I confess, I have been very busy just keeping my OWN job, so I really couldn't address the Eric Holder resignation until this weekend. :-)
All I want to do is outline a very brief BIO of this phenomenal, Black man. A man who has almost "invisibly" made history right before our eyes because few of us really know what the "Attorney General" does, and it is not as flashy a title as "President" or "Beyonce' and Jay-Z".
But, indeed, we are having the privilege of living in a time our PARENTS... let alone, our GRANDPARENTS, couldn't even imagine-- even as they marched and prayed and fought and died for such a time. A time when TWO Black men would effectively hold the highest offices in the "free world".
Please. Please. PLEASE don't take this for granted.
And, as Eric Holder, moves on to the next stage of His Calling, I implore us not to forget:
- That Eric Holder is the FIRST Black United States Attorney General in history.
- He is the FOURTH longest-tenured Attorney General in history.
- He previously worked in the U.S. Justice Department as a Corruption Prosecutor and as Deputy Attorney General (2nd in command), in the Clinton Administration.
- In 2009, he CORRECTLY stated that the U.S. is a “nation of cowards” when it comes to discussions on racial tensions here.
- Then, 5 years later, after Ferguson, MO exploded, true to his convictions, he jumpstarted that conversation, and even used his office to order a second autopsy on Michael Brown.
- He sued North Carolina and Texas over voting restrictions that effectively disenfranchise large numbers of minorities and the elderly.
- He launched 20 investigations of abuses by local police departments (lonnnnnnnn, lonnnnnnng overdue).
- And, he used his position to lobby Congress to reduce prison sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. The sentencing of which, overwhelmingly, disproportionately hurt minority communities.
In the days ahead, before his ultimate departure, he is
expected to address some other hot buttons in the Black community—racial profiling
and the long abused, “851 tool”, which coerces defendants into forgoing trial
by threatening lengthy prison terms. Having worked for 5 years, myself in the Criminal Justice system, I know firsthand of the routine employment of this tactic.
Eric Holder is a “Baad, motha, shut ‘cho mouth”! J
And, has been for a long, long time.
I’ll
reluctantly forgive him for spending a big part of his career defending
corporations, but I don’t care what the “mainstream” media does to try to
discredit or defame him, Eric Holder is a MAN.
A man of courage, brilliance, and absolute anointing. A WARRIOR MADE for such a time as this, and he represents the TRUTH of the
BEST of who we are and what we are capable of.
The reality is that he is a Lion—a King in the jungle. But even Mufasa can only contend with the scores
of hyenas for so long. There comes a
time when you have to make choices to be able to complete your Purpose. This office was clearly only part of it.
I am personally very, very proud of this era of Warriors—including
Obama and Holder. History is being
re-written daily by terrified liars. WE
must record this history in our OWN hearts… and on PAPER… and in all of these
new, digital technologies to preserve and advance it to our children.
Eric Holder is a part of OUR story… right
along with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman… and many, many others. DO NOT let the fact that he is our
contemporary make him “common” to us.
These are NOT “common” times.
These are, indeed, HISTORICAL times—UNPRECEDENTED times. And, there is absolutely nothing “common”
about him or this space in African American… indeed, AMERICAN history.
Please share this with your children.
Reflecting His Light,
Rayel
