The Holder Legacy

Eric Holder, who has been the Attorney General since the beginning of the President's first term, has announced that he is retiring from office. With his departure, the last of the high profile members of the original Obama cabinet has left. He won't be leaving his office at the Department of Justice immediately, he will wait until a successor has been appointed and confirmed. His term has been historic, he, like the president is the first African American to occupy his prestigious office. During his term the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was repealed by the Supreme Court, effectively opening the path for marriage equality in the nation. His term also saw the deep polarization of the United States and the worsening of race relations. His term also saw the supreme court gut the Voting Rights Act, a matter than had been dear to his heart. His term also saw the Citizens Unit decision by the Supreme Court, gutting finance regulation laws and opening the door for the monsters that are the superPACs. It was not the most pleasant term for an Attorney General but it was a remarkable one and he will be remembered for a long time.

Son of a military man turned stock broker, Holder grew up with the civil rights movement and was well acquainted with it. After graduating law school, Holders joined the Department of Justice in the Public integrity Section, where he worked to fight political fraud and corruption. In 1988, he was appointed by the Republican President of the time, Ronald Reagan, as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1997 he was appointed as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno by President Bill Clinton. After a short stint as Acting Attorney General in the early Bush term, he soon left for the private sector until he came back as the Attorney General in the brand new Obama cabinet. His term as mentioned earlier was not easy. He had very high expectations, it was right after the financial crisis of 2007 and he was expected to prosecute the banks to the full extant of his power. He is still regarded as having failed in that area.

Minus the fast and furious scandal, which was grossly exaggerated, Holder's tenure as Attorney General was dignified. It is easy to count it as a failure, after the gutting of campaign finance regulations and VRA by the Supreme Court, or the conduct of the DOJ during and after the Zimmerman trial. But to see it that way is to forget that the Supreme Court is a conservative majority and that the judicial system is independent of the DOJ. The Holder DOJ shined in defending the Affordable Care Act and insuring that the President's main achievement is guaranteed survival. Holder and the DOJ never stopped fighting against the Voter Fraud laws and he never ceased to call them what they were, contrived laws laws to hinder and diminish the African American and minority vote. His visit and his words to Ferguson, Missouri, after the unjust murder of Michael Brown help calm tempers and ease tension. The fact that the Attorney General spoke of race relations and of the often unfair treatment of African American individuals for small crimes is remarkable. His DOJ made sure that the sentences for those petty crimes were diminished and as the result, the incarceration rate went down, by a small number, but still remarkable after so many years of increase.

Personally, Eric Holder's term for me as a black person, was inspiring, history and awe inducing. Holder never folded, he withered probably the worst attacks of any serving Attorney General from the opposition but he never flinched. The calls for his resignation were loud, but he resigned on his own terms and controlled his story. The hatred, some racially motivated, that was directed against him was unbelievable, yet he continued his work and served his term with dignity. He leaves office as one of the longest serving Attorney Generals. He was a historic Attorney General in a historic Presidency.  Hopefully he will continue to use his incredible talents in the service of Justice as he resumes normal life.