Denying Black History is Morally Reprehensible
February 24, 2025
“Morally reprehensible” is the devastating judgmental phrase that Acting Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Craig Trainor uses in his opening sentence of his February 14, 2025 “Dear Colleague” letter spelling out new rules and coercive threats for race conscious practices in education. What is truly morally reprehensible is Trainor’s gaslighting of the history of educational racism in the United States. He cites harm specifically to white and Asian students due to “institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences” while NOT ONCE mentioning the historic, persistent and often violent denial of educational opportunities — and, hence, economic and social opportunities — to Black Americans across centuries. Erasing Black History is shameful. Trainor writes as if generations of segregated and under-funded schools were fiction, as if Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock Nine, James Meredith, Medgar Evers, John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many other who sacrificed so much to gain equal educational opportunity for Black students never existed. He writes with studied agnosticism of the racist barriers that persist even today that prevent too many Black Americans from realizing full participation in the lifelong benefits of education at all levels.
The Dear Colleague letter follows President Trump’s executive order banning any considerations of diversity, equity and inclusion from federal agencies and contractors; a federal judge has issued an injunction against that order. Let’s not be naïve: the campaign against DEI is a campaign against ensuring greater access to education, economic and social opportunities for persons of color, women, LGBTQ persons and others who do not conform to the white male stereotype that the current anti-DEI movement considers intrinsically more competent. But of all of the diversity possibilities, the campaign against DEI is specifically a campaign against the ongoing progress of Black Americans in education as well as the corporate and civic sectors after centuries of horrific racial injustice and persistent discrimination.
The anti-DEI movement reinvents historic truths. Citing a favorite theme of the movement to debilitate and even destroy teaching the truth of U.S. racial history, Trainor writes that, “Educational institutions have toxically indoctrinated students with the false premise that the United States is built upon ‘systemic and structural racism’ and advanced discriminatory policies and practices.” Maybe the descendants of the 272 slaves sold by the Jesuits in 1838 to save Georgetown University would like a word with Trainor about his denial of “systemic and structural racism.”
Remediating the centuries-long harms of race discrimination against Black persons is consistent with Catholic social justice (something we might expect a graduate of Catholic U’s law school to know) but Trainor dismisses social justice as a “nebulous goal” rather than a moral imperative to uphold the rights and dignity of persons who have suffered grave historic oppression. His desire to stamp out any care or compassion for Black students, faculty and staff becomes starkly clear in his utterly mean-spirited attack on affinity group residence halls and graduation activities, small things but deeply meaningful for many students who are often the first in their families to earn degrees.
Picking on campus social life and graduation ceremonies reveals a perniciously wrong interpretation of the law on race discrimination. The law does require all persons on campus to receive equal opportunity — part of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, Title VI was developed specifically in response to the historic discrimination that Black students suffered throughout education, and all students benefit from that law. So long as all persons on campus have access to the same benefits and opportunities, the law does not prohibit colleges and universities from using racial equity principles in their mission statements or from developing educational and social programs around topics of racial equity. Contrary to what Trainor writes, there is no legal prohibition against a college’s decision to abandon standardized testing, or to have necessary and valuable campus education programs to teach students how to construct productive communities amid great diversity. Trainor cites the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA) to justify his extensive list of activities he says are now prohibited, but in fact, the SFFA case does not support that list and the Acting Assistant Secretary does not have the authority to make new law on his own.
Not content to enumerate his ideas about what ending race discrimination on campus might look like, Trainor weaponizes his presentation with a threat to harm the federal funding of institutions who fail to comply with his demands, along with a very short 14-day window at the end of which the inquisitions will supposedly begin. Some institutions will likely “obey in advance” and scrub their websites, policies and programs of any references to race, diversity, equity, inclusion or social justice. We can hope that more will stand and fight in solidarity and with conviction about the worth of our missions and goals.
