In the U.S., teachers exist in a state of duality. We are both essential and expendable, celebrated and dismissed, regulated to exhaustion yet given little respect. We are told we’re doing “God’s work,” but society—through its policies, pay scales, and public discourse—proves time and again that it doesn’t value us.

Existing in this country—showing up as my full self: a Black author, educator, and advocate—is a radical act. But I don’t wake up every day looking to be radical. I’m just trying to live my life. I want to move through the world with dignity, with kindness, with the same respect and ease afforded to white people every day—regardless of their class, income, education, or background. And yet, to be a Black person in America is political. It is resistance. It is risky.

If you’ve followed my writing, you know that my values are rooted in integrity, equity, justice, knowledge, and truth. So, it should come as no surprise to anyone who has taken one of my classes in person at 540WMain (or the local library), joined me online, participated in the Unpacking Book Club, or read even one of the books from my annual Must-Read list, that the times we’re living in today—where books are being banned, DEI programs dismantled, and undocumented citizens deported—are not new.

Since the founding of the United States, the idea of meritocracy—the belief that anyone who works hard can achieve success, upward mobility, and the so-called American Dream—has been not just a myth, not just a sham, but one of the greatest lies and acts of gaslighting ever told. This illusion has been upheld by centuries of systemic propaganda espoused by every institution and facet of American society.

The problem with Donald Trump is not just his impulsiveness, his reality TV antics, or his obvious lack of understanding when it comes to governance—it’s that he wields his words like weapons without any regard for their global consequences. Trump’s second presidency and his continued influence in American politics showcase a terrifying combination of power without accountability, and nowhere is this more evident than in the chaos he sows through social media.