Five Quick Questions
How much do you remember about America In Crisis? We'll let you know how you did at the end.
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America In Crisis
Two events, two Americas — see how the same year produced completely different national memories of the BLM protests and January 6th.
From Idea to Action
The chapter takes the 2020 BLM protests and the January 6th Capitol riot and asks the same question of both: not “which side was right,” but why Americans who watched the same footage came away believing entirely different things happened.
What the Record Actually Shows
Some numbers rarely make it into the political shouting match. A Justice Department report found roughly 140 Capitol and Metropolitan police officers were assaulted on January 6 — one later died from strokes following his injuries, two took their own lives. The riot caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage. These aren’t left or right numbers — they’re DOJ numbers.
Same Word, Opposite Meanings
The chapter catches something genuinely revealing: many on the right blamed “Antifa” for the 2020 unrest — without noting that the name is short for “anti-fascist.” Whatever you think of the group, the accusation is that anti-fascists are dangerous, which only works if you don’t say the name out loud.
How the Split Actually Happened
After Senate Republicans blocked a bill to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate January 6, the House formed its own Select Committee — and the process broke down further from there: Speaker Pelosi rejected two of Minority Leader McCarthy’s nominees, McCarthy withdrew the rest, and Pelosi appointed Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger instead.
Sources & Further Reading
This chapter draws on primary reporting most readers never see linked: the Washington Post’s minute-by-minute reconstruction of the week following George Floyd’s death, FBI Director Christopher Wray’s congressional testimony on the Capitol attack, ACLED’s independent tally of 2020 demonstrations and political violence, and Pew Research’s polling on how support for Black Lives Matter shifted over time.