Trinity stands strong and in solidarity with our students, faculty and staff. We welcome all persons who can thrive here. One of the nation’s historic Catholic women’s colleges (Title IX allows single gender schools to continue as such), we are also a Predominantly Black and Hispanic Serving Institution by US Department of Education classifications. We welcome students of all races, religions, ethnicities and backgrounds, and we also welcome men in our dual enrollment, graduate and professional programs. We know a little something about American sociology on the topic of race. Into the early 1990’s, Trinity was still a predominantly White, Catholic institution. But as we welcomed more students from the District of Columbia and nearby counties, our population changed, slowly at first and then rapidly. “White flight” is a sociological reality for urban schools, a phenomenon not only about race but also social class and perceptions of prestige. We grew and thrived in new directions not by discriminating or practicing affirmative action, but rather, by welcoming and supporting the new populations of students who find at Trinity a place of support, affirmation, compassion and intellectual challenge. We have lived the American opportunity, promise and challenge of race, ethnicity and social class.
Racial hatred is America’s Original Sin, unresolved and largely unrepented across the American centuries. Racial hatred debilitates lives, warps communities, depresses economic progress, marginalizes persons of great potential and too often kills people whether through direct assaults or the slow long term decline of hope and opportunity. Educational institutions, of all places in our society, must be those places where rising generations learn how to live together, how to respect and appreciate difference, how to lift up the merit in each other and how to confront the prejudices that drive wedges and defeat our more aspirational values as a nation. Colleges and universities, in particular, must be the places that teach our future leaders how to make the idea of the peaceful, productive polity work in the most diverse society the world has ever known. We can’t teach that by ignoring the truth of our history, by submitting to the inappropriate pressures of political operatives, by adopting a stance of institutional neutrality that betrays our entire purpose in higher education.
History is watching us right now. Higher education must rise to the moment with courage and conviction, not just for the sake of our own freedoms and perquisites, but because our freedom to teach and to live mission well makes it possible for our students to learn, grow and thrive. How we respond to the current threats will shape America’s history for generations.
Continue reading →Read comments (0) Add CommentNew Citizens Joining We, the People
January 18, 2025
On January 14 I had the distinct honor to give the keynote address for the Naturalization Ceremony at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Here is my speech:
Remarks to Our New American Citizens
Naturalization Ceremony at U.S. District Court for D.C.
January 14, 2025
President Patricia McGuire
Trinity Washington University
Your honor, Judge Paul Friedman, thank you for inviting me today. It is a distinct honor for me to welcome and celebrate with all of you, our newest American citizens. You are a remarkable group! 122 new citizens representing 50 different nations from all corners of the globe. The largest nation represented here is Ethiopia, followed closely by El Salvador. We are thrilled to welcome all of you and to congratulate you on your achievement of U.S. citizenship.
Seeing such glorious diversity in this room today reminds me of something President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said: “We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions-bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality.”
What a momentous time this is in your lives, and also a remarkable moment in the life of the United States!
For you, achieving citizenship represents many years of hard work as you set on the long and often arduous pathway to today. You have your stories of how you came to this day: the journeys across oceans or rivers or through dusty deserts. The struggles to learn English, to assimilate, to deal with the prejudices of people who often forgot that they, too, are part of the immigrant story — maybe second or third generation in this country, but nonetheless, part of the great American immigrant story. You confronted discrimination, fear, hardship, convoluted legal requirements and educational challenges — and you are now great American success stories!
You have your own reasons for choosing U.S. citizenship: perhaps your desire to vote in all elections, to work in the federal government, to be free from the terrible suspicion and barriers that too often go with being an immigrant. You want your children to be citizens, you desire equality with your neighbors and friends, you want all of the rights and privileges of life in these United States without limits. You want to be out of the shadows forever. You want to pursue your version of The American Dream robustly.
This is a remarkable time for you to become citizens of the United States — and by “remarkable” I don’t mean to imply that it’s all perfect. In fact, some of what makes this a remarkable time for new citizens is exactly because it’s a difficult time for all citizens.
