Dear Friend of The Nation, Our country deserves an honest conversation about racism. Mychal Denzel Smith Pitch in today and help keep the voice of The Nation loud and clear. There isn’t a good reason for me to be as angry as I am over the “not guilty” verdict handed down for George Zimmerman in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. I always knew that would be the outcome. And yet there I was, crying rage-filled tears as “ZIMMERMAN NOT GUILTY” appeared on television. Because no amount of cynicism can override the pain of knowing a 17-year-old boy is dead through no fault of his own, and no one will be held accountable. Our nation is crying out for an honest, respectful dialogue about racism in America. One of the few places that conversation is happening is here at The Nation where I am a regular blogger. Pitch in by August 7th to help keep The Nation – and the voice of the progressive movement – loud and clear over the din of right-wing corporate media. During times of tragedy and injustice, you can count on The Nation to make sense of all the noise and confusion. We fight tabloid news with fearless, truth-telling investigation and commentary, like my colleague Aura Bogado’s piece “White Supremacy Acquits George Zimmerman” that was shared on Facebook pages and at dinner tables across the country. But smart, in-depth reporting doesn’t come cheap – and we’re facing a serious financial shortfall. Despite being America’s longest running weekly magazine, we’ve rarely broken even. Profit has never been our main driving force. The truth has, and always will be. The right wing media can stand on their soap boxes thanks to bigwig, right-wing corporate funders. But no one owns The Nation – except you. Your steady support keeps our reporters in the field, pays for bandwidth that keeps TheNation live, and covers the printing and postage that gets this magazine to your newsstand. And for that, I am deeply grateful. Independent newspapers and magazines like The Nation are being forced to shut their doors as subscriptions dry up and corporate media eats them alive. We don’t plan on going anywhere, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t going to be a battle. If The Nation is to to continue to bring you the latest on the issues that matter to you – like racism in our communities, injustices in our judicial system, or the long fight ahead for fair voting rights for all Americans – we need you to chip in today. Please donate to support the magazine and the reporters you rely on. But we need to meet our goal by August 7th. My fellow Nation contributor Salamishah Tillet recently told me a story about the legendary jazz singer Nina Simone. After the church bombing that killed the four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama, Simone went to her shed and tried to make herself a gun. Her husband walked in on her and asked what she was doing. She replied she was making a gun because she wanted to kill someone. He replied, “But you’re a musician.” Then she wrote “Mississippi Goddamn.” What’s next is that each of us take whatever gift we have and use it in a way that honors and values black life. That is the legacy Trayvon Martin can leave to this world. On behalf of my colleagues here at The Nation, thank you for doing your part. You – our readers – are at the heart of everything we write. You have my thanks, Mychal Denzel Smith Nation Blogger elabs10/content/2010000907/mychal2.jpg Scotty Reid
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:23:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015