Students protest against ICE during a walkout at the University of Minnesota, on January 26, 2026 (Brandon Bell / Getty Images) The editors of The Nation are formally nominating the city of Minneapo...

With their resistance to violent authoritarianism, the people of Minneapolis have renewed the spirit of Dr. King’s call for “the positive affirmation of peace.”

Senators blocked a package of six spending bills that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats continue to push for reforms to immigration enforcement.

In what many are considering a big win for the nation’s school kids, and for teachers’ freedom to teach honest history, the GOP Trump administration’s Education Department dropped its attempt to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) teaching in U.S. public schools.  Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon had her top staffers send a “Dear Colleague” letter almost a year ago to every school district in the U.S.: Stop teaching DEI, certify that you did, or your federal grant money would get yanked. The Teachers/AFT, the American Sociological Association, AFT Maryland, and a school district in Eugene, Ore., challenged the DEI ban in federal court in Baltimore, and won.

Americans can learn from the anti-Nazi leaflet “10 Commandments for Danes” by denying ICE everything it needs to function.

In the face of rising authoritarianism, creativity is an enduring movement superpower that helped us break through the stranglehold of fear this year.