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Senate Confirms Kristen Clarke as First Woman--and First Black Woman--to Lead the Civil Rights Division
Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the Senate's bipartisan vote confirming Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice:
WASHINGTON
Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the Senate's bipartisan vote confirming Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice:
"This is an historic, important moment for our nation as Kristen Clarke becomes the first woman, and notably, the first Black woman, confirmed to lead the Civil Rights Division. In this crucial role, Clarke will no doubt continue her lifelong commitment fighting tirelessly for equal justice under the law for every individual in this country, including people of color facing racial and sex discrimination, LGBTQ people, and religious minorities targeted because of their faith. The Justice Department is in superb hands as it continues to restore its role as chief enforcer of our civil rights."
In February, The Leadership Conference released a letter signed by more than 100 civil and human rights organizations in support of Clarke's nomination. A wide range of leaders and organizations have also submitted letters of support. Those letters are available here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
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After Harris-Trump Debate, Progressives Say 2024 Contrast 'Couldn't Be More Stark'
The president of the AFL-CIO called the November election a "fundamental choice," slamming Trump as "an unhinged serial union buster who betrays working people."
Sep 11, 2024
The 2024 U.S. presidential debate in Philadelphia Tuesday night presented what progressive organizers and labor leaders described as a stark choice between a former president dedicated to slashing taxes for the rich and assailing fundmental freedoms and a vice president committed to protecting abortion rights, combating corporate abuses, and alleviating the nation's housing crisis.
Over the course of the 90-minute debate, Republican nominee Donald Trump repeated well-worn lies about the 2020 election, regurgitated racist falsehoods about immigrants, bragged about the conservative-dominated Supreme Court's decision revoking the constitutional right to abortion care and refused to say he would veto a national abortion ban, and doubled down on his plan to "cut taxes very substantially."
Kamala Harris, who is leading the Democratic ticket, repeatedly took aim at Trump's economic agenda, saying that "it's all about tax breaks for the richest people" and accusing the former president of being "more interested in defending himself than he is in looking out for you." Harris also touted her endorsement from the United Auto Workers and decried the offshoring of manufacturing jobs during Trump's first term.
On reproductive rights, Harris noted that Trump "hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade, and they did exactly as he intended."
"Now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide healthcare," said Harris. "In one state it provides prison for life. Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest."
"Understand what that means," Harris continued. "A survivor of a crime, a violation to their body, does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next. That is immoral. And one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government, and Donald Trump certainly, should not be telling a woman what to do with her body."
Kamala Harris’ full response on abortion pic.twitter.com/QEVkM5WjkR
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 11, 2024
Swing Left, a progressive advocacy group, said following Tuesday's debate that "there is only one candidate who will protect and expand our freedoms," adding that "the choice couldn't be clearer."
"Harris has a clear plan for her presidency: Building an opportunity economy, securing reproductive freedom, making housing more affordable, and protecting access to healthcare for millions of Americans," the group said. "Donald Trump wants to tax the middle class while giving tax cuts to his billionaire buddies, further strip away reproductive rights—including abortion, IVF, and birth control—and implement Project 2025 on day one. But rather than present his vision, he struggled to communicate a single coherent point."
On housing, said the co-executive directors of the Center for Popular Democracy Action, Harris "did what no other presidential candidate or elected president has done."
"Harris laid out a future to boost first-time homeowners and demonstrated her commitment to America's working people," said Analilia Mejia and DaMareo Cooper. "Trump is a racist slumlord. The contrast couldn't be more stark and for the Center for Popular Democracy Action, the choice is clear."
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, similarly described the 2024 contest as a "fundamental choice," characterizing Harris as a "principled, tough fighter who'll work to create opportunity for all of us" and Trump as "an unhinged serial union buster who betrays working people."
"As tonight's debate reminded us, a second Trump term would be a corporate CEO's dream and a worker's nightmare," Shuler said in a statement late Tuesday. "Trump and Vance are ready to make their Project 2025 agenda a terrifying reality: eviscerating unions, slashing millions of union jobs, and making it nearly impossible for workers to organize, while cutting wages and benefits and threatening health and safety on the job. They're running a campaign based on division and fear to cover up the fact that they are in this for themselves and their rich donor friends—not the workers who make this country run."
"Harris' comments on Gaza continue to offend voters appalled by Netanyahu's U.S.-funded killing campaign."
But it wasn't all praise for Harris following her debate performance.
Climate groups voiced outrage over her expressed support for fracking and touting of "the largest increase in domestic oil production in history" under the Biden administration.
"Tonight, Harris spent more time promoting fracking than laying out a bold vision for a clean energy future," said the youth-led Sunrise Movement. "That's a big missed opportunity. With an election this close, every young climate voter we turn out matters."
Harris' response to the lone question about Israel's assault on Gaza also sparked anger from progressives who have been pushing the vice president to support an arms embargo against the Israeli military—a position that, according to recent polling, would boost her support among U.S. voters.
On the debate stage Tuesday night, Harris reiterated her support for a cease-fire while emphasizing that "Israel has a right to defend itself."
"Harris' comments on Gaza continue to offend voters appalled by Netanyahu's U.S.-funded killing campaign," said Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement. "They offer nothing new and perpetuate the murderous status quo. It's simple: To stop the war, our government must stop sending the weapons fueling the war."
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Harris Urged to 'Absolutely Go After Trump for Being in the Pocket of Big Oil'
"Trump cozying up with the industry is wildly unpopular," asserted climate campaigner Jamie Henn.
Sep 10, 2024
Noting former U.S. President Donald Trump's coziness with the fossil fuel industry and the fact that an overwhelming majority of voters want politicians to tackle its greed, one prominent climate campaigner urged Vice President Kamala Harris—the Democratic nominee—to highlight her Republican opponent's Big Oil ties during Tuesday night's debate.
"Harris should absolutely go after Trump for being in the pocket of Big Oil," Fossil