In these United States today, we stand at a crossroads between old assumptions and new realities. In a stark way, this moment is bracketed by last week’s elegant farewell to the late President Jimmy Carter and next week’s inauguration of President Donald Trump. In so many ways, President Carter represented the old assumptions — the absolute decorum he upheld as president and in his post-presidency; his rock solid commitments to helping all people and ensuring equality of opportunity; his promotion of record numbers of women, Black and Hispanic persons in government positions; his desire to improve education by establishing the U.S. Department of Education; his support for expansion of environmental protection; his advancement of human rights, civil rights, and peacebuilding in the Middle East; his success in giving Panama sovereignty over the Panama Canal; his strong faith and moral center that guided his personal as well as professional life.
Next week, on January 20, we will inaugurate a president who embodies the new realities. For his second term, President Trump vows that he will, among other things, engage in mass deportation of tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants; regain U.S. control of the Panama Canal even with military force if need be; abolish the Department of Education and end initiatives to promote equal opportunity through diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Now, in your new lives as American citizens, you may agree or disagree with any or all of those actions by President Carter and President Trump, that is your right and you should exercise it freely. You have a right to learn, to study, to express your opinions on the actions and policies of our public leaders at all levels — without any fear or intimidation — that is what active citizenship is all about,
In this moment of new realities that feel so different from the past, we need the voices of all citizens more than ever, and we need your engagement as new citizens in the urgent issues of this era of American life.
In the Oath of Allegiance that you are about to take, you will declare your intention to live by that oath to “… support and defend the Constitution and the Laws of the United States of America, against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” and that you will “…bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”
What does it mean for you to support and defend the Constitution of the United States? While that question could consume an entire encyclopedia, I will note just three simple points for today:
First, that you always remember that the first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” — indeed, the most meaningful and powerful words in all of American law. We, the People, govern ourselves, make the laws through the elected representatives that we choose, and uphold the legal protections of the Constitution to “ensure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity….” We, the People. Not the president, not the Congress, not the Supreme Court. We, the People.
Second, that We the People expect the elected and appointed officials of government to respect, uphold and enforce all of the rights and privileges contained in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and laws enacted within that framework. We expect our elected officials to respect the separation of powers, to work with the balance of powers, with no one governmental official ignoring or running roughshod over the other branches. This balance protects the rights of the citizens from arbitrary and capricious power grabs by one branch or the other.
Third, that We the People have a right to expect our public leaders to protect the fundamental rights of all people enumerated in the Constitution — freedom of speech and press, freedom of religion, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, the right to fair and speedy trials, the important protections of the 14th Amendment for equal protection and due process, and the right of citizenship for persons born in the United States. We the People must not hesitate to protect our rights by insisting that our leaders respect and defend our rights, and we must resist any and all official efforts to water-down or abolish these hard-won rights.
I like the reminder that President Barack Obama once said, “Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. We, the people, give it power. We, the people, give it meaning—with our participation, and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge.”
As we move into the most meaningful part of this ceremony today — the moment when you take the oath and become official citizens — I leave you with my fondest best hopes for all of you:
May your American Dream never disappoint you, but always be a source of joy, hope and high aspiration throughout your lives. May you join with We the People — your brother and sister American citizens — from this day forward, in pursuit of our most ardent desire to achieve that “more perfect union” of our dreams.
May the rights and privileges you will enjoy as American citizens empower you to be citizen leaders in you communities and places of work, becoming advocates and activists for the critical issues of your lives; may you always be able to raise your voices with pride and conviction, as full participants in the glory of our democracy.
May you pass on your heritage of love, loyalty and fidelity to the United States to your children and grandchildren and succeeding generations so that they can carry forward our most precious work together in strengthening our democracy, enlarging justice, ensuring “the blessings of liberty” in peace and freedom for this nation as a beacon of hope for the world.
Congratulations!
