Based in Sydney, Australia, Foundry is a blog by Rebecca Thao. Her posts explore modern architecture through photos and quotes by influential architects, engineers, and artists.

Black Americans helped save democracy

To the Editor,

If not for Black support in the Democratic primaries, Joe Biden would not have won his party’s nomination. And, if not for overwhelming Black support in several key swing states during the presidential election, Donald Trump would have been sworn in for his second term, and Joe Biden would not be our new president. All Americans owe Black voters a debt of gratitude. It’s time to start repaying that debt.

It is not hyperbolic to say that another four years of assault on our democratic institutions and our Constitution under Donald Trump might have sounded the death knell for our democracy. How supremely ironic that Black Americans, who have more right to feel aggrieved than any other segment in our society, have rescued us from a would-be autocrat. It’s true that they were acting in their own self-interests, as Donald Trump is almost indisputably a racist, but this does not diminish the accomplishment.  

Historically — and many would say until this very day — Black Americans have been discriminated against more than any other segment of our society (although some might argue that this dubious distinction belongs to Native Americans). It is time for this subjugated group to receive some payback. Not in the form of monetary reparations, but rather in the form of truly equal access to health and educational resources. Long-term, perhaps of even more import for the dignity and well-being of Black America, we must all commit to opening our minds and our hearts and to accepting the belief that all people are created equal, then to act in accordance with this belief. 

Ken Derow
Swarthmore

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Do we really need to change the school calendar?

Do we really need to change the school calendar?