The Power of Memory
We are in danger of entering something of a Dark Ages-like period
here in the United States. DOGE’s mass government firings and funding cutoffs are whittling away at
institutional knowledge and hampering or scuttling altogether what had been mission-critical work. Information is being removed from government websites (our websites) in
order to further an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, and data
that would reveal the misguided nature of proposed or newly adopted policies is
being scrubbed. In such a climate as this, simply holding on to our clear
memories of a more enlightened society and government will be an extremely
important act of resistance!
One particularly perverse situation involves the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division. To understand what has driven a mass exodus of seasoned staff, you simply need to reflect on the words of the new Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, as quoted in Bloomberg Law:
The “usual approach” under past Republican administrations has been to try to “slow the train down.” …. There really hasn’t been a focus on turning the train around and driving in the opposite direction, and that’s my vision of the DOJ civil rights. We don’t just slow down the woke. We take up the cause to achieve the executive branch’s goals.
It would seem that Dhillon considers the civil rights work
of almost 70 years to be nothing more than “woke” constraints that should never
have been put in place. But she doesn’t just want to cease such work. Neither does she
“merely” want to dismantle it. It appears she wants the DOJ’s Civil Rights
Division to become a political tool at the disposal of the POTUS. Given all
indications, this means they will be called into service working on cases quite
unlike those taken up in the past.
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| DOJ Civil Rights Division Representatives at Florissant Valley Community College. |
I was fortunate enough to witness firsthand at least some of the work of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. On the evening of September 25, 2014—about a month and a half after the killing of Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer—a group of DOJ representatives visited a nearby community college to learn of the experiences of the minority community in the area. The harassment of Black residents by White police officers was just beginning to become widely known. The funding of a majority White municipality on the backs of Black residents via fines for crimes of poverty was just beginning to be revealed to the world at large. You may read the published Ferguson Report here.
I recall being shocked and ashamed upon first learning of the despicable treatment Black people were subject to in Ferguson and surrounding municipalities. But I also recall being encouraged, hopeful, and proud that our country had such a mechanism for redress. The “bad guys” had had their way for a time, but the “good guys” had come to town, and justice was going to be served. Witnessing just a small part of the Civil Rights Division’s work provided a welcome affirmation of what I’d grown up believing America was about: standing up for the rule of law, revering justice, and fighting on behalf of the underdogs and the oppressed.
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| If you have keen eyes, you may spot the author at this community meeting with the DOJ! |
Apparently, the new Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights considers such work to be a mere “woke” initiative that should have
never happened. The fact is, though, that work DID happen. It was good,
righteous, and justice-oriented work. And it is work that will not be forgotten
for as long as I am alive.
How about you? What memories will you keep alive that will
help us illuminate the world once again when this darkness eventually lifts?
Will you remember a family vacation in a well-maintained and fully staffed
National Park? Will you remember when the Department of Health and Human
Services was driven by science instead of ideology? Will you remember when
reproductive health was a matter between you and your doctor? Will you remember
when you were able to vote without hardship? Will you remember when we helped
promote democracy throughout the world rather than singing the praises of
autocrats? Will you remember when due process was considered a bedrock
principle upon which our mature nation rests? Will you remember when we utilized
our great wealth responsibly throughout the world to alleviate hunger and
disease?
We cannot know for certain what our country will look like
or stand for in four years. But we can all use the power of memory to keep
alive an American Dream that encompasses much, much more than mere material
abundance. I choose to believe that the character of this nation is resilient
enough to snap back into place once the current cult of personality has run its
course. I also choose to have faith in whatever it was that prompted Martin
Luther King, Jr. to say that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it
bends toward justice.” May it be so.
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This post is in the Power, Practice, and Peace series.
Find a running list of all posts in this series by clicking here.
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Copyright 2025 by Mark Robert Frank
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