Apocalypse on Sunset Boulevard
January 12, 2025
(photo credit: LA Times January 8, 2025)
“Sunset Boulevard, twisting boulevardSecretive and rich, a little scarySunset Boulevard, tempting boulevardWaiting there to swallow the unwary”
(Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Weber)
“A terrifying experience” is how one Trinity alumna who lives in the Pacific Palisades describes what’s happening with the wildfires that are consuming entire neighborhoods around Los Angeles. The Palisades are in ruins, as is much of Malibu including the once-fabulous homes lining the Pacific Coast Highway along the beach. To the east, the Eaton fire has consumed the neighborhood of Altadena and others. At one point five major fires were raging in the ring of hills around downtown L.A., whipped fast by the relentless Santa Anna winds. More than 150,000 people have evacuated, nearly 10,000 structures including homes destroyed. The photos show a hellscape of unbelievable destruction.
We have many alums who live in the Los Angeles area and I have reached out to them to offer our support in any way possible. A few have replied with gratitude, but no one at this point knows what they are going to need to get through the days ahead. Prayers, of course, and the Trinity sisterhood. We are three thousand miles away but we are all family in the face of such a disaster. And perhaps we have students, staff, faculty and others with family out there — please let me know if you are affected and how Trinity might help.
Over the years I have spent a good deal of time in southern California, first for my work with Georgetown Law Center and later for Trinity. One of the most storied roads in America, I have driven Sunset Boulevard many times, from its origins in downtown Los Angeles to its beautiful end point at the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, the eager tourist could observe a broad swatch of American life and culture from the famous spots in Hollywood to all the shops and cafes and modest homes of the people who work behind the grand scenes of the industries that made L.A. famous to the multi-million-dollar mansions of Brentwood and the Palisades. Sunset Boulevard is a long, winding road carved through the mountainous terrain of the region. Those beautiful mountains, covered with wild brush, contained the seeds of destruction. Now, the humble gas station attendant might be sharing space in the evacuation center with the owners of the fabulous cars that once stopped by for a fill up.
I’ve also driven the Pacific Coast Highway many times, always marveling at what seemed to be the great good fortune of those lucky souls who could afford homes along the beachfront in Malibu, cheek-by-jowl structures all facing the beautiful, expansive, endless Pacific Ocean. So much water! Yet, now beholding the irony of the vast Pacific waters that could not save those homes from fires, all now burnt-out shells. Unimaginable devastation in what was once a “shangri-la” for some.
Writing in the January 10 New York Times, Dr. Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist who left Altadena in 2022 over climate concerns, observes that:
“No place is truly safe anymore. A few months ago, Hurricane Helene pummeled the western part of my new state and the city of Asheville, which many once considered a climate haven. The Pacific Northwest seemed safe until the 2021 heat dome. Hawaii seemed safe until the deadly fires on Maui in 2023.
“For those who have lost everything in climate disasters, the apocalypse has already arrived. And as the planet gets hotter, climate disasters will get more frequent and more intense. The cost of these fires will be immense, and they will affect the insurance industry and the housing market.”
Dr. Kalmus goes on to cite our reliance on fossil fuels and the obtuseness of fossil fuel company executives who have steadfastly refused to cooperate with clean energy initiatives. As I read I could hear the voice of Donald Trump, alas, bragging about how he will “drill, baby, drill”as he derided the “green new scam” in reference to the Green New Deal…. see it here….
Kalmus ended his essay with this warning,
“Nothing will change until our anger gets powerful enough. But once you accept the truth of loss, and the truth of who perpetrated and profited from that loss, the anger comes rushing in, as fierce as the Santa Ana winds.”
Anger was the topic of another essay writer in the New York Times, Patti Davis — daughter of the late President Ronald Reagan — wrote of her memories growing up in the great hills of Los Angeles and her grief over the destruction. She wrote,
“My anger over what we have done to this fragile, exquisite Earth was muffled by grief until the other evening when I was watching a news program that had a panel of commentators. The subject was Los Angeles on fire, and one person mentioned climate change as a cause. Another commentator smirked and said he didn’t believe it was the cause. I felt rage surge up past my grief.”
