This essay argues for a new approach to civil rights advocacy using the lens of French Symbolism (Mallarmé et al.) and large datasets. I discuss how we can make implicit meaning explicit within contemporary political discourse by applying insights gained from my dissertation on the painter-printmaker-sculptor Paul Gauguin. Through pattern seeking and a creative application of the criteria of "actual malice" (established by the Supreme Court case New York Times v. Sullivan) we can begin to see instances of actual bias against identity groups protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.