A Message From The Publisher
By Bobby R. Henry, Sr., Publisher, The Westside Gazette
For such a time as this, when truth seems to have been traded for convenience and justice pawned off for political survival, we find ourselves watching history repeat itself only this time, it’s wearing a red tie and a presidential seal.
Last week, Donald Trump did what we all feared he might: he pardoned Rudy Giuliani and others who tried to overturn the 2020 election. Yes, you read that right. The very people who conspired to dismantle democracy are now walking free under the banner of “national reconciliation.”
This wasn’t mercy. It was mockery.
It wasn’t unity. It was unadulterated don’t give a damn.
It was a reminder that power, when unchecked, will always try to rewrite its own wrongs and baptize them as righteousness.
Trump’s pardon sends a dangerous message: if you break the law for me, I’ll break justice for you. What does that say to our children who are taught that no one is above the law? What does it say to our ancestors who bled for the right to vote and to the future generations who now see that even insurrection can be excused if your name sits close enough to power?
When Compromise Costs Too Much
And while that spectacle plays out, Washington finds itself tangled in another drama the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, now at Day 41.
Last night, Senate Democrats took a procedural step toward reopening the government. I should be relieved but I’m not. Because in the process, eight Democrats broke rank and crossed the aisle to join hands with Republicans in a so-called “compromise” that leaves millions of Americans hanging.
Let me say this plainly: I disagree.
I don’t call it leadership when you give away your leverage in the middle of a crisis. I call it surrender dressed up as bipartisanship.
For weeks, the government has been shuttered workers unpaid, families without aid, seniors worried about benefits, and children missing the meals that federal programs help provide. And still, those eight Democrats chose to trade conviction for convenience, hoping to look “reasonable” instead of being right.
We have lived through too many “compromises” that compromise us. Too many deals that keep the doors of power open for the few, while the rest of us wait for a key that never comes.
SNAP, Shutdowns, and a Nation Starving for Sense
Just when you thought common sense had left Washington altogether, an appeals court had to step in to stop the Trump administration from blocking full SNAP benefits during this shutdown. Think about that it took a federal judge to tell the government to feed its people.
Even with that victory, millions remain in limbo, unsure if their next meal or benefit will arrive.
Meanwhile, the very leaders who caused this shutdown will soon get their paychecks, while working families stand in food lines and wonder what “public service” really means.
When this shutdown finally ends and it will the lights will flicker back on in government offices. But let’s be clear: reopening a building doesn’t mean restoring faith. Federal employees will get back pay, yes. But who repays the mother who had to choose between groceries and gas? Who restores trust to a people who watched their leaders weaponize suffering?
A Call to Remember Who We Are
We, the Black Press, have been here before standing at the intersection of truth and power, trying to keep the faith while the walls of democracy shake. From Frederick Douglass to Ethel Payne to Levi Henry, Jr., we’ve told the stories that others tried to silence.
So, let me say this clearly:
These pardons are not just political. They are moral failures.
This shutdown compromise is not just a policy move. It is a betrayal of principle.
When our elected officials decide that political peace is worth more than people’s pain, we must speak. We must write. We must remember. And we must never, ever let anyone convince us that the destruction of democracy can be forgiven in the name of “moving on.”
The Westside Gazette was built on truth and not fear. We don’t measure leadership by how well folks play the game, but by how firmly they stand when the storm comes.
And make no mistake the storm is here. You better know who is in the foxhole with you
In Closing
As we watch these events unfold Trump’s pardons, a shutdown nearing its end, and a government struggling to remember its purpose let’s hold true to what the Black Press has always known:
The fight for justice doesn’t pause when the headlines fade.
The struggle for truth doesn’t end when the government reopens.
And democracy doesn’t heal by pretending the wound never happened. It’s time to knuckle up and guard your grill!
For such a time as this, may we continue to write, resist, and rebuild because if we don’t, those who break the rules will keep rewriting the story.
