Death threats are real for top officials of color. Still, Rachael Rollins won’t be protected today.

Inauguration Day, January 2009. President Barack Obama is sworn in as the first Black President of the United States. 1.8 million jammed the plaza to witness the monumental moment. Even the frigid 28 degrees didn’t dampen the attendees’ excitement. Their pride and hope were on full display. The live TV audience watched as the new president and his wife, Michelle Obama, rode in the inaugural motorcade down Pennsylvania Avenue. Close to the end of the one-mile stretch, the two got out of the car for a short walk, following a tradition first started in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.

I watched as they confidently strode down the street headed to the White House, waving to the enthusiastic crowd — and I tried to push down a wave of fear I knew was shared by many millions of African Americans. He was out in the open, a ready target for someone who might try to kill him. I later learned there were many who literally screamed at the TV, “Get back in the car! Get back in the car!”

Recently, cell phone videos of African Americans brutally beaten or killed have revealed to the rest of America what Black folks already knew: too many of us have been witnesses or victims of racial violence. In fact, some African Americans said they would not vote for him because they were afraid then-Senator Obama would be a bigger target if he were to win the presidency. If they could kill Martin Luther King and get away with it, some wondered out loud, why should Obama be any different? The FBI documented a record number of threats to Obama and his family, more than any other president.

I thought about all of this when Rachael Rollins, newly confirmed by the Senate as Massachusetts’ U.S. Attorney, asked for federal security and was turned down. The former Suffolk County District Attorney, scheduled to be sworn in today, barely survived a bruising confirmation process during which her professional reputation and character were attacked. The ongoing threats she frequently received at the district attorney’s office became more violent. Death threats like the email which read, “Someone somewhere is plotting to put one in your face or head!” Rollins turned over the emails to the U.S. Marshals Service. According to the Boston Globe, the Marshals investigated and deemed the threats “low risk.”

Rollins, who will be the first Black Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, pointed out on GBH’s Greater Boston “a lot of people don’t realize as a woman ... particularly a woman of color, a Black woman, the level of racist, hate-filled death threats that we receive.” The U.S. Marshals do not provide protection to federal officials unless they assess the threat to be serious. However, former President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — who is white — did receive protection after she was jeered during a middle school visit.

Facts are, on Inauguration Day, Obama’s security detail was on alert because of a credible death threat. And facts are, Rachael Rollins is not exaggerating about the credible threats against her. As is so often the case when the issue is race related, lived experience brings a unique perspective not always valued. Call it a kind of bitter irony. Rollins starts her new job today, charged with protecting Massachusetts citizens by prosecuting violations of federal laws, including cases of terrorism and civil rights abuse — even as her own request for protection remains unfulfilled.