Eric Holder and the quest for racial justice in the so-called post-racial era

As ours is a nation whose legacy with respect to race relations is clouded by remembrances of slavery and until 1965, Jim Crow customs that rendered blacks second-class citizens by law, in 2014 we find ourselves still seeking to endure the Sisyphean task of judging famous black “firsts” through colorblind lenses.

Last week, Eric Holder, the first black man to serve as U.S. attorney general, resigned after nearly six years in service. That Holder was tapped for the position by the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama, is critical in any analysis of his performance in that to a great extent, race has been used by Holder as alternately a shield and a sword when defending his tenure.

Holder all but assured such race-based analysis when, barely a month into his tenure, he averred during a Black History Month speech that the United States had been “essentially a nation of cowards” with respect to race. By saying such, Holder raised expectations among many civil rights leaders and racial minorities who believed that he would use his office in an aggressive manner to rectify lingering racial wrongs such as disparate sentencing for federal drug offenders, voter rights issues and police brutality.

{mosads}On the contrary, Holder’s comments immediately drew the ire and suspicion of some conservatives, including popular radio host Rush Limbaugh, who countered in response “what in the world is Holder thinking … folks, do you think there’s not a chip on this [Obama] administration’s shoulder? Do you think there’s not some desire to get even?”

From my perspective, Holder, in making those remarks, had no active plan to “get even.” Such is apparent from another comment in the same speech, where he stated that “We, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about things racial.” While I agreed with Holder on this point, as his tenure wore on, it was clear that “talking” about race at times was equally prominent to “doing” acts to address the legal implications of systemic racism. For example, when Holder discussed having been racially profiled despite being a high-powered judge and well-paid lawyer, I, like most black men, nodded my head in agreement. Holder’s willingness to frankly discuss such painful issues countered the falsity that racial profiling is some revenant out of African-Americans’ worse nightmares.

During his tearful resignation speech, Holder recounted that he had been enamored with the Justice Department ever since childhood, when he had “watched Robert Kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can — and must — always be a force for that which is right.”

But as with all things in modern American politics, what constitutes “right” is often stratified along ideological and at times, racial lines. For that reason, Holder can be praised by progressive groups for suing to limit voter identification laws that advocates argue are discriminatory, while being blasted by conservative groups for failing to prosecute the New Black Panthers for voter intimidation tactics.

It is how Holder can be praised for seeking to enforce gay and lesbian rights, while at the same time being criticized for allowing Associated Press telephones to be tapped to spy on reporters or standing idly by while conservative advocacy groups endured heightened tax scrutiny from the IRS.

In the wake of his resignation, his legacy on Capitol Hill is split along partisan lines, too. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a lion of the civil rights movement, stated that “his resignation is a great loss for any American seeking justice.” Conservative Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) countered that “Holder is the most divisive U.S. [a]ttorney [g]eneral in modern history.”

While history will ultimately judge Holder’s effectiveness, my initial reaction was one of extreme disappointment, as I wondered aloud on Facebook whether the coward was, in fact, Holder for leaving office at a time in which so much is at stake with the civil unrest in Ferguson, Mo. following police officer Darren Wilson’s shooting of Michael Brown, 18, last August. While numerous responders disagreed with my initial assessment, I softened my approach after being reminded by a friend of mine from college and fellow lawyer who resigned as a senior-level Obama appointee last year that the rigors of their jobs take an exacting toll on administration employees’ health; earlier this year, Holder was hospitalized for lightheadedness and shortness of breath and at the age of 62, has indicated that his health concerns are paramount.

As such, I can find no fault with his decision to resign, although selfishly I wished that he had the stamina to stay and continue to fight for justice while answering any lingering questions regarding the aforementioned scandals that have plagued his tenure. But as the poet Maltbie Babcock once wrote, there is still “hard work to do and loads to lift” with respect to finishing the race for racial justice in America. The question, now, is who will carry the baton for the Obama administration?

Hobbs is a trial lawyer and former general counsel for the Florida State Conference of Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. An award-winning freelance writer, Hobbs is a frequent contributor to The Hill and the Tallahassee Democrat. His twitter handle is @RealChuckHobbs.