Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother (1936) portrays Florence Owens Thompson during the Great Depression, symbolizing both individual struggle and society’s failure to provide safety nets in times of crisis.

What Has Happened to Our Country?

On November 5, 2024, I dropped all volunteer projects in my so-called “retirement” and began laying the groundwork for Abbetuck.

This arts+activism platform—part website, part communication hub—began rolling out in January 2025.

I had to do something.

The Moment We’re In

Like many of you, I sensed the outcome of the election would not bode well for the arts, education, history, social services, journalism, the environment, human decency and civil rights.

And here we are:

• Universities face extortion.
• Law firms are coerced.
• Corporations are compromised.
• Government agencies are complicit.
• Libraries are menaced.
• Terrorists patrol our streets.
• News is reduced to clickbait and opinion.
• Municipalities are imperiled.
• Opposing genocide is branded anti-American.
• Cultural organizations are defunded.

Authoritarianism has grown like a cancer, consuming American society.

What Are Artists of Every Discipline To Do?

No one has our back. And we are lovers, not fighters.

Friends tell me it’s no longer my generation’s battle. Time is short, they say. Enjoy what you’ve built. You no longer need to carry what you’ve already helped lift. Protests mean nothing. All you can do is vote. Let go.

But I can’t let go.

A Different Path Forward

I see the potential for a brave, collaborative, inclusive arts revolution, one that forces this regime to sit down.

I see the chance for artists of all ages, disciplines, backgrounds, and geographies to put aside ego, selfies, and personal agendas to unite for a common cause.

At the same time, I see the ordinary: the chores at home, the health to maintain, the marriage to hold dear, the places and people I still want to visit.

Where Are You?

I’ve told you where I am. Now I want to hear from you.

👉 Comment on this blog post or send me an email and share:

• How you’re navigating this moment as an artist or supporter of the arts.
• What kind of collective action feels possible.
• Where you see hope, or where you feel stuck.

Together, maybe we can find the path forward.

Randall White
Abbetuck