To kickoff my 2026 posting, I’m sharing this story from ContrabandCamp, on the anniversary of Medgar Evers’ birth. The Republican majority on the Supreme Court is poised to deal a fatal blow to the Voting Rights Act—legislation which finally made this country a democracy for its black citizens as well as every other.

It’s tragic that a country which turns just 250 years old this year seems hellbent on returning to a past that was more violent and less free—while certain people pretend that isn’t exactly what’s happening. ContrabandCamp and other independent media organizations provide a vital counterweight to a mainstream media that has helped normalize the sort of gutter racism we haven’t seen since the days of civil rights leaders like Evers being murdered.

If you follow me on social media and you’re interested in supporting and sharing independent media more widely, reach out to me via direct message on whatever platform you see this post. I will share the five gift subscriptions I have to ContrabandCamp with the first five responses I see.

I wish everyone who reads this all the best in this year.