The end of the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery were met with Black Codes, severely restricting how previously enslaved people could live. Housing and employment opportunities afforded to Black people were limited. Those who were without a job or home were allowed to be fined, arrested or forced into labor.

Jim Crow laws followed the progress made during Reconstruction and the ratification of the 14th Amendment (giving citizenship and equality to all, including previously enslaved people) and the ratification of the 15th Amendment (giving Black men the right to vote). Those severe laws required, among other things, Black people be subjected to literacy tests and poll taxes when attempting to vote. Segregation was pervasive. Black schools were underfunded and lacked adequate teachers. Separate water fountains, bathrooms and transportation for Black people were often not maintained and sometimes nonexistent. Lynchings became commonplace in Southern states. Societies were separate and far from equal.

In the early Jim Crow years, more than 400 Confederate statues were erected. In the 1920s-1940s, when people were speaking out for civil rights and against lynchings, more monuments were constructed. They did not come from the dust of the Civil War to honor “brave” soldiers from the losing side, but years later by white people messaging that they still held the power.

These efforts were not limited to monuments. The ending of racial segregation in 1954 was followed by a surge of renaming colleges and schools after Confederate war soldiers. These attempts were never meant to display our history but to intimidate, as evidenced by how and when they were done, only after periods of advancement for Black people, and as predictable as clockwork.

The inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009 and the reality of a Black man becoming president was an incredibly positive public statement of forward movement in our country. Yet, that was too much for some white Americans. They struggled with letting go of their own racism and Donald Trump was their answer. With his racist dog whistles like fostering the “birther” lie questioning President Obama’s citizenship and saying there were good people on both sides at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, his followers were emboldened to come out of the shadows and openly display their racism and inferiority.

These were reminders that more work was necessary. The people demanded statues be removed and schools, public buildings and military bases honoring Confederate soldiers be renamed. With the tragic killing of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and the advent of ubiquitous recording devices, more Americans learned about the incessant discriminatory treatment of people of color. Governments, private companies and schools hired diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) experts to help right the wrongs and provide an equal playing field.

That was the progress. So, predictably, now comes the backlash. Lawmakers, including those in our own state, are outlawing DEI positions, banning award-winning literature and removing Black history from textbooks — undermining the fact that Black history is American history. Public education is being underfunded with tax dollars redirected to private schools. Apparently, Republican lawmakers want to move our country backward. This is evident with the reelection of Trump, whose Justice Department quickly halted all civil rights cases.

As we navigate these dark days, remember that history also can give us hope. White resentment and backlash have endured, but there has also been great progress. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Although it may seem like our country is reverting to its racist past, it’s critical that all Americans who truly love our neighbors work to bend that arc toward equality for all.

Charlotte Maloney writes social and political commentary, with work published in The New York Times and newspapers in Utah, Arizona and Colorado. She has a background in library science and human resource management.