Hakeem Jefferson
@hakeemjefferson.bsky.social
Assistant professor of political science. I think about identity, stigma, race, and politics more than any normal person should. Lover of life. Pro-democracy.
People should dance more.
Not Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority Leader.
People should dance more.
Not Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority Leader.
I’ve also gone analog in my advanced undergrad seminar on identity this quarter. Students keep reading/seminar notebooks—questions, confusions, insights—and complete several field exercises, including a “seeing identity in the world” task.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
To keep AI out of her classroom, this high school English teacher went analog
Forth Worth teacher Chanea Bond says sticking with pen and paper keeps generative artificial intelligence out of her American literature classes.
www.npr.org
January 28, 2026 at 5:15 PM
I’ve also gone analog in my advanced undergrad seminar on identity this quarter. Students keep reading/seminar notebooks—questions, confusions, insights—and complete several field exercises, including a “seeing identity in the world” task.
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/28/n...
FWIW, I think Hakeem Jeffries is fair game for criticism on many fronts. But as someone Bluesky liberals regularly think is him, I do sometimes wonder whether aspects of his background help explain the intensity and tone of that frustration.
Could be coincidence. But some of y’all make me wonder.
Could be coincidence. But some of y’all make me wonder.
January 26, 2026 at 11:08 PM
FWIW, I think Hakeem Jeffries is fair game for criticism on many fronts. But as someone Bluesky liberals regularly think is him, I do sometimes wonder whether aspects of his background help explain the intensity and tone of that frustration.
Could be coincidence. But some of y’all make me wonder.
Could be coincidence. But some of y’all make me wonder.
Even when they show signs of weakness or forced regret, we must not give an inch. Authoritarian governments still respond to public opinion, which is why sustained pressure matters. We have to keep making clear that these thuggish actions are unconscionable and will not be tolerated. Don’t let up.
January 26, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Even when they show signs of weakness or forced regret, we must not give an inch. Authoritarian governments still respond to public opinion, which is why sustained pressure matters. We have to keep making clear that these thuggish actions are unconscionable and will not be tolerated. Don’t let up.
January 26, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Yep.
I said this last time but their real position is “if you disagree with us we can kill you.”
January 25, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Yep.
These murderous goons must be stopped. This is wholly untenable.
BREAKING: The Tribune confirmed on Instagram that the man shot has died, according to two sources with knowledge of the incident.
ICE attempted to order local police from the scene, but Chief Brian O'Hara refused, sources also told the Tribune. O'Hara instructed his officers to preserve the scene.
ICE attempted to order local police from the scene, but Chief Brian O'Hara refused, sources also told the Tribune. O'Hara instructed his officers to preserve the scene.
Man shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
January 24, 2026 at 4:56 PM
These murderous goons must be stopped. This is wholly untenable.
News cycles move fast, but it’s sometimes worth slowing down to reckon with what this government is doing. In service of its racial project, it is willing to beat, kill, and subordinate anyone it deems a threat. This is a violent white nationalist project.
January 23, 2026 at 7:42 PM
News cycles move fast, but it’s sometimes worth slowing down to reckon with what this government is doing. In service of its racial project, it is willing to beat, kill, and subordinate anyone it deems a threat. This is a violent white nationalist project.
My favorite artist, James Blake, is releasing his next album Trying Times on March 13.
Music is a balm. I am grateful for artists who keep creating when it is hard, and when it is necessary.
This is him performing “Trying Times” in New York last year:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr56...
Music is a balm. I am grateful for artists who keep creating when it is hard, and when it is necessary.
This is him performing “Trying Times” in New York last year:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr56...
James Blake – Trying Times (Live) | Global Citizen NOW 2025
YouTube video by Global Citizen
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:43 PM
My favorite artist, James Blake, is releasing his next album Trying Times on March 13.
Music is a balm. I am grateful for artists who keep creating when it is hard, and when it is necessary.
This is him performing “Trying Times” in New York last year:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr56...
Music is a balm. I am grateful for artists who keep creating when it is hard, and when it is necessary.
