Lou William
@louwilliam.bsky.social
📊 Accountant | MBA 💼
✝️ Catholic | Faith & Ethics in Leadership
🗽 Born in NY | Residing in FL ☀️
📢 Advocate for Accountability, Free Speech & Government Transparency
✝️ Catholic | Faith & Ethics in Leadership
🗽 Born in NY | Residing in FL ☀️
📢 Advocate for Accountability, Free Speech & Government Transparency
We need leadership that honors history, not erases it.
April 13, 2025 at 7:32 PM
We need leadership that honors history, not erases it.
The SAVE Act functions like a poll tax in disguise—a barrier targeting communities of color under the pretense of “election security.” When Black leaders enable this, it’s hard not to see it as a modern echo of the house slave mentality—serving systems of oppression rather than challenging them.
April 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The SAVE Act functions like a poll tax in disguise—a barrier targeting communities of color under the pretense of “election security.” When Black leaders enable this, it’s hard not to see it as a modern echo of the house slave mentality—serving systems of oppression rather than challenging them.
Congressman Byron Donalds and other Black conservatives supporting measures like the SAVE Act aren’t just on the wrong side of policy—they’re standing in the way of truth. Denying or downplaying Black history, and backing modern voter suppression laws, mirrors the tactics of Jim Crow.
April 13, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Congressman Byron Donalds and other Black conservatives supporting measures like the SAVE Act aren’t just on the wrong side of policy—they’re standing in the way of truth. Denying or downplaying Black history, and backing modern voter suppression laws, mirrors the tactics of Jim Crow.
@sanders.senate.gov Back then, Riker and Wall Street protected the slave economy. Today, private detention centers and border contractors profit from immigrant labor and suffering. This isn’t just history—it’s policy on repeat.
April 13, 2025 at 7:07 PM
@sanders.senate.gov Back then, Riker and Wall Street protected the slave economy. Today, private detention centers and border contractors profit from immigrant labor and suffering. This isn’t just history—it’s policy on repeat.
@sanders.senate.gov In both eras, the state labeled people as “fugitives” or “illegals” to justify extrajudicial violence. The language changes. The uniforms change. But the logic of dehumanization stays the same.
April 13, 2025 at 7:05 PM
@sanders.senate.gov In both eras, the state labeled people as “fugitives” or “illegals” to justify extrajudicial violence. The language changes. The uniforms change. But the logic of dehumanization stays the same.
@sanders.senate.gov Kristi Noem isn’t an outlier—she’s part of a long American tradition. In the 1800s, Richard Riker used courts to send free Black people into slavery.
Today, Noem deploys law enforcement to help DHS target migrants.
Different century. Same playbook. #TheKidnappingClub
Today, Noem deploys law enforcement to help DHS target migrants.
Different century. Same playbook. #TheKidnappingClub
April 13, 2025 at 6:59 PM
@sanders.senate.gov Kristi Noem isn’t an outlier—she’s part of a long American tradition. In the 1800s, Richard Riker used courts to send free Black people into slavery.
Today, Noem deploys law enforcement to help DHS target migrants.
Different century. Same playbook. #TheKidnappingClub
Today, Noem deploys law enforcement to help DHS target migrants.
Different century. Same playbook. #TheKidnappingClub
Read this book. Teach it. Talk about it. Because understanding the past is the first step toward dismantling the systems that continue to harm today. #TheKidnappingClub #BlackHistory #SystemicRacism
April 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Read this book. Teach it. Talk about it. Because understanding the past is the first step toward dismantling the systems that continue to harm today. #TheKidnappingClub #BlackHistory #SystemicRacism
We need to tell these stories. They challenge the sanitized version of history taught in schools and remind us how deep the roots of racism run in our institutions.
April 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
We need to tell these stories. They challenge the sanitized version of history taught in schools and remind us how deep the roots of racism run in our institutions.
The Kidnapping Club is more than a history book. It’s a mirror. Because if you look closely, you’ll see today’s America reflected in 1830s New York—economic power protecting racial injustice, and courts failing the most vulnerable.
