I had met Chairman Cummings years before while living in
West Baltimore during the uprisings after the murder of
Freddie Gray. With a booming voice and stated determination
to fight for justice, truth and for black liberation, he was
truly inspiring, living up to his reputation as a giant
among men.
I would later live a few blocks from there when I raised my
daughter Lois and would often see him in the community
because he was firmly rooted in Baltimore and its residents.
He had a youth program that served thousands and he worked
feverishly to ensure that Baltimore youth were able to reach
their full potential.
He said that “our children are the living messages we send
to a future that we will never see” and his service
compelled him to ensure that the future was better for them.
He was a stalwart of justice, pursuer of truth. When we were
asked to be on the Oversight Committee, I was overjoyed
because I knew the work that we would undertake would be
central to ensuring our nation and democracy was
strengthened and we were defending people who could not
defend themselves.
Our first hearing was on the exploding prices of
prescription drugs and how Big Pharma has been profiting on
the market while people were suffering without medication,
dying, and going bankrupt to stay alive. He knew that the
role of Congress was to serve people, not shareholders and
without action, people will die due to the lack of access to
life-saving medications.
My last hearing with Chairman Cummings was about the abuses
of immigrant children at the hands of the Department of
Homeland Security in detention facilities. Like dozens of
times before, Chairman Cummings commanded the room and
demanded accountability saying that it’s not just about the
deeds that we do to children, but the memories of these
traumatic experiences committed by the government that will
remain.
He was a defender of democracy. The Committee on Oversight
and Reform had a tremendous responsibility for investigating
interference in the 2016 election as well as oversight of
the conduct of President Trump and his administration in
whether they purposely acted in ways that undermined the
rule of law and democracy. This responsibility weighed heavy
on the Chairman and on all of us as we were charged to
pursue the truth and where that may lead us. The Chairman
and his team were the best there are on the Hill and we
found numerous laws broken and institutions weakened to
interfere with federal elections, accountability and to
inflict suffering on citizens.
He passed major legislation out of the Committee to protect
elections, root out corruption and self-dealing in the
federal government, and to hold elected and confirmed
officials to the highest ethical and moral standards. He was
the North Star for Democrats in the House and never lost
legitimacy in the truths and facts that he told to the
American people.
He was a fighter for Black Liberation. He had what King
said was the fierce urgency of now. Chairman Cummings
“realized that with African American people where we’ve been
blocked from being all that God meant for us to be, I don’t
have time to be patient.”
A colleague of mine and I reached out to the chairman on the
day of the Christchurch terrorist attack by a white
supremacist, asking for a hearing on white supremacy and its
threat to our way of life. He didn’t just grant us one
hearing, but three, that confronted white supremacy on the
consequences of inaction, the lack of federal response, and
on transnational white supremacy. Allowing young senior
staffers to lead on issues such as this was the norm for
him. He also focused lately on the effects of childhood
trauma and what it means for our future, particularly for
children of color. I will be forever grateful to him for
embracing our fight for a better nation.
This was his watch. “I’m
begging the American people to pay attention to what is
going on. Because if you want to have a democracy intact for
your children, and your children’s children, and generations
yet unborn we've got to guard this moment… this is our
watch.” said Chairman Cummings.
As our most sacred rights, such as voting rights, have been
attacked and weakened the chairman was adamant about
preserving those rights. He admitted that despite being in
the last leg of his amazing life, that current events
increased the need for him to work day and night to preserve
and strengthen this democracy for not just African
Americans, but all Americans.
His life was a call to action for us to work harder for a
country that we own and for a future that we deserve. As
Chairman Cummings exhaled his last breath and ended his
watch on this earthly domain, we must step forward because
this is our watch.
Dominique “Domo” Warren is an educator, coach,
writer, staffer in the United States Senate, and
political strategist as well as a native of Toledo,
Ohio. He can be reached at domowarren.com and on
facebook/twitter/Instagram @domowarren. |
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