Thomas Jefferson believed that white and black people could not live together under conditions of freedom and advocated for African colonization (expulsion), providing intellectual justification for exclusionary policies.

People will not risk their lives and safety for a vision they cannot imagine, so successful movements require utopianism—a vision of a better world—paired with realistic assessment of the need for ongoing struggle without final victory.

Political violence has been interconnected with liberal democracy in America from the beginning, usually benefiting people with wealth and power and serving to exclude large sections of the American public from decision-making authority.

Americans have had housing shortages, demographic migrations, and urban struggles over housing going back before the 1960s urban uprisings, showing that social pressures and demographic change created conditions for political backlash earlier than commonly noted.