As a journalist of more than three decades, as a journalist who happens to be a Black journalist, as a reporter, editor, senior newsroom manager, as a journalism educator at four U.S universities, as a freelance journalist who still contributes to the body politic with credible information — the unconstitutional arrest of four journalists by the racist Trump administration forces me to wonder whether I need to have my own legal team on speed dial.
There is a reason why I framed and display The First Amendment in my home. I have lived by it throughout my career. Now, many of my Facebook friends also have storied careers in journalism, upholding the sacred values of the Fourth Estate and the Founding Fathers’ vision. I know they are as troubled as I.
Today, I do not understand how those now in key positions in the journalism community aren’t expressing their outrage at the highest level. Have they been so intimidated that they would rather fatten their wallets instead of “afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted?”
Americans need to understand that this full-court assault on our freedoms follows an authoritarian playbook that eventually will destroy this almost 250-year experiment in equality for all.
Some on Facebook have advised me not to be so challenging of this regime. Really? Know, too, that I am a Vietnam veteran who has also worked as a managerial advocate for disaster survivors from the 9/11 World Trade Center attack through Hurricane Katrina, sacrificing good health along the way.
So, I’m not about to back down from serving my country — NOT EVER!
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