For decades, we have watched America wrestle with its demons. Sometimes, she has successfully pinned them down. Other times, the demons have slipped beyond her grasp. Yet, America has always remained in the ring. There is no difference right now, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Across America, from small-town council meetings to state legislatures, there’s a coordinated effort to roll back the clock on civil rights, geopolitical relations and the global economy. It’s not subtle, and it’s not accidental. The targeting of immigrants and citizens of color has become so normalized that we risk becoming numb to it. For example, what happened in Springfield, Ohio, late last year? When national politicians started pushing rhetoric against Haitian immigrants, it wasn’t just local politics at play. It was a test balloon, a preview of talking points soon echoed in halls of government and media outlets nationwide. Thus, this is how discrimination, intolerance and blatant hate go mainstream or viral — it starts small, tests the waters, and spreads like a virus through our body politic and social system.
Every major stride toward equality in American history has faced pushback. After Reconstruction came Jim Crow. After the civil rights movement came the “law and order” era. After Obama’s presidency … we all know what came next. However, the difference at this moment is that we are not fighting these battles with the weaponry of our parents and grandparents. Once again, the tools of discrimination have gone digital but so have the tools of resistance.
The next 100 days will set the trajectory for this fight, not because they’ll end it, but because they’ll determine how we fight it. We’re at one of those inflection points where silence becomes complicity and inaction becomes endorsement.
We continue to see a tsunami of executive actions, legislation, and litigation that, while carefully worded to appear neutral, disproportionately affect minority communities. These aren’t your grandfather’s literacy tests — these are sophisticated administrative hurdles dressed up in the language of election and homeland security, patriotism, balanced budgets, and the meritus playing field. The intent hasn’t changed; only the packaging has.