Equality California has joined 130 other civil rights organizations in calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a strong assistant attorney general for civil rights who will aggressively enforce the nation’s civil rights laws. Read the letter sent by the organizations below.
Sign-on letter to AG Sessions
Dear Attorney General Sessions:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 130 undersigned national, state, and local organizations, we are writing to express our views on the factors we urge you to consider in selecting the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division was created by passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and this year marks its 60th anniversary. The Civil Rights Division and its eleven sections have the critical responsibility of enforcing our nation’s federal civil rights laws. Its mission is to provide equal treatment and equal justice under the law by enforcing and defending the civil rights of all Americans in such areas as voting, criminal justice, education, employment, housing, and public accommodations. Our federal civil rights laws have transformed the nation, outlawing discrimination in nearly every facet of American life.
In recent years, the Civil Rights Division has vigorously enforced our federal civil rights laws, fighting discriminatory barriers and opening doors of opportunity for the most vulnerable among us. In the area of voting rights, despite the severe setback posed by the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the Civil Rights Division has aggressively pursued investigations and litigation under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and utilized other tools at its disposal, to protect voters from discrimination and preserve voting rights around the country, particularly in those jurisdictions with an ongoing record of discriminatory voting practices but that are no longer subject to Section 5 coverage.
The Civil Rights Division has also aggressively enforced federal laws to ensure constitutional policing. By opening 25 pattern-or-practice investigations over the past eight years under Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Civil Rights Division has reduced excessive force, unlawful stops and searches, and discriminatory policing, which has strengthened the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Where police misconduct rose to the level of criminal activity, the Civil Rights Division brought prosecutions. During the past eight years, the Civil Rights Division criminally charged nearly 600 law enforcement officials for depriving individuals of their constitutional rights while acting in their official capacity.
The Civil Rights Division has also zealously pursued hate crime investigations and prosecutions. The most recent FBI statistics indicate increasing hate crimes directed against African Americans, LGBT individuals, and Jews – and a 67 percent increase in hate crimes targeting American Muslims. Just last week, a South Asian man was murdered in Kansas by a man who reportedly used racial slurs and yelled “get out of my country” before opening fire. In recent months, there have been dozens of threats to Jewish Community Centers, schools, and other Jewish institutions across the country, and several Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized.
In addition, during the previous administration, the Civil Rights Division vigorously enforced our federal civil rights to protect the rights of people with disabilities, defend the civil rights of LGBT individuals, advance economic security and opportunity by ensuring equal access to credit, fulfill the promise of equal educational opportunity, prosecute human trafficking, combat housing and employment discrimination, prevent religious discrimination, promote access to justice, advance juvenile justice reform, protect the rights of Limited English Proficient individuals, prevent race and national origin discrimination by recipients of federal funds, defend the rights of service members, advance environmental justice, combat sex discrimination, and prevent and prosecute acts of violence against reproductive health care providers.
We believe the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights must have:
At your Senate confirmation hearing last month, you testified: “The Department of Justice must never falter in its obligation to protect the civil rights of every American, particularly those who are most vulnerable. A special priority for me in this regard will be aggressive enforcement of our laws to ensure access to the ballot for every eligible American voter, without hindrance or discrimination, and to ensure the integrity of the electoral process… I deeply understand the history of civil rights and the horrendous impact that relentless and systemic discrimination and the denial of voting rights has had on our African-American brothers and sisters. I have witnessed it. I understand the demands for justice and fairness made by the LGBT community. I will ensure that the statutes protecting their rights and their safety are fully enforced.”
We appreciate your testimony in this regard, and we hope that you will appoint an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights who will be guided by these values, as well as those set forth in this letter.
Thank you for your consideration of our views. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please contact Wade Henderson, President and CEO, or Nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice President, at (202) 466-3311.
Sincerely,
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 9to5, National Association of Working Women AARP African American Ministers In Action Alliance for Citizenship Alliance for Justice American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity American Association of People with Disabilities American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Civil Liberties Union American Federation of Teachers American Jewish Committee (AJC) American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Anti-Defamation League The Arc of the United States Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations Association of University Centers on Disabilities Atlanta Women for Equality Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law Bend the Arc Jewish Action Bill of Rights Defense Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation Bus Federation Campaign Legal Center Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Center for Reproductive Rights Common Cause Communications Workers of America DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence Demos Disability Policy Consortium of Massachusetts Earthjustice Equal Pay Today! Equal Rights Advocates Equality California Every Voice Family Equality Council Feminist Majority Fitting The Description Four Freedoms Forum Gender Justice Hindu American Foundation Human Rights Campaign Human Rights First Institute for Science and Human Values The Interfaith Center of New York International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA) The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights Justice in Aging Justice Policy Institute Lambda Legal Latino Council LatinoJustice PRLDEF Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law League of United Latin American Citizens League of Women Voters of the United States Legal Aid at Work Legal Voice Matthew Shepard Foundation Mi Familia Vota Muslim Advocates NAACP NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. NALEO Educational Fund NARAL Pro-Choice America National Abortion Federation National Action Network National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc. National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities National Association of Social Workers National Bar Association National Black Justice Coalition National Center for Law and Economic Justice National Center for Lesbian Rights National Center for Transgender Equality The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation National Congress of American Indians National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) National Council of Churches National Council of Jewish Women National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA National Disability Rights Network National Education Association National Employment Law Project National Employment Lawyers Association National Fair Housing Alliance National Health Law Program National Immigration Law Center National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty National LGBTQ Task Force National Network for Arab American Communities National Partnership for Women & Families National Religious Campaign Against Torture National Urban League National Women’s Law Center NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice Newtown Action Alliance OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates People For the American Way People’s Action PFLAG National Planned Parenthood Federation of America PolicyLink Pride Fund to End Gun Violence Prison Policy Initiative Project Vote Public Advocates Inc. Rock the Vote Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) The Sikh Coalition TASH U.S. Women and Cuba Collaboration Union for Reform Judaism The United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society United Nations Association-USA East Bay Chapter The Voter Participation Center Voting Rights Forward The Voting Rights Institute Voto Latino WomenNC/ NC Coalition for CEDAW Women’s Law Project Women’s Voices.Women Vote Action Fund Woodhull Freedom Foundation YWCA USA