April 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The Kidnapping Club is more than a history book. It’s a mirror. Because if you look closely, you’ll see today’s America reflected in 1830s New York—economic power protecting racial injustice, and courts failing the most vulnerable.
David Ruggles and the NY Committee of Vigilance fought back, risking their lives to protect Black New Yorkers. Their resistance reminds us that abolition was more than moral outrage—it was organizing, strategy, and relentless courage.
April 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
David Ruggles and the NY Committee of Vigilance fought back, risking their lives to protect Black New Yorkers. Their resistance reminds us that abolition was more than moral outrage—it was organizing, strategy, and relentless courage.
What struck me most was how this all happened under the veil of “law and order.” Abductions were legalized violence. And the system wasn’t broken—it was built this way.
April 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
What struck me most was how this all happened under the veil of “law and order.” Abductions were legalized violence. And the system wasn’t broken—it was built this way.
NYC’s elite, including Wall Street, profited from slavery. Cotton was king, and the city’s banks, merchants, and insurers had financial ties to the Southern slave economy. Moral concerns? Ignored in favor of profit.
April 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
NYC’s elite, including Wall Street, profited from slavery. Cotton was king, and the city’s banks, merchants, and insurers had financial ties to the Southern slave economy. Moral concerns? Ignored in favor of profit.
3️⃣ Riker’s network of cops and bounty hunters became known as “The Kidnapping Club”—a term coined by Black journalist and abolitionist David Ruggles. These were men who enriched themselves off Black suffering.
April 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
3️⃣ Riker’s network of cops and bounty hunters became known as “The Kidnapping Club”—a term coined by Black journalist and abolitionist David Ruggles. These were men who enriched themselves off Black suffering.
2️⃣ At the center was Richard Riker, the city’s Recorder (judge). His courtroom became a revolving door for slave catchers, who needed only to claim someone was a runaway. No proof. No justice. Just rubber-stamped rulings.
April 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
2️⃣ At the center was Richard Riker, the city’s Recorder (judge). His courtroom became a revolving door for slave catchers, who needed only to claim someone was a runaway. No proof. No justice. Just rubber-stamped rulings.
This is the hidden history of America’s “free” states—and it’s disturbingly relevant today. 🧵👇🏽
1️⃣ Set in 1830s NYC, The Kidnapping Club exposes how judges, police, and politicians legally abducted free and fugitive Black people and sold them into slavery. Yes, this happened in New York.
1️⃣ Set in 1830s NYC, The Kidnapping Club exposes how judges, police, and politicians legally abducted free and fugitive Black people and sold them into slavery. Yes, this happened in New York.
April 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
This is the hidden history of America’s “free” states—and it’s disturbingly relevant today. 🧵👇🏽
1️⃣ Set in 1830s NYC, The Kidnapping Club exposes how judges, police, and politicians legally abducted free and fugitive Black people and sold them into slavery. Yes, this happened in New York.
1️⃣ Set in 1830s NYC, The Kidnapping Club exposes how judges, police, and politicians legally abducted free and fugitive Black people and sold them into slavery. Yes, this happened in New York.
Before the Civil War, slavery wasn’t just a Southern institution—it thrived in the heart of New York City. The Kidnapping Club reveals how corrupt judges, police, and politicians abducted free Black people and sent them South to slavery, all while Wall Street profited.
April 12, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Before the Civil War, slavery wasn’t just a Southern institution—it thrived in the heart of New York City. The Kidnapping Club reveals how corrupt judges, police, and politicians abducted free Black people and sent them South to slavery, all while Wall Street profited.
Labeling challenging topics—like systemic racism, gender theory, or climate change—as “woke” doesn’t invalidate their academic relevance. It just avoids engaging with the scholarship behind them.
Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.
Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.
April 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Labeling challenging topics—like systemic racism, gender theory, or climate change—as “woke” doesn’t invalidate their academic relevance. It just avoids engaging with the scholarship behind them.
Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.
Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.
Whether it’s reading a conservative economist or a progressive sociologist, education should never be about ideological grooming. It’s about academic rigor, open debate, and the freedom to test ideas in a structured and evidence-based way.
