In an incredible field of candidates for DNC Chair, here is why I am on #TeamTom:
By Anurima Bhargava, former Chief of the Educational Opportunities Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice
For four years, I served with Tom Perez as he reignited a national civil rights movement — a movement that looked to federal authority to empower communities across the country to engage in the struggle for civil rights.
For Tom, who headed the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, civil rights enforcement meant far more than conducting investigations and filing lawsuits. It meant creating a climate for communities to be able to engage and act. It meant making the work of the Division open and accessible to all. It meant going out to neighborhoods across America, looking people in the eye and reminding them that the Division was, as Tom liked to say, open for business. And for those of us in the business, it meant getting close and standing next to those we were standing up for.
Tom traveled all over, and he got close. The few times I joined Tom on the road, I witnessed the transformational connections that he made with families and communities.
In Alabama, a state law sought to strip immigrants of basic services and their ability to work and go to school without fear. Immigrant families and children demonstrated tremendous courage and gathered at a community center to share their stories with us. We could feel the overwhelming fear as we walked in. No one knew what to expect. Tom walked into the middle of the room, and began to speak in Spanish about how important everyone in the room was to their community and to this country. As Tom spoke, a little boy wandered up and held on to Tom’s leg. As Tom and this little boy stood together, with Tom’s hand on the boy’s head, the fear slowly dissipated and a sense of common dignity and humanity began to reemerge.
In Montana, a different type of fear reigned when young women’s reports of being sexually assaulted were being systematically ignored or mishandled. Tom stood in a small conference room in Missoula and announced the most comprehensive federal investigation of violence against women in history. The County Attorney — whose office was placed under investigation for failure to prosecute sexual assaults — was incensed. He proclaimed that he would never cooperate or change how he’d (failed to) address the reports of sexual assault. That morning, and throughout the investigation, Tom calmly stood our ground.
In Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a gunman had opened fire in a Sikh place of worship, killing eight. Tom and I visited Oak Creek several weeks later. As we walked in, we were led by hand to the bullet holes on the walls, the pantry and the hallways where many sought refuge from the massacre. One woman showed us where the bullet had grazed her foot as she ran for safety in the kitchen. We sat and ate with families whose first request, even in their grief, was to be able to serve in the United States military consistent with their articles of faith. We witnessed how, in the wake of a tragedy fueled by hate, love and forgiveness prevailed, and the desire to serve remained undiminished.
Tom often urged us to use “every tool we had in the toolbox” to strengthen civil rights protections and build a safer and more inclusive America for all. Tom would stop by, even after he left the Division, under the guise of grabbing a cookie or a quick meal, to ask how everyone was doing, always starting with staff members and their families, many of whom he’d known for decades. And in the hardest of times — whether personal or professional — Tom simply showed up. Just to check in.
Tom lives what he advocates for: No matter your position or circumstance, you stand with each other. Tom is the man you want standing next to you.
