Early this month, on May 8th, I went to a “community impact hearing” called by Letitia James, the New York Attorney General. At Westchester Community College, just down the road from my home, James, along with Attorneys General of California, Rob Bonta, Illinois, Kwame Raoul, Minnesota Keith Ellison, and New Jersey, Matt Platken, as well as my Congressman, George Latimer, gave impassioned speeches criticizing the authoritarian actions of the Donald Trump and his facilitators, touting the measures they are taking to protect their constituents and American liberal democracy (see the video of the entire event here). I was impressed by the blunt ways they characterized our situation, though a little disappointed by their expressed (over)confidence about the effectiveness of their actions. Nonetheless, that they are appearing together in such hearings around the country clearly is significant. It is their rule of law “road show,” as they call it. Their solidarity in opposing Trumpism is noteworthy.
Even more meaningful, I believe, is the solidarity among those who come to see and hear them. If this dark turn in the history of democracy in America is to come to a definitive end, it will require broad based, creative public opposition. Because of this, I was most impressed by a young voice from the audience.
Nine-year-old Kory Skipper-Miller presented a remarkable three-minute statement. Son of Kisher Skipper, the president of the NAACP of Yonkers, New York, Kory dramatically and compactly questioned Trump’s grasp of the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, accusing him of being low IQ, comically putting down Trump’s characterizations of his rivals, especially of women of color. He then explained how Republican proposed cuts in social benefits would impact his family: his mother, who is oxygen dependent because of a severe case of Covid, his 98-year-old grandmother, who depends on Social Security and Medicaid, his Marine brother, who will need veterans support when he finishes his service, and himself as he requires public support for his education.
Kory laid out some hard well-known facts from a kid’s point of view. How he expressed himself was even more important than what he said. He is already an accomplished public speaker, with a sense of his audience, expressing his ideas fluidly, clearly, and passionately. He moved the crowd, in the way that Trump’s opponents must be moved to act together, and even some of his supporters may be moved away from the support of the American tyrant. See for yourself:
See a video here.
If Trump and the Trumpists are to be defeated, there must be strong political party opposition: the Democrats, along with Republicans and independents, must prevail over Trump’s Republican Party. Further, the democratic rule of law must be defended and fortified. The resolve on the stage at Westchester Community College confirmed that there are accomplished political leaders who are sustaining these imperatives. But for them to succeed, those of us who were off the stage have crucial roles to play. We must together work against Trump by supporting these leaders, but we also must learn and act together in supporting democracy in our everyday lives, a point that Attorney General Keith Ellison of Minnesota emphasized in response to a question posed from the audience.
It is, of course, no accident that Kory is the son of Kisha, that the mother of this talented young man with such stellar promise is herself a leader in one of the most distinguished democratic civil organizations in American history. I spoke to Kisha a few days after the hearing. When I told her how impressed I was by Kory’s speech and the way he held his audience’s rapt attention, with pride, she succinctly explained: “we are Baptists.” Clearly, Kory draws upon a long tradition of African American oratory, centered in churches but reaching beyond them. He built upon the tradition to make his point.
When considering the necessity of strengthening a democratic resistance to Trump, Kory moved me and others in the audience and on stage in a gymnasium near my home. He and his mother, and our community knit the fabric of a more democratic America, presenting a clear alternative to the Trump regime.
This is my first contribution to our planned Small Acts of Democratic Resistance series. I don’t think that any one of these acts will turn back the repressive threat of Trump and his MAGA movement. But I do think that taken together they are instances of a broad and under-recognized movement that must be documented to understand the ongoing struggle in the United States today and for the struggle to succeed. Along with Marci Shore and Jeff Isaac, I hope people join us in documenting and supporting the development of this movement.
Jeffrey C. Goldfarb is the Michael E. Gellert Professor of Sociology Emeritus at The New School for Social Research and chair of the Democracy Seminar.
A Nine Year Old’s Democratic Resistance: Korry Skipper - Miller at the Attorneys General’s Rule of Law Road Show