Dana Williams

I was born in an Iranian prison. My parents were held in their jails. My uncles lie in their mass graves. Nothing you can tell me about the crimes of the Iranian regime that I haven't lived in blood and bone. That doesn't mean I want my people bombed, maimed, killed, their homes in ruins. If your vision of liberation comes only through the destruction of innocent lives, then it's not freedom you're after. Sahar Delijani, Iranian author

I am pro Iranian people. I stand with them against their own government’s repression AND against the imperial violence in the form of bombs dropped from the sky from Israel & the US who have already killed hundreds.

I support neither imperialism or dictatorship.

Sahar Delijani said it best:

With all this free speech and AI hallucination, what do we even need universities for at this point?

Trust Sociology Ruins Everything · Episode

“In sociology, we might think of trust in terms of social networks and ties. We might even think about trust in institutions.”

@dmwilliams.bsky.social, author of Who Do We Trust, interviewed for Sociology Ruins Everything:
open.spotify.com/episode/4cIJ...

Morale plummeting among ICE agents over long hours, quotas and public hatred: reports While immigration officers support the Trump administration’s goal of deporting undocumented migrants, many of them have grown ‘disillusioned’ with leadership’s tactics, according to reports

"'We lost all trust,' a current ICE official added. 'I’m not sure I can see how we exist three years from now.'”

If an ICE official can see there being a world without ICE, there's no reason any of us shouldn't be able to do the same thing.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

Filming ICE is legal but exposes you to digital tracking – here’s how to minimize the risk Federal agents have pepper-sprayed, tackled and detained people recording their actions. If you post your recordings of agents, you also risk the feds tracking you and those around you.

theconversation.com/filming-ice-...

I wrote this essay about the long history of settler colonialism and white supremacy in my home state of Minnesota. But, I'm inspired by the passion, creativity, and solidarity of the many thousands resisting ICE gangs every day in Minneapolis!

Fascism only wins when we stop fighting it.

Trust

I was interviewed for the podcast "Sociology Ruins Everything" (with @mattsedlar.bsky.social). We talk about radical #trust (distrust in hierarchies and social trust for other people) in an era of rapidly escalating authoritarianism and misinformation.

Listen here:
open.spotify.com/episode/4cIJ...

Photo of Claudette Colvin, a Black girl found guilty in a segregation violation case (https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/girl-who-acted-rosa-parks).

Claudette Colvin has passed away. May the memory of her bravery inspire us during these difficult and dangerous times.

Lots of amazing Pluto e-book titles at 80% off, even my Who Do We Trust? release. www.plutobooks.com/product/who-...

The intersection of white supremacist, colonialist patriarchy (with just a tinge of edgelord bro vibes).

My new book Who Do We Trust? Power, Solidarity, and Anti-Authoritarianism is now available from @plutopress.bsky.social!!

Solidarity is an antidote to brutality, indifference, & inequality brought by hierarchy. Stop trusting authority + start trusting each other.

www.plutobooks.com/product/who-...

“In the longer run, however, it is likely that this war on anti-fascism will backfire leading to a heightened profile for the movement and a deepening identification with its ideas and values among the broader populace.”

Photo of a box of books

Just got author copies of my new book Who Do We Trust? Power, Solidarity, & Antiauthoritarianism from @plutopress.bsky.social! You can order one here: www.plutobooks.com/9780745350646/who-do-we-trust/

ICE is not only chasing down every random brown person in Chicago, they have a cameraman following them to film this for social media. Cruelty and inhumanity as content.

Another way out: Hiding and obedience won't stop fascism By being obedient to the point of giving up all self-determination, we’re poised to return to what many before us fought to overturn

Some people are attempting to make their compliance with fascism into something it's certainly not. For @prismreports.org, I wrote about how the promotion of obedience, hiding, and disengagement is taking us backward, despite attempts to make it seem reasonable. prismreports.org/2025/08/21/o...

I’ve received multiple death threats + doxing (including my home address) directly following harassment from Turning Point USA, Jack Posobiec, Andy NGO, + Fox News which called me an antifa ‘financier.’

I have been forced to move my classes online.

If journalists want to talk, DM me or reply here.

Shutdown Lays Bare America’s Latest Crisis: A Total Breakdown in Trust Past shutdowns have been about one thing. This one feels like it is about everything.