This is him performing “Trying Times” in New York last year:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr56...
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
I do not understand why Dems (or someone) are not broadcasting wall to wall montages of ICE thugs abusing our neighbors, abducting children, terrorizing US citizens, invading homes w no warrant, or murdering mothers. This should be a massive exercise in ISSUE SALIENCE driven by Dem elites.
January 22, 2026 at 3:28 AM
I do not understand why Dems (or someone) are not broadcasting wall to wall montages of ICE thugs abusing our neighbors, abducting children, terrorizing US citizens, invading homes w no warrant, or murdering mothers. This should be a massive exercise in ISSUE SALIENCE driven by Dem elites.
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
The spirit of MLK is clearly evident in Minneapolis right now. As is the spirit of Bull Connor.
January 19, 2026 at 3:48 PM
The spirit of MLK is clearly evident in Minneapolis right now. As is the spirit of Bull Connor.
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
They didn’t want a university without cancel culture. They didn’t want to be criticized for their retrograde views so they created a pretend school funding by their rich friends. The only people surprised that this failed were credulous enough to believe the fairy tales these folks told.
They Wanted a University Without Cancel Culture. Then Dissenters Were Ousted.
Inside the civil war at the anti-woke university backed by Bari Weiss.
www.politico.com
January 16, 2026 at 6:10 PM
They didn’t want a university without cancel culture. They didn’t want to be criticized for their retrograde views so they created a pretend school funding by their rich friends. The only people surprised that this failed were credulous enough to believe the fairy tales these folks told.
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
January 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM
If there's one empirical insight I'd want everyone to understand about American politics, it's this:
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
America's problems are solved problems. Just not here.
What would change if the US simply matched the average of 31 peer democracies? Not Denmark or Norway. Just the middle of the pack. 🧵
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
The federal government is now a southern sheriff in 1894 bsky.app/profile/pbum...
DOJ staff resign over the department’s disinterest in Good killing.
A new spate of Justice Department officials quit because their section didn't want to probe Renee Good's shooting
At least four leaders of the Civil Rights Division resigned because the section's head, Harmeet Dhillon, decided not to investigate shooting of Renee Good.
www.ms.now
January 13, 2026 at 12:06 PM
The federal government is now a southern sheriff in 1894 bsky.app/profile/pbum...
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
Yesterday Elon Musk retweeted "white solidarity is the only way to survive". In our numb overwhelmed media environment it barely made headlines that the world's richest man endorsed blood-curdling white nationalism. My brief writeup for @religiondispatches.org
religiondispatches.org/elon-musk-ju...
religiondispatches.org/elon-musk-ju...
Elon Musk Just Endorsed Blatant White Nationalism And the Silence is Deafening
On Thursday morning Elon Musk retweeted (with a ‘100%’ endorsement) a post declaring that:
If white men become a minority, we will be slaughtered. Remember, if non-Whites openly hate White men while...
religiondispatches.org
January 9, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Yesterday Elon Musk retweeted "white solidarity is the only way to survive". In our numb overwhelmed media environment it barely made headlines that the world's richest man endorsed blood-curdling white nationalism. My brief writeup for @religiondispatches.org
religiondispatches.org/elon-musk-ju...
religiondispatches.org/elon-musk-ju...
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
"The work now is the same as it was in 1911: document the failures, design the remedies, prepare for the moment."
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
open.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:02 AM
"The work now is the same as it was in 1911: document the failures, design the remedies, prepare for the moment."
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
This YouGov poll on ICE is really eye-opening. Public opinion has really swung against DHS/ICE and their terror regime.
d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...
d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...
January 13, 2026 at 12:12 AM
This YouGov poll on ICE is really eye-opening. Public opinion has really swung against DHS/ICE and their terror regime.
d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...
d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
"My deepest fear is not that we fail to survive this moment—it’s that we survive it only to return to the status quo that made it possible...The point is not to get back to normal. Normal is how we got here."
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:24 PM
"My deepest fear is not that we fail to survive this moment—it’s that we survive it only to return to the status quo that made it possible...The point is not to get back to normal. Normal is how we got here."