April 10, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Whether it’s reading a conservative economist or a progressive sociologist, education should never be about ideological grooming. It’s about academic rigor, open debate, and the freedom to test ideas in a structured and evidence-based way.
Their purpose is to provide students with access to facts, theories, and frameworks from across history and around the world—so they can analyze issues from multiple perspectives and draw informed conclusions.
That’s not indoctrination. That’s intellectual development.
That’s not indoctrination. That’s intellectual development.
April 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Their purpose is to provide students with access to facts, theories, and frameworks from across history and around the world—so they can analyze issues from multiple perspectives and draw informed conclusions.
That’s not indoctrination. That’s intellectual development.
That’s not indoctrination. That’s intellectual development.
Colleges and universities exist to foster critical thinking, not blind acceptance.
April 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Colleges and universities exist to foster critical thinking, not blind acceptance.
In Florida, the term has become central to debates about higher education. Now, bills like HB 1321 are being labeled by critics as efforts to “Make Universities Woke Again.”
But let’s pause and ask: what is higher education really for?
But let’s pause and ask: what is higher education really for?
April 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
In Florida, the term has become central to debates about higher education. Now, bills like HB 1321 are being labeled by critics as efforts to “Make Universities Woke Again.”
But let’s pause and ask: what is higher education really for?
But let’s pause and ask: what is higher education really for?
Opinion: Education Isn’t “Woke.” It’s Critical Thinking.
In recent years, the word “woke” has gone from a term about social awareness to a political hammer used to criticize anything remotely progressive—especially in schools and universities.
In recent years, the word “woke” has gone from a term about social awareness to a political hammer used to criticize anything remotely progressive—especially in schools and universities.
April 10, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Opinion: Education Isn’t “Woke.” It’s Critical Thinking.
In recent years, the word “woke” has gone from a term about social awareness to a political hammer used to criticize anything remotely progressive—especially in schools and universities.
In recent years, the word “woke” has gone from a term about social awareness to a political hammer used to criticize anything remotely progressive—especially in schools and universities.
Donald Trump wants to “return education to the states.”
But let’s not forget why the federal government stepped in:
– Segregation
– Discrimination
– Unequal access based on race and zip code
State control didn’t protect students — it oppressed them.
But let’s not forget why the federal government stepped in:
– Segregation
– Discrimination
– Unequal access based on race and zip code
State control didn’t protect students — it oppressed them.
April 10, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Donald Trump wants to “return education to the states.”
But let’s not forget why the federal government stepped in:
– Segregation
– Discrimination
– Unequal access based on race and zip code
State control didn’t protect students — it oppressed them.
But let’s not forget why the federal government stepped in:
– Segregation
– Discrimination
– Unequal access based on race and zip code
State control didn’t protect students — it oppressed them.
America is a constitutional republic, not a playground for authoritarian power grabs. With attacks on free speech, rule of law, and basic rights mounting, it’s time to flip the House and Senate. We need leaders who honor the Constitution—not trample it.
April 10, 2025 at 8:57 PM
America is a constitutional republic, not a playground for authoritarian power grabs. With attacks on free speech, rule of law, and basic rights mounting, it’s time to flip the House and Senate. We need leaders who honor the Constitution—not trample it.
We Were Promised Bold Leadership. What We Got Was Silence.
We thought President Biden would be tough like JFK—ready to confront modern-day segregationists with the full power of the presidency. But instead of moral clarity, we got compromise.
We thought President Biden would be tough like JFK—ready to confront modern-day segregationists with the full power of the presidency. But instead of moral clarity, we got compromise.
April 2, 2025 at 2:45 AM
We Were Promised Bold Leadership. What We Got Was Silence.
We thought President Biden would be tough like JFK—ready to confront modern-day segregationists with the full power of the presidency. But instead of moral clarity, we got compromise.
We thought President Biden would be tough like JFK—ready to confront modern-day segregationists with the full power of the presidency. But instead of moral clarity, we got compromise.