The core problem with #trust is not between the DNC & GOP, but between an elite-led Congress (represented in both parties) and a population whose policy priorities never seem to manifest in legislation. A #shutdown is just extreme anti-poor austerity led by those elites.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Who Do We Trust? book cover

I'm super excited to announce my new book Who Do We Trust? Power, Solidarity, & Antiauthoritarianism will be out on October 20 from @plutopress.bsky.social!! It focuses on all the reasons to #trust each other more and to stop trusting in hierarchies. www.plutobooks.com/product/who-...

Most tech workers don't #trust AI. But why *would* they trust AI or the people who make it? They're in highly competitive fields & don't get to control the parameters of their work, AI generates workplace unaccountability, and it is deskilling their professions.

www.newsweek.com/despite-usin...

Rove is a disaster capitalist, but he looks almost moderate in comparison to the current chaos-specialists-in-charge.

Even hardliners like Karl Rove fear a loss of public #trust in government (he did much to destroy trust during GW Bush's presidency). There's already only single digit strong confidence in #Congress; that's been constant for years now. How much else is left to lose?
thehill.com/homenews/sen...

Tylenol: Trust doctors over Trump on paracetamol, Wes Streeting says He tells expectant mothers to ignore Trump's claims of a link between use of the painkiller and autism.

We should #trust people who've invested a lifetime in pursuit of knowledge; pro-social justice doctors are trustworthy experts if not compromised by conflicts of interest or egomania. We should #distrust famous celebrities, conspiratorial politicians, & attention-seekers.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

What is Antifa and why is Trump targeting it? YouTube video by CBC News: The National

While U.S. media capitulates to fascism, in Canada the CBC features an accurate portrayal of antifa activism on their flagship prime time show The National. With commentary from @mark-bray.bsky.social and myself.

youtu.be/G7I-tNtCfOA?...

Saudi Arabia Seeks New Security Alliances as Trust in U.S. Erodes The kingdom signed a new defense pact with Pakistan a week after Israel carried out a missile attack targeting Hamas political officials in Qatar, another key U.S. Arab Gulf partner.

States are inherently distrustful--of each other and of their own populaces. The encapsulated interests they share with each other are almost always instrumental, financial, and interactional. But, this illustrates the isolation the US is facing by its extreme policies.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Rebuilding Workplace Trust After Layoffs: Why Empathy Matters More Than Positivity Learn how to rebuild workplace trust after layoffs using communication, authentic leadership, and psychological safety that maintains team morale.

There's lots of ways to build #trust in a workplace. While good communication between bosses & workers is nice, it pales in comparison to sharing power: Do workers have any influence over what happens? How they work, what that work is, what is the result of their work?
www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...

3 in 4 Americans don't #trust Trump admin recommendations on reducing vaccines. California's Dept of Public Health says the new #CDC vaccine advisory committee is out of step w/ "trusted national medical professional organizations". Wingnuts have seized institutional power & are generating distrust.

The Real Story of Black Anarchists - JSTOR Daily Often in the news today, anarchism is widely misunderstood. One myth is that it's a movement for white people.

Yeah, and interestingly, several Panthers became anarchists!
daily.jstor.org/the-real-sto... @dmwilliams.bsky.social.

Anarcho-Syndicalist Review #92; Illustration of a scientist cat using a microscope; cover story of "Bootmakers & Virologists: Anarchist Views on Expertise"

I wrote an article ("Bootmakers & Virologists: #Anarchist Views on Expertise") on the difference b/w #expertise & #authority. It's better to distrust hierarchies like corporate #medicine, and to instead trust workers who value justice + freedom. Read it here:

works.hcommons.org/records/36y8...

University Alumni Donations as Threats to Punish or Promises to Reward: Alumni Loyalty Before and After the Elimination of a Native American Nickname and Logo - Research in Higher Education The gap between predicted and actual outcomes—following a university’s removal of their controversial Native American nickname—may be rather wide. This study investigates what alumni threaten or promi...

New pub @ #RIHE: @dmwilliams.bsky.social's case study examines alumni initial reactions and subsequent actions upon public university nickname change. doi.org/10.1007/s111...

The Appropriation of Native American Culture for Sports Logos, Mascots, and Nicknames | Request PDF Request PDF | The Appropriation of Native American Culture for Sports Logos, Mascots, and Nicknames | Native American imagery and symbols—as logos, mascots, and nicknames—have been commonplace in Amer...

My latest paper reviews research on the appropriation of #Indigenous culture for sports logos, #mascots, & nicknames. It covers the history of the practice, public opinion, social psychological factors, and political dimensions (conflict, #movements, & change).
www.researchgate.net/publication/...