We have a wall calendar hanging on our refrigerator which provides a historical nugget each day. For instance, on April 30 I learned that George Washington was inaugurated as the first president on that date in 1789. In 1913 on March 10, William Knox was the first person to bowl a perfect game during tournament play. Very educational.
On this day, March 4, in 1961, Freedom Rides began as a means of standing up against Deep South Segregation. And 65 years later, Trump’s DOJ began dismantling the rights for which so many people fought, bled, and died; The same rights people continue to fight for to this day. To add insult to injury, they have the audacity to label the 60’s era desegregation laws as a “historical wrong”.
In a report from CNN concerning the matter, the history of the original orders and implications of the recent DOJ move will have far-reaching implications.
“It’s really just signaling that the backsliding that has started some time ago is complete,” said Robert Westley, a professor of antidiscrimination law at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans. “The United States government doesn’t really care anymore of dealing with problems of racial discrimination in the schools. It’s over.”
Any attempt to drop further cases would face heavy opposition in court, said Raymond Pierce, president and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation. “It represents a disregard for education opportunities for a large section of America. It represents a disregard for America’s need to have an educated workforce,” he said. “And it represents a disregard for the rule of law.”
65 years later and nothing has changed. The Evil that tells us the lie, “Separate but Equal” still lives in the halls of power, revealing and reveling in America’s original and everlasting sin.
Shame on anyone associated with these actions. Turning back time does not help us move forward.
