Josephine Baker’s French exile
Gary Younge writes in “The Dancer Was a Spy” [Dec. 13/20]: “Embrace of the exiles from their ally and rival [the United States] made the French feel morally and culturally superior – even as they struggled with their military and economic inferiority. “Indeed, one could also see the” embrace “of French color intellectuals by the US institutional elites (The Washington Post‘s and the recent hiring of French journalist Rokhaya Diallo by Georgetown University) as a disguise of the political, economic and cultural hegemony that the United States wields in the world today. France’s refusal to fully come to terms with its colonial past certainly disqualifies it from teaching lessons on racism.
William Poulin Delta Tour
It was nice to see Gary Younge back on your website. It never disappoints. Thank you!
Nina Ramos
I am old enough to have met the musician Luther Allison in person on Rue Mouffetard before he stepped into the little club where he performed every night in Paris.
In France he experienced segregation in a way he would unfortunately not have seen anywhere else. But he understood that a despicable minority does not represent an entire country.
Marc Chanliau
Climate wars
Regarding Tina Gerhardt’s leading article “Heating Up” in the issue of 13./20. December: How many think the global north cares about printing the green? It seems to me that climate change will bring more, not less, exploitation and oppression as rich nations maneuver to maintain their privileges and competitive advantages over other rich nations.
Tom Civiletti
A report well worth reading
Thank you, DD Guttenplan, for bringing me with you New York Times Report of US drone attack killing civilians came to the attention of readers of The nation [“Revealing the Truth,” Dec. 13/20]. Years ago I stopped supporting, reading, or listening The New York Times for the reasons that you succinctly list in your article. If only good investigative journalism in the Just, I would start by adding it to my information basket.
Robert Borneman
Better back it up, please
To “https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/gop-violence-trump/” by Jeet Heer [Dec. 13/20]: In my opinion, the best way to combat a resurgence of Donald Trump and the violent Republicans would be to pass the widespread agenda Joe Biden promised in the 2020 campaign (not the grotesquely watered-down version that Congress is now considering , and may ultimately accept or not). I haven’t seen a single article in The nation in the past few weeks openly calling on the Democrats to do so.
Caleb Melamed
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