I took Labor Day off, but one reminder has been ringing all week: the oligarchy is ascendant. A White House meeting with the tech titans is either happening or just happened, minus Elon. Either way, the larger picture is clear. We now have billionaires openly driving policy. They don’t know how to stretch a dollar. They do not live on a budget. Yet they are deciding the direction of your health, safety, food, water, and climate. That is a problem.
But workers still have power. We can pool resources and direct them with intention. I continue to believe it is time for a cross-movement economic show of force. I am calling for a coalition conversation among the major civil rights and human rights organizations, LGBTQIA groups, Latino leaders, Black leaders, Asian leaders, and disability rights leaders. There is room to honor differences and still act on shared interests. Nationwide strikes. Nationwide withholding of funds. Coordinated, lawful, strategic action.
Breaking the Spell of White Supremacy
White supremacy sits in our culture like Iago in Othello, whispering lies. It tells communities to blame one another. It tells immigrants to resent Black people. It tells Black people to resent immigrants. It stokes antisemitism and Islamophobia. It pushes the idea that scarcity is natural. It is not. Scarcity is manufactured by a small group hoarding resources. That group is not “the Jews,” not “immigrants,” and not “Black people and their supposed free stuff.” The more we remain confused and at each other’s throats, the easier it is to strip-mine not only this country, but the world.
In Qualified, I describe how these myths seep into our institutions and our workplaces. The mechanics are invisible until you name them. Naming breaks the spell. Accountability keeps it broken.
Media, Memory, and What We Platform
I wrote an op-ed after seeing Jillian Michaels downplay American slavery on national television, followed by a glossy New York Times feature. Imagine any central platform celebrating someone who said the Holocaust was “no big deal” because atrocities occur throughout history. That would never fly. Yet dismissal of American slavery is treated as opinion. American slavery was a system of rape and physical abuse that lasted more than two centuries. People were injured, maimed, murdered, and sold like animals. Children were sold like puppies. The trauma lives in our bodies and our families. I wrote from my family’s history, including my enslaved great-great-grandfather William Staples. No publication ran it. Not one. That silence matters.
Courts, Power, and a Hard Side-Eye at the Supreme Court
There have been federal court setbacks for Trump's world on issues, from the Posse Comitatus Act to independent agencies and university speeches, but I have not done a victory lap. That’s because the Appeals will go to the Supreme Court, and I am giving that Court a full side-eye. This Court reminds me of the Plessy Court that made Jim Crow the law of the land. I am not certain this Court will defend speech rights on campus or in the workplace. I am not convinced it will constrain executive overreach. We could be standing on the edge of a functional return to Jim Crow dynamics by next year if we are not vigilant.
A Needed Bright Spot: Women Reframing Power
Today, I was honored to speak at a women’s summit at Nike, which is connected with the LPGA. Cheyenne Woods brought wisdom and presence. Karina LeBlanc spoke with the perspective of an Olympian and leader. Lisa Mensah lifted the power of community finance. Megan Diana shared a beautiful project, Push Play, that places pianos in public so communities can express themselves. It was energizing. The conversation focused on what is possible for women and everyone who wants to build, create, and lead with integrity.
I told the room what I tell you here. This work can feel heavy. The news can feel relentless. The goal is the same every day: do the best you can, all the good you can, in all the ways you can, for all the people you can, for as long as you ever can. Start in your sphere of influence. Family. Friends. Colleagues. Open doors where people are open to learning. Protect your energy where they are not. Stay aware. Push back with facts and solidarity.
One Final Rant
Florida’s current public-health choices are a cautionary tale. These choices will impact travel and family decisions because they now include a real risk calculus. This is why information and solidarity matter.
Thank you for joining the Friday Roundup. If you found this useful, share it, forward it, and invite one new subscriber into the conversation. The coalition we need begins with conversations like this one.
P.S. If you are new, my book is Qualified: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work. It unpacks how systems quietly challenge and disqualify Black professionals and other people of color, and how to interrupt those mechanics with clarity and courage.