Davis went on:
“I want us to be angry. Not a destructive anger, a righteous anger. I want us to stand up for an Earth that was created with perfect balance, with beauty and mystery and a divine artistry. An Earth that was put here not for our consumption and our greed but for our nourishment. An Earth that has so much to teach us, and that needs protection, now more than ever. We have thrown an entire planet out of balance, and now we are suffering the consequences — weather patterns so severe we have no idea how to combat them, and the resulting fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, more severe than anything we’ve known before. We can grieve and be righteously angry at the same time.”
Even as people express anger, anguish, fear, despair over the destruction not only of their homes but their entire neighborhoods, ways of life — even as the moment calls for extreme compassion and care for the tens of thousands of displaced persons — even with all of that, some politicians, including the person about to be sworn in as the next president of the United States, could not resist exploiting the horror for their own political purposes. Not satisfied with denying climate change, taunting the governor and blasting the fire department (for what? for not stopping wildfires driven by 100 mph winds?), the once-and-future president and his pals decided to blame — wait for it — DEI! Yes! Diversity, Equity and Inclusion became somehow responsible for the hellacious fires (Diversity brought the matches, Equity poured the gasoline, Inclusion lit them up…. you get the idea)…. Seriously. What triggered them? WOMEN! Yes, women — the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Fire Chief are women. And these women believed in DEI initiatives in their departments. Ergo, says the likes of Elon Musk, DEI (women, really), caused this massive destructive fire.
At some point there are no words left to describe the utterly amoral and despicable political exploitation of this tragedy.
Kalmus and Davis are right to give voice to the anger we all should share at this time, but instead of just railing against the inexplicably depraved political statements, we need to turn our attention to what needs to happen going forward.
How will the thousands of now-homeless people be cared for, not only this week and next week but in the years it will take to recover?
How will the homes be rebuilt? Who will help them negotiate with the not-so-friendly insurance companies? Who will make sure that the state and federal governments live up to promises to assist even as the administrations change.
And what will we do about climate change? The time for denial of the truth is long gone. The wild weather that has afflicted all parts of this country and around the globe is not just a fluke. (Even as the wildfires devastated the Palisades, people were skiing down Peachtree Avenue in Atlanta during a freak snowstorm there.) The planet is growing more and more inhospitable even as some humans redouble their efforts to ignore the signs of our own destruction. We cannot stand silent while the new administration pursues ever more immoral, destructive environmental policies.
Will we have the collective strength to stand up louder, stronger, more confidently for greater environmental protection? Time is growing short. Let’s prove that the answer is YES.
L.A.’s changed a lot over the yearsSince those brave gold rush pioneersCame in their creaky covered wagonsFar as they could go end of the lineTheir dreams were yours, their dreams were mineBut in those dreams were hidden dragons
Sunset Boulevard, frenzied boulevardSwamped with every kind of false emotionSunset Boulevard, brutal boulevardJust like you, we’ll wind up in the ocean.
-Andrew Lloyd Weber, Sunset Boulevard
Continue reading →Read comments (0) Add CommentJimmy Carter, Exemplar of Presidential Decorum
December 30, 2024
As thousands of remembrances and messages of condolence flood public media upon the news of the death of former President Jimmy Carter at age 100, we might wonder if anything new can be said about the 39th president. Historians are dissecting his presidency while pundits plumb his personal attributes. Consensus is emerging that while his one-term presidency was troubled, his post-presidency was simply remarkable. He devoted most of the four decades since leaving office to doing his part to make the world a better place — whether working to eradicate disease or building homes with Habitat for Humanity or preaching at Sunday School. His life — and with his partner of 77 years Rosalyn Carter — was a testament to living by a moral code of charity, hope, justice and peace.
Seen through a slightly different angle on the lens, the coincidence of Carter’s death just weeks before the second inauguration of President Donald Trump presents an opportunity for reflection on a topic that may seem hopelessly quaint but utterly necessary in these oft-tawry times. In short, Jimmy Carter was an exemplar of a quality among U.S. presidents that too often seems in short supply: the quality of personal and professional decorum.
Decorum? What an old-fashioned word! In my Catholic grade school back in the 60’s, we received grades for Decorum as well as Self-Control and other personal qualities that seem to have vanished in the age of social media. What does it mean? Simply, to act in ways that are refined, humble, proper, courteous, in good taste, respectful of others and the circumstances of the moment.
Carter’s example of decorum exposes the shameful lack of that quality in the person who soon will be inaugurated for a second time as president of the United States. President-elect Trump spent Christmas issuing dozens of statements on his social media platform Truth Social that included the message “GO TO HELL” directed toward the persons on death row who had their sentences commuted by President Biden in a merciful act that is in keeping with the teachings of the Catholic faith. Trump continued his typical social media insults toward “Radical Left Lunatics” and his ridiculous threats against Panama, Greenland and Canada. There was nothing sweet, cheerful, peaceful or hopeful in his messages.
Sadly, too many members of the mainstream media today hail such cheap and unworthy rhetoric as “authentic” — on the radio I heard a Politico reporter extol Trump’s Christmas rant as “authentic” in contrast to President Biden’s gracious statement that the reporter trashed as “written by staff.” The role of major media in normalizing abnormal presidential behavior needs a reckoning, and soon.
I remember Jimmy Carter’s election — what a relief it was after the corruption of the Nixon administration in the Watergate scandal. But economic recession and international crises undermined his leadership, and his loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980 was almost inevitable. At Reagan’s inauguration on a bitterly cold January day in 1981, I remember standing on Pennsylvania Avenue as the word spread of the release of the American hostages in Iran, and it sounded like a political deal had occurred in some back room somewhere, but good for all that the hostages were coming home. At that moment I also marveled at the spectacle of the peaceful transfer of power in American life — a new president from a different party taking the oath of office while the outgoing president, disappointed in the election, stood by the side of the new leader (image below) and cordially cheered him on. Decorum!
Far from retiring to a bitter, vengeful existence, Jimmy Carter went on to what some call the “best” post-presidency in American history. He lived the ideals of social justice, caring for the poor, helping those in need, lifting up the values of charity and peace for those who knew too little of both.
As the United States transitions once more to a new president who is, in too many ways, familiar to us because of his trash talk and apparent lack of a moral center, let’s remember the example of Jimmy Carter and insist, despite the odds at present, that President Carter’s example of a life well-lived should be the standard for all those who are privileged to hold the trust of the nation.
Continue reading →Read comments (0) Add CommentGifts of Peace and Joy at Christmas
December 22, 2024
Christmas greetings to our Trinity family!
In so many ways, the year 2024 posed challenges, brought disappointments and even sorrow. But with Christmas 2024 upon us, as well as the Hanukkah season for our Jewish friends, let’s take time to count our blessings as well, to celebrate the successes we realized and to cherish friends and family. This is a season for expressing gratitude, for giving gifts that bring joy and laughter to our relationships, that enliven the darkest days of winter with sparkling lights and cheerful songs. Christians celebrate the birth of Christ with beautiful liturgies and festive gatherings, lifting up the virtue of Hope once more to a world often weary of crises and conflict.
Let us have Hope that we can find more peace, more joy, more unity in 2025!
As is my habit during the year, whenever I can find a few hours to get away, I go to one of my favorite wildlife refuges to spend some time in nature and enjoy the company of the “wild things” all around us. As my Christmas gift to the Trinity community, here’s a short (under 3 minutes!) video of the lovely critters I was able to capture with my camera this year… Enjoy!
I urge you to treat yourself to some time in nature. The refuges I like the most are the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Dover, Delaware, and the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, Maryland. (An added attraction if you visit Blackwater is the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitors Center next to the refuge.) The Patuxent National Research Refuge is not far away and offers lovely forest trails and a small lake. Or just go to your favorite spot along the Potomac or Anacostia Rivers, or the Chesapeake Bay, and look for the wild things!!
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