conversation earlier, could there even be somebody in the State of the Union, in that guest box, who was maybe one of those foot soldiers, you know, from Bloody Sunday? That would certainly send a really clear message. In the years since, like Jonquilyn and I were just talking about, Bloody Sunday has been a rallying craft for millions of Black Americans. This is also the first presidential election since we lost Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who was a young civil rights leader who was in Alabama. He nearly died on that bridge in Selma. So I’m really thinking about what this moment is gonna mean for voters this year, whether it’s gonna be a reminder of the stakes of this election, the fragility of our democracy and really our obligation to defend democracy with each generation.
Errin:
So, to me, the State of the Union feels like not just this moment with this anniversary to reflect, but really to respond and to reject the politics of voter suppression and to truly reach for the representative democracy that people like John Lewis risked their lives for on that day. So that’s my asterisk for this week, and that is this week’s episode of The Amendment, which is also a newsletter, by the way, that I write. You can subscribe to it for free by going to 19thnews.org. And that’s also where you can find all of our great journalism around gender, politics, and policy.
Are you headed to South by Southwest Edu or South by Southwest this week? I’ll be there, too, for The Amendment’s first ever live show! So come through the podcast stage at 10:00 AM on March 7th to see me and a special guest.
For the 19th and Wonder Media Network. I’m Errin Haines. Talk to you again next week!
The Amendment is a co-production of the 19th News and Wonder Media Network. It is executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, Terri Rupar, and Faith Smith. Our head of development is Emily Rudder. Julia B. Chan is the 19th editor in chief. The amendment is edited by Jenny Kaplan, Grace Lynch, and Emily Rudder, and was produced by Adesuwa Agbonile, Grace Lynch, Brittany Martinez and Taylor Williamson with production assistance from Luci Jones, artwork by Aria Goodman. Our theme music was composed by JLin. I love my theme music.
