When the House Oversight Committee, led by Elijah Cummings of Maryland, scheduled a row of hearings on facial recognition software in May, Cedric Alexander was one of the few witnesses compelling its use.
A black law enforcement officer Alexander, spoke about the software’s significance, while he also warned about its potential for racial prejudice. He got into a warm conversation with Cummings after the hearing, and as a result, Alexander asked him to write an introduction for his book, “In Defense of Public Service.”
Cummings wrote in the book, which will be published in February, the summary of his excerpt is that he was amongst those who had not lost trust in their ability to right the ship of American democracy. But, he also added he realized they were in the fight for the soul of democracy.
Elijah Cummings died on Thursday at the age of 68. Numerous people who knew him said that his enthusiasm to write the introduction of a stranger’s book about public service was emblematic. Cummings believed in creating and promoting opportunities for others. He was passionate about the fine detail of government as well as the health of a democratic republic and the availability of federal resources to benefit Baltimore. He was equally known for professionalism and decency as he was voice-raised soliloquies about the law and oddity of the current moment. Elijah Cummings was very concerned about the future generation.
Elijah Cummings was the son of South Carolina sharecroppers and the descendant of slaves. He came to Congress after decades as a prosecution lawyer and thereafter, Maryland state lawmaker.
Cummings used to communicate his militant commitment to modern liberal causes, but always in a moderate way. Cummings’ dialect was not militant, but the notions behind it were.
Elijah Cummings will always be remembered as an eloquent and militant voice for democracy.