John,
Racial justice depends on having an ethical, open and accountable government.
When our government doesn’t uphold those principles, historically marginalized communities often bear the brunt of the impact. We saw that vividly during the Trump administration, but it wasn’t a new development. At CREW, we know that fighting for an ethical, accountable government is key to advancing racial justice and racial equity.
In 2020 and 2021, we saw how law enforcement responded differently to racial justice protests than January 6. An analysis of internal government documents by CREW says it all: “all hands on deck” for racial justice, “no credible threats” from alt-right groups on January 6. Racial justice protesters in the summer of 2020 were subject to increased surveillance, arrests and serious shows of force by police, while law enforcement repeatedly failed to respond to credible threats and intelligence ahead of the insurrection—with devastating results.
During the Trump administration, Trump’s DHS was ripping apart Black and Brown families at the border—and at the same time was illegally failing to create the records needed to reunite them. ICE has a history of failing to create—or even destroying—records that could enable detained immigrants to hold the government accountable for mistreatment and abuses. Recordkeeping laws are crucial to protecting civil rights—and breaking them has made serious abuses even worse.
Dark money isn’t just bad for our democracy on principle—it also actively contributes to voter suppression and gerrymandering, which disproportionately harm minority communities. Leonard Leo’s immense dark money network gave tens of millions of dollars to the Honest Elections Project, which has advanced the “independent state legislature theory” that the Supreme Court will soon rule on, a decision that could totally upend elections by allowing state legislatures to run federal elections with essentially no oversight. It’s obvious that many states would likely use that power to attack voting rights, which always hits young, Black, Brown and low-income voters hardest.
These examples just scratch the surface of how an ethical, accountable government is essential to ensuring racial justice. When we talk about fighting for transparency, countering corruption, and strengthening ethics laws, we’re not just fighting to uphold abstract principles. These ideals make a real difference in people’s lives and in achieving racial justice, and we’re going to keep fighting for a stronger, fairer democracy, no matter how long it takes.
Thank you for being in this fight with us,
Donald Sherman
Senior VP and Chief Counsel
CREW
