It Took 8 Days to Erase History
On January 28th a memo went out from the Defense Intelligence Agency to its workforce to notify them that the agency will be pausing "Special Emphasis Programs and Related Activities and Events" until further notice. This, they said, was in response to Executive Orders coming from Donald Trump "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions" which went out to the federal employees on January 20th. A lot of heavy jargon for simply erasing history.
These "radical" and "wasteful" government programs include the following special observances (with dates of origin and co-signers):
Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday - 1983 - Ronald Reagan
Black History Month - 1976 - Gerald Ford
Women's History Month - 1980 - Jimmy Carter
Holocaust Day/Days of Remembrance - 1951 (Israel), 2005 (U.N.)
Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month - 1979 - Jimmy Carter
Pride - 1999 - Bill Clinton
Juneteenth - 1866 (Texas), 2021 - Joe Biden
Women's Equality Day - 1973 - Richard Nixon
National Hispanic Heritage Month - 1968 - Lyndon B. Johnson
National Disability Employment Awareness Month - 1988 - Congress
National American Indian Heritage Month - 1990 - George H.W. Bush
"Effective immediately."
No mention was made of Indigenous People's Day, which I assume is in error, but will likely be a Columbus-sized tiff we'll focus in on at the end of the year.
We hear about "dog whistles" a lot in politics, a coded message to the masses to let them know where people in power stand and what will be allowed, and what will have consequences. But these aren't dog whistles anymore. This is an administration with their sweaty palms on a bullhorn, letting us know at full volume that for the next four years your history, your race, your color, your ability, your gender, and who you love not only don't matter, but will not be tolerated, and can now be used as a means to excise you from the general population.
Going as far back as 1866 we sought progress and the recognition of all people in the United States. It took time (and we certainly weren’t done). Black men wouldn't vote until 1870, women not until 1920, and Native Americans wouldn't fully have the right to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. It took longer than it should have to recognize the benefit that people brought to this country from places like South America, the African continent, and Western Europe, to name a few. But we, the United States, embraced ourselves as a "mutt," no longer one of these pure-bred sots we'd run from, telling us how to worship and spend our money. No, we were diverse and proud, a growing, progressive young country that honored freedom and backgrounds of all kinds.
But we weren't done growing. Racism wasn't gone. Newly-recognized groups needed our help to find their equal place at the table, in classrooms and doctors offices, at work, and on paper. We weren't done, despite decades of growth on both sides of the aisle, recognizing this beautiful mutt that is the United States of America.
And with one simple memo it looks as though we've stopped, erasing the names of presidents, legislators, and martyrs who fought to get us here. With one short email we've wiped the names of Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Harvey Milk, Roberto Clemente, Helen Keller, Maria Tallchief, Elie Wiesel, and even Abraham Lincoln from the annals of history.
No more "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses."
No more "Suffer the little children to come unto me."
No more "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
My name is Ellie, named after my Great-Grandmother Eleanor Van Horn. My Grandpa, TB Van Horn, was of Dutch descent. My mother's family were Swensons, from Norway. My father is German. My grandmother, Irish.
I was a "them" once. And so were you.
May God have mercy on our souls.
Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City, and is represented by Vicki Marsdon at High Spot Literary.
Ellie, we watch and witness from our side of the border. They cannot erase any of you. We are taking notes. I promise you.
And I promise that we'll fight with you.
I’m an American living in the EU. We see and hear it all — unfortunately. Americans have a complicated reputation on a good day throughout the EU. The first T regime didn’t help, but the Biden years have helped it recover. Now… sigh.