Theodore R. Johnson
@drtedj.bsky.social
Writer | Contributing columnist @WashingtonPost | Senior Advisor @NewAmerica | Navy vet | ΩΨΦ | HBCU-educated
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...
Trump has a long record of prioritizing appearance & complicity over competence. Hegseth is cast in this mold, forgoing explanations of changes to defense strategy & the use of U.S. cities as training grounds for the more pressing issue of obsessing over clean-shaven killers who look good in uniform
Opinion | ‘No more beardos’: Appearance trumps performance at Pentagon
Hegseth’s meeting with generals and admirals missed the real opportunity in gathering leaders.
wapo.st
October 2, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Trump has a long record of prioritizing appearance & complicity over competence. Hegseth is cast in this mold, forgoing explanations of changes to defense strategy & the use of U.S. cities as training grounds for the more pressing issue of obsessing over clean-shaven killers who look good in uniform
Trump managed to stumble into gains with a changing Black electorate
wapo.st/4mBGeIq
wapo.st/4mBGeIq
September 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Trump managed to stumble into gains with a changing Black electorate
wapo.st/4mBGeIq
wapo.st/4mBGeIq
"While arming the Guard may be a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."
Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
"Politicians too often use the National Guard as an instrument of executive prerogative," @drtedj.b<a href="https://wapo.st/469DTiR" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">sky.social writes. https://wapo.st/469DTiR
Opinion | Trump’s National Guard deployment echoes Hurricane Katrina mistakes
When soldiers deploy to U.S. soil, the priority should be on helping, not seeing people as the enemy.
wapo.st
August 27, 2025 at 8:46 PM
"While arming the Guard may be a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."
Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Some lessons from history and from my time in the military, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
"Politicians often use the Guard as an instrument of executive prerogative. It has long been this way, meaning the mission sometimes changes w/ the wind. ... While arming the Guard is a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."
Opinion | Trump’s National Guard deployment echoes Hurricane Katrina mistakes
When soldiers deploy to U.S. soil, the priority should be on helping, not seeing people as the enemy.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
"Politicians often use the Guard as an instrument of executive prerogative. It has long been this way, meaning the mission sometimes changes w/ the wind. ... While arming the Guard is a political decision, telling troops whom to shoot — even if they don’t — has ramifications far beyond politics."
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history"
It is propaganda, pure and simple.
It is propaganda, pure and simple.
You can't teach U.S. history without "divisive" narratives. Slavery wasn't "unifying." The Japanese incarceration wasn't "unifying." The anti-immigrant Operation Wetback (real name) wasn't "unifying."
It's history's job to tell the truth, not cover up past racism to pave the way for future racism.
It's history's job to tell the truth, not cover up past racism to pave the way for future racism.
White House Announces Comprehensive Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions
www.nytimes.com
August 12, 2025 at 10:29 PM
I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history"
It is propaganda, pure and simple.
It is propaganda, pure and simple.
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
As America approaches its 250th birthday, @drtedj.bsky.social reflects on what our past celebrations say about who we are, and who we still hope to be. Read more from @washingtonpost.com here:
Opinion | Who does America think it is? Next year, we might find out.
From our 50th birthday to next year’s 250th, Americans have asked who we are as a nation.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM
As America approaches its 250th birthday, @drtedj.bsky.social reflects on what our past celebrations say about who we are, and who we still hope to be. Read more from @washingtonpost.com here:
Reposted by Theodore R. Johnson
Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”
I do not care that you are not “surprised.” Please. You have no idea how tiresome it is when you post that something horrible, fascist, authoritarian is “not surprising.” Nothing is “surprising” anymore. But a lot of it is horrible and frightening. Let’s deal with it together.
July 27, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”
Walter Kimbrough @hiphopprez.bsky.social and I chatted about HBCUs and how they’ve managed the Trump White House.
Opinion | How HBCUs fight for survival in Trump’s America
Despite attacks on DEI and colleges, HBCUs endure through bipartisan support.
wapo.st
June 24, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Walter Kimbrough @hiphopprez.bsky.social and I chatted about HBCUs and how they’ve managed the Trump White House.
"Real patriots know there is room for both shame and pride; they meet the former with a fighting spirit and the latter with a celebratory one."
"The flag, the Army and Trump all sharing a birthday — the parade has taken on more meaning than just the celebration of an institution," @drtedj.bsky.social writes. wapo.st/3FJakKP
June 12, 2025 at 12:01 PM
"Real patriots know there is room for both shame and pride; they meet the former with a fighting spirit and the latter with a celebratory one."
A love letter, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing
Opinion | On losing my mother, and finding her again
Something happens when the beliefs and ideas most fundamental to your worldview are challenged or fractured.
wapo.st
May 10, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A love letter, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing