It’s not just L.A. and Chicago
Don’t think AG Pam Bondi’s shock troops are focused solely on high-profile targets like large cities and name-brand universities. The Trump DOJ has given notice that any attempt by your local government to remedy harms to Black people from historic discrimination will be viewed as “unlawful race-based discrimination” against white people. DEI and all that.
This item popped up over the weekend from the Asheville Watchdog (byline Andrew R. Jones and Dan DeWitt):
Citing potential violations of federal civil rights laws, the U.S. Department of Justice has sent a letter to Buncombe County threatening to investigate and take enforcement against the county if it approves recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission, according to a DOJ letter obtained Friday by Asheville Watchdog.
The DEI police are here. Read the letter.
The letter dated Sept. 4 came one day after the Reparations Commission briefed Buncombe commissioners at their regular meeting about its final report. The commission was created in March 2022 as part of Asheville’s historic effort to provide reparations for Black residents who had suffered systemic racism across generations.
The final report included 39 recommendations in five areas: criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing.
“The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division has recently become aware of concerning recommendations presented to you by the Asheville-Buncombe County Community Reparations Commission,” the DOJ letter read.
“After our initial review, we are deeply concerned that many of the recommendations, if implemented, would violate federal civil rights laws,” the letter continued, citing both the federal Fair Housing Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The DOJ refused comment on the letter.
The Reparations Commission report makes recommendations meant to “repair generations of harm experienced by Black residents across five key areas: criminal justice, education, housing, economic development, and health & wellness.” Can’t have any of that. Nope.
The Watchdog has more background.
Bullies gonna bully
Trump’s weaponized DOJ means to bully into submission (or into silence) those not in alignment with its Make America Great Again efforts to put certain people in their place.
Dwight Mullen, a retired University of North Carolina Asheville political science professor and the former chair of the Reparations Commission, said its recommendations were clearly supported by evidence generated in an exhaustive years-long process that included extensive community input as well as the hiring of a consultant to quantify the impact of racial injustice.
The findings also parallel a decade’s worth of reports researched and written by his students for the State of Black Asheville initiative.
“There’s consistency there, and the Trump administration has responded by, well, let’s cut off the data … because somehow that’s racist,” he said.
Still, Mullen said, his initial impulse is to advise the county to temporarily table the decision about whether to support the recommendations because the legal fight would sap the limited funds available to address the results of racial injustice.
“The resources we have can’t compare to the resources that can be marshaled by the federal government,” he said. “It’s an unfair fight.”
Pam Bondi is getting her crimestopping tips from Libs of TikTok.
One day before Dhillon issued her letter, she posted on X, “The folks in Buncombe County and Asheville NC have heard from @CivilRights tonight. If they pass an illegal, race-based program, they will Find Out … we are serious about ending DEI racism in America!”
The post was in response to a post, tagged to Dhillon’s office, from the far-right Libs of TikTok’s account, which blasted the reparations commission’s proposals.
“How is this real,” Libs of TikTok posted. “Asheville, NC passed a $2.9 million reparations policy. Includes free transportation only for Black pregnant women and funding for housing only for Black people. This isn’t legal!”
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/donate.
Coming soon? Casting a vote for a Democrat (especially a Black one) is discrimination against white Republicans.
Update: “Solely”
* * * * *
Have you fought dicktatorship today?
50501
May Day Strong
No King’s One Million Rising movement
The Resistance Lab
Choose Democracy
Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink
You Have Power
Chop Wood, Carry Water
Thirty lonely but beautiful actions
Attending a Protest Surveillance Self-Defense