Theodore R. Johnson
@drtedj.bsky.social
Writer | Contributing columnist @WashingtonPost | Senior Advisor @NewAmerica | Navy vet | ΩΨΦ | HBCU-educated
Most people cannot fathom the amount of racist, hateful things that Black columnists routinely receive.
most recent email i have received is a guy who told me i should be lynched. looked him up and he is a 68/69-year-old retiree in phoenix who doesn't appear to be married or have children. his facebook page is nothing but reposted memes and AI slop and he used to post a lot on gun forums
February 7, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Most people cannot fathom the amount of racist, hateful things that Black columnists routinely receive.
“The most visible symbol of our thinning republic is ICE, whose actions have become shorthand for unaccountable federal power … it’s a democratic republic in structure, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.”
"The Trump administration’s hypocrisies and broken promises already go largely unchecked, suggesting the acclimation to a thinning republic is well underway."
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
Opinion | The republic won’t snap back after Trump
The greatest risk is that America accepts presidential excess.
wapo.st
January 25, 2026 at 3:02 AM
“The most visible symbol of our thinning republic is ICE, whose actions have become shorthand for unaccountable federal power … it’s a democratic republic in structure, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.”
It’s a democratic republic in structure and process, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.
Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.
Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.
Opinion | The republic won’t snap back after Trump
The greatest risk is that America accepts presidential excess.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 21, 2026 at 10:20 PM
It’s a democratic republic in structure and process, but it governs with diminishing regard for the people and behaves like it’s afraid of the president — a republic in name only.
Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.
Today’s precedents set the baseline for tomorrow, leaving the republic intact in structure but brittle in essence.
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"In practice, citizenship's legal meaning and the rights it confers have been eclipsed by partisan judgments about who belongs," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4sHdoKT
Opinion | Citizenship has become fragile. History shows where that leads.
The government’s battle over who belongs seeks to reshape the nation’s identity.
wapo.st
January 14, 2026 at 5:25 PM
"In practice, citizenship's legal meaning and the rights it confers have been eclipsed by partisan judgments about who belongs," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/4sHdoKT
Citizenship did not protect Renee Good from those who wear the shield. Democracies can survive policy fights and constitutional debates. But they cannot survive when citizenship no longer imposes obligations — on institutions, on the state, or on those who wield force in its name.
wapo.st/49AsFEv
wapo.st/49AsFEv
Opinion | Citizenship has become fragile. History shows where that leads.
The government’s battle over who belongs seeks to reshape the nation’s identity.
wapo.st
January 14, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Citizenship did not protect Renee Good from those who wear the shield. Democracies can survive policy fights and constitutional debates. But they cannot survive when citizenship no longer imposes obligations — on institutions, on the state, or on those who wield force in its name.
wapo.st/49AsFEv
wapo.st/49AsFEv
My column made it to late night!! 😂
January 11, 2026 at 2:26 PM
My column made it to late night!! 😂
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"Grappling with the morality of a mission is part of life in uniform," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. "Questioning the legality of operations shouldn’t be." https://wapo.st/3LgHiVF
Opinion | This shouldn’t be part of life in military uniform
Venezuela makes me reflect on what I never had to question in the South China Sea.
wapo.st
January 8, 2026 at 11:20 AM
"Grappling with the morality of a mission is part of life in uniform," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. "Questioning the legality of operations shouldn’t be." https://wapo.st/3LgHiVF
"Sometimes service requires acting in gray areas — moral ones, certainly, but democratic ones, too.
Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs."
wapo.st/3YppRVR
Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs."
wapo.st/3YppRVR
Opinion | America’s military needs more than just orders
A lesson about service from a crisis in the South China Sea two decades ago
wapo.st
January 7, 2026 at 1:00 PM
"Sometimes service requires acting in gray areas — moral ones, certainly, but democratic ones, too.
Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs."
wapo.st/3YppRVR
Increasingly, the military is asked to conduct operations w/o congressional authorization or public debate. The democratic costs of that arrangement are real, as are the human costs."
wapo.st/3YppRVR
The “Redemeers” in the South were proficient at this. See Massacres at Colfax, Tulsa, Elaine, and so on.
in how many "law enforcement operations" are damn near 100 people killed?
January 5, 2026 at 7:50 PM
The “Redemeers” in the South were proficient at this. See Massacres at Colfax, Tulsa, Elaine, and so on.
They telegraphed the whole thing months ago. The operation in Venezuela wasn't a policy choice - it was an ego stroke.
(gift link)
wapo.st/4ptASAy
(gift link)
wapo.st/4ptASAy
Opinion | Venezuela reveals what Trump covets most
Leading in war is the hallmark of great American presidents.
wapo.st
January 5, 2026 at 7:16 PM
They telegraphed the whole thing months ago. The operation in Venezuela wasn't a policy choice - it was an ego stroke.
(gift link)
wapo.st/4ptASAy
(gift link)
wapo.st/4ptASAy
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
I was *just* briefing some folks on why I think this matters for organizing.
"The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America."
Very informative piece.
Very informative piece.
Opinion | There are two Black Americas. Not everyone is happy about it.
The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I was *just* briefing some folks on why I think this matters for organizing.
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America."
Very informative piece.
Very informative piece.
Opinion | There are two Black Americas. Not everyone is happy about it.
The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:17 AM
"The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America."
Very informative piece.
Very informative piece.
“The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America.”
Opinion | There are two Black Americas
The divide between natives and newcomers shows disparities in income, education and politics.
wapo.st
December 10, 2025 at 12:29 PM
“The country has yet to understand these changes and runs the risk of collapsing distinct histories into a singular Black experience, exacerbating rather than reducing racial tensions, and clinging to a caricature of what it means to be Black in America.”
When the pursuit of glory is a preoccupation...
“For Trump, Venezuela is not just a geopolitical question,” @drtedj.bsky.social writes.
“It is an opportunity to lead in war, a hallmark of presidents considered the nation’s best.”
“It is an opportunity to lead in war, a hallmark of presidents considered the nation’s best.”
Opinion | Venezuela reveals what Trump covets most
Leading in war is the hallmark of great American presidents.
wapo.st
December 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM
When the pursuit of glory is a preoccupation...
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
🧵Ecstatic + GRATEFUL to share the cover of my first book, The Price of Exclusion: The Pursuit of Healthcare in A Segregated Nation (HarperCollins June 2026). I can’t wait to share this in community with you. Pre-orders are available today, wherever books are sold : bookshop.org/beta-search?...
November 28, 2025 at 2:52 PM
🧵Ecstatic + GRATEFUL to share the cover of my first book, The Price of Exclusion: The Pursuit of Healthcare in A Segregated Nation (HarperCollins June 2026). I can’t wait to share this in community with you. Pre-orders are available today, wherever books are sold : bookshop.org/beta-search?...
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"If this month is any indication, artificial intelligence has disrupted yet another part of American life: electoral politics."
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
Opinion | The local affordability issue driving elections
Data centers are spiking electricity rates and angering voters.
wapo.st
November 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"If this month is any indication, artificial intelligence has disrupted yet another part of American life: electoral politics."
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
All politics is local … but the desire for economic security - or, at the very least, predictability - is universal.
Opinion | Soaring electricity bills help flip state elections
Data centers are spiking utility rates and angering voters.
wapo.st
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 PM
All politics is local … but the desire for economic security - or, at the very least, predictability - is universal.
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"There are certainly deceitful people and practices, but the far more common find among the nearly 7 million disabled veterans, which includes me, are people who want to understand the available benefits and accept no more," @drtedj.bsky.social writes.
"And no less."
"And no less."
Opinion | Veterans like me did not fight to be called fraudsters
After leaving the military, veterans face lucrative health benefits and hard choices.
wapo.st
November 14, 2025 at 11:20 AM
"There are certainly deceitful people and practices, but the far more common find among the nearly 7 million disabled veterans, which includes me, are people who want to understand the available benefits and accept no more," @drtedj.bsky.social writes.
"And no less."
"And no less."
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"If [Trump] gets his way, the country’s government will consist of little more than a presidency with two servile branches"
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
Opinion | The real cost of an unchecked president
Blind partisanship is eroding the nation’s system of checks and balances.
wapo.st
November 8, 2025 at 8:04 PM
"If [Trump] gets his way, the country’s government will consist of little more than a presidency with two servile branches"
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The latest from @drtedj.bsky.social:
The stories I could tell about “consultants” trying to sell me the pathway for increasing my 30% disability rating to 100%
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
The unregulated industry that coaches veterans to pile on benefits
The number of vets receiving 100 percent disability ratings has surged in recent years. For-profit firms, influencers and the VA play a large role in the trend.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:11 PM
The stories I could tell about “consultants” trying to sell me the pathway for increasing my 30% disability rating to 100%
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Tomorrow! The lineup of arts, policy, and scholarship is incredible: www.newamerica.org/conference/t...
October 28, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Tomorrow! The lineup of arts, policy, and scholarship is incredible: www.newamerica.org/conference/t...
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
"The result is a democracy with historically high levels of participation, but a republic that’s far less representative" @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/43wGPUW
Opinion | The Supreme Court is poised to erase Black power in the South
Activist Supreme Court justices threaten the Voting Rights Act.
wapo.st
October 22, 2025 at 8:02 PM
"The result is a democracy with historically high levels of participation, but a republic that’s far less representative" @drtedj.bsky.social writes. https://wapo.st/43wGPUW
October 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
The Secretary of Defense was lecturing military leaders about the warrior ethos when he should have been ensuring military pay was exempted from the government shutdown.
October 1, 2025 at 12:31 PM
The Secretary of Defense was lecturing military leaders about the warrior ethos when he should have been ensuring military pay was exempted from the government shutdown.
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
Ted Johnson: Hegseth said the military would be color-blind, but also that anyone with chronic razor bumps will be kicked out; coincidentally, two-thirds of the service members who hold such shaving waivers are Black. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | ‘No more beardos’: Appearance trumps performance at Pentagon
Hegseth’s meeting with generals and admirals missed the real opportunity in gathering leaders.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 3, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Ted Johnson: Hegseth said the military would be color-blind, but also that anyone with chronic razor bumps will be kicked out; coincidentally, two-thirds of the service members who hold such shaving waivers are Black. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...