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
I was 14 when the Berlin Wall fell. It remains <the> formative event in my lifetime for how I understand politics & IR. This is a fantastic piece. What Adam writes about domestic politics is also true in IR. 🇺🇸’s problems are solved problems, unlike 🇪🇺 or 🇨🇳. Things are awful now, & yet there is hope.
January 11, 2026 at 7:13 PM
I was 14 when the Berlin Wall fell. It remains <the> formative event in my lifetime for how I understand politics & IR. This is a fantastic piece. What Adam writes about domestic politics is also true in IR. 🇺🇸’s problems are solved problems, unlike 🇪🇺 or 🇨🇳. Things are awful now, & yet there is hope.
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
open.substack.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:02 PM
This beautifully written piece by my pal @adambonica.bsky.social is worth your time today.
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
A bit of light amid the darkness.
open.substack.com/pub/data4dem...
In Your Name
They steal from you
Enrich themselves
Kill your neighbors
Lie in your face
Do it in your name
And dare you to disagree
They are corrupt and thuggish goons
Cowards
Unfit to govern
The country they claim is theirs and theirs alone
That’s who they are
Who are we?
They steal from you
Enrich themselves
Kill your neighbors
Lie in your face
Do it in your name
And dare you to disagree
They are corrupt and thuggish goons
Cowards
Unfit to govern
The country they claim is theirs and theirs alone
That’s who they are
Who are we?
January 10, 2026 at 9:22 PM
In Your Name
They steal from you
Enrich themselves
Kill your neighbors
Lie in your face
Do it in your name
And dare you to disagree
They are corrupt and thuggish goons
Cowards
Unfit to govern
The country they claim is theirs and theirs alone
That’s who they are
Who are we?
They steal from you
Enrich themselves
Kill your neighbors
Lie in your face
Do it in your name
And dare you to disagree
They are corrupt and thuggish goons
Cowards
Unfit to govern
The country they claim is theirs and theirs alone
That’s who they are
Who are we?
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
rare to see an american politician speak in these terms and it rocks
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’
www.nytimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:48 AM
rare to see an american politician speak in these terms and it rocks
Reposted by Hakeem Jefferson
I agree & CRT helps us understand how boundaries of whiteness tighten & loosen based on the state's needs. With this extrajudicial murder, they are trying to tighten the boundaries of whiteness to leave out queer white folks who do not comply. Race traitors can always be pushed out of whiteness
We don’t have much social science work on how White Americans judge other White ppl for aligning w/ racial minorities. But perceptions of racial betrayal may help explain hostility toward “coastal elites” & support for state violence against perceived allies. Would love to read if I’ve missed it.
January 9, 2026 at 9:52 PM
I agree & CRT helps us understand how boundaries of whiteness tighten & loosen based on the state's needs. With this extrajudicial murder, they are trying to tighten the boundaries of whiteness to leave out queer white folks who do not comply. Race traitors can always be pushed out of whiteness
We don’t have much social science work on how White Americans judge other White ppl for aligning w/ racial minorities. But perceptions of racial betrayal may help explain hostility toward “coastal elites” & support for state violence against perceived allies. Would love to read if I’ve missed it.
January 9, 2026 at 9:48 PM
We don’t have much social science work on how White Americans judge other White ppl for aligning w/ racial minorities. But perceptions of racial betrayal may help explain hostility toward “coastal elites” & support for state violence against perceived allies. Would love to read if I’ve missed it.
It should have long scared us all shitless that agents of the state can kill citizens w/ near-total impunity. It should scare us even more that this power now extends to ICE & other federal officials in our cities.
If there was ever a time for mass mobilization to abolish ICE, it is now.
If there was ever a time for mass mobilization to abolish ICE, it is now.
January 8, 2026 at 2:05 PM
It should have long scared us all shitless that agents of the state can kill citizens w/ near-total impunity. It should scare us even more that this power now extends to ICE & other federal officials in our cities.
If there was ever a time for mass mobilization to abolish ICE, it is now.
If there was ever a time for mass mobilization to abolish ICE, it is now.