In a 52-47 vote late Wednesday, largely along party lines, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as the nation’s next attorney general. Despite strong opposition from lawmakers, citizens and civil rights groups across the spectrum from the NAACP to the HRC and ACLU Sessions will lead the U.S….
Tag: Loretta Lynch
Loretta Lynch: The Legacy of the First Black Woman Appointed U.S. Attorney General
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch In her final weeks in office as U.S. attorney general, Loretta Lynch is still determined to seek justice for Americans. Sheannounced in a video statement on Friday that she is directing the Department of Justice to investigate if the recent rise in hate crimes is…
North Carolina Republicans Try to Block 100-Year-Old Black Woman from Voting
Grace Bell Hardison, a 100-year-old Black woman and resident of Belhaven, North Carolina, lived through The Great Depression, Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement, and she witnessed the first Black president of the United States get elected into office twice. Hardison’s right to vote was challenged by Shane…
Justice Department Replaces Team Investigating Eric Garner Death
In an unusual move, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has taken New York-based lawyers and investigators off the team tasked to Eric Garner’s case, meaning the federal criminal investigation into Eric Garner’s death may finally be moving forward — two years after his death. The investigation into Garner’s 2014 death was…
Loretta Lynch: DOJ 'Stands ready' to Stop Unlawful Intimidation, Discrimination at Voting Polls
Though a Supreme Court decision will limit the amount of DOJ poll observers, the U.S. attorney general says the DOJ will “protect every eligible citizen’s right to vote.” By Sheryl Estrada Amid Republican presidential candidate Trump’s cries of a “rigged election,” and soliciting poll watchersor “Trump election observers” as stated…
Voter ID Laws Smacked Down as Being Overtly Racist
Recent court rulings in five separate states have overturned portions of voting laws the courts determined specifically restricted voting rights among minorities. Two unrelated federal court rulings on Friday explicitly stated that voter ID laws in North Carolina and Wisconsin were created to disenfranchise Black voters. On Monday, a federal…
Texas Voter ID Law Discriminates, Federal Court Rules
A strict voter ID law in Texas does indeed discriminate against Blacks and Latinos, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, saying the law violates the U.S. Voting Rights Act. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, partially upheld a 2014 district court ruling, agreeing that the Texas…
U.S. v. Dylann Roof: Justice Dept. to Seek Death Penalty for Charleston Killings
By Sheryl Estrada Dylann Roof The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to seek the death penalty against Dylann Roof, who stands accused of opening fire on June 17, 2015, during Bible study at the Charleston, South Carolina, historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Nine Black church members were killed,…
Police Afraid to do Their Jobs, Says FBI Director
FBI Director James Comey attributed a recent spike in crime to police officers not doing their jobs because they are afraid of being caught on video doing something wrong an unfounded claim that sparked outrage in police officials, the Obama administration and the Justice Department. The “viral video effect” is…
Arizona Voting Scandal Shows Minority Voters Clearly Alienated by Changes to Voting Rights Act
Changes to the Voting Rights Act in 2013 are now showing their effects and having a significant impact in disenfranchising minorities from this year’s election process. The presidential primary in Arizona last week where minority voters were required to wait as long as five hours to cast their votes brought…