As Eric Holder prepares to step down as the Attorney General, he leaves behind a trail of cases; many seeking the kind of justice some believe only he could hand down.
Holder was the driving force behind some of the modern day strides people of color have made in the area of civil rights. Holder’s Department of Justice investigated the murder of Trayvon Martin and called for the Sanford Police to arrest and charge the admitted murderer, George Zimmerman as well other, similar cases involving police murder of unarmed blacks.
Under this Department of Justice the Rockefeller Drug Laws were repealed, and with them a slew of unfair jail sentences overturned, mostly affecting black and brown people.
Throughout his tenure as the nations first black Attorney General, Holder seemed to portray Obama’s proverbial ‘hit man’ if you will, targeting some of the injustices that in this country it seems only a small minority of leaders will. Holder embodied the spirit of political legends like Bobby Kennedy and A. Phillip Randolph — men who, for whatever reason; whether because of personal conviction or personal experience, were adamant about seeking justice for oppressed people while in a position to actually achieve it.
With the fate of Ferguson still in the balance, as well as Michael Brown’s murderer, Officer Darren Wilson will Holder’s replacement continue the work of giving justice to the traditionally marginalized or will they sit back and watch as this country continues the path it has led for the last several hundred years? The problem with the latter is that the world has changed. Americans and Europeans are joining groups like ISIS and Ferguson is proof if nothing else, that black people are tired of being oppressed and having their children, mothers, fathers and brothers, sisters shot, beaten or assaulted for simply being black.
America is headed to a crossroads in its history and whoever replaces Holder could determine the future. The constant civil unrest we’ve seen in so many parts of the Middle East, where we once thought was just something to watch on the news, is closer to us than we think because of the availability and rapid spread of information and technology. Obama said that the media makes things seem worst than what they are, but in actuality all that means is that because of the availability of media, we can witness first hand and see that things are just as they seem….Terrible!
Holder will now be able to rest some, which is good. Republicans did not try and hide the fact that they hated his guts and did everything they could to take him down. Daryl Issa chief among them, who went on a political witch hunt in 2012 attempting to link him with the Benghazi uproar.
Like me I’m sure many people expected that after all Eric Holder had overcome during his reign, he and his compatriot Obama would exit office together the way John and Bobby Kennedy should have. Yet there is a certain solace knowing he seemingly stepped down on his own and not over some scandal.
The speculation over Holder wanting to avoid a Republican Senate after the mid-term elections could be true, which only means that nothing would get done over the next two years anyway, because he would only be wrapped up in a war with Congress.
And who could blame Holder for wanting to be free from such a thankless job, in a world where everyone is entitled, but only the ones without get criticized for it.
What do you think Holder’s resignation means for the mid-term elections, if anything?
How damaging is his resignation to people of color?