The most influential intellectual of the current era, Ta-Nehisi Coates, is striking for his inability to remember much of what has happened during his own lifetime (1975-2019), which leads him to focus on more remote ages, such as the New Deal and its redlining.

For those decreasing numbers of pundits who can remember the recent past, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of an extraordinary number of triumphant (yet still resentful) social movements. Here in 2019, we are now 50 years into the ages of:

Women’s Lib

Gay Lib

Environmentalism

Affirmative Action

In other words, all those movements are now entering their second half century, even if 24-year-old interns at The Atlantic assume they must have only started in 2013.

[Comment at Unz.com]