Clarissa Rile Hayward, an associate professor of political science in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, studies the politics of power and resistance to power. She is author of “How Americans Make Race: Stories, Institutions, Spaces” (Cambridge University Press, 2013), an award-winning book that explores how people produce and reproduce racial identities. She offers advice for activists and others mobilizing to contend with Trump administration attempts to undermine progressive programs:
“It’s crucial as we enter these first 100 days to refuse to cede control over the political agenda. Between his outrageous tweets and his seemingly endless scandals, our new president gives us lots to react to. But we need to keep in mind that one of the great successes of the major social movements of our era has been their capacity to shape public discourse.
“The left should devote its energy and creativity to agenda-setting political interventions, specifically those that exploit the cleavage within Trump’s coalition between fiscal conservatives and the working-class people to whom he’s made promises that he can’t keep without alienating fiscal conservatives.”
Read more “First 100 Days” messages at Election2016.wustl.edu.
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