A Juneteenth message

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     June 19, 2023 Happy Monday! Today is Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Today is a day of celebration, but it also seems as good a time as any to remember the many ways in which Black Americans still aren't fully free. Virginia is holding its primary elections tomorrow, but many previously incarcerated people—a disproportionate number of whom are Black—will be unable to cast their ballots because Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin revived the state's lifetime ban on voting for people with felony convictions. As [Bolts]( reported last week, Youngkin alone can restore voting rights to felons on a case-by-case basis, leaving many who have applied to regain the ability to vote waiting indefinitely. “It’s second-class citizenship,” one applicant told Bolts, “where you’re still an ‘ex-convict,' an ‘ex-felon.’ It’s almost like it’s forever following you. That’s another form of incarceration.” Incarceration and votings rights suppression are among myriad ways that American society continues to subjugate people of color. Others are more subtle, from our [discriminatory tax code]( to [environmental racism](. Today is a day to look both backward and forward—to celebrate Black liberation while imagining how we can complete it, more than 150 years after emancipation. —Abigail Weinberg Advertisement [House BookShop Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [How Immigrants Navigate the Complicated Politics of Military Service]( A new book looks at why immigrants enlist in the armed forces—and the struggles they face. BY RUQAIYAH ZAROOK SPONSORED CONTENT BY MLK50   FedEx says it’s a safe workplace. So why is Jessica James dead? In 2022, [Jessica James was killed at the FedEx Express]( World Hub in Memphis after the forklift she was driving on a severely damaged ramp became unstable and overturned. James was thrown from the forklift, which then fell on top of her. A state investigation uncovered a litany of safety violations. FedEx was fined $26,000 — which in 2022 took the shipping giant nine seconds to earn. [Sign up for the MLK50 newsletter]( for more investigations straight out of Memphis. [Trending] [Minneapolis is quietly trying to throw out the lawsuit against the cop who killed Amir Locke]( BY SAMANTHA MICHAELS   [Emails show Missouri's student loan servicer never wanted to be in the lawsuit to kill debt relief.]( BY HANNAH LEVINTOVA   [When wildfire smoke shrouds a city, people of color are most at risk]( BY GINA JIMÉNEZ   [When wildfire smoke shrouds a city, people of color are most at risk]( BY GINA JIMÉNEZ Advertisement [House Donation Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [In George McCalman’s Dazzling New Book, Black History Is Everyone’s History]( The artist's portraits of Black luminaries are "as individual as the people" they depict. BY EMILY HOFSTAEDTER [We need your help right now] There's no sugarcoating it: We face a real budget crunch and need to raise $390,000 in online donations by June 30 to finish our fiscal year break-even. We've already cut everything we can, and there is zero wiggle room to come up short. So we're hoping that [donations from our regular newsletter readers](, from you reading this blurb right now, will come in much stronger than normal to help us get there. Please pitch in if you can right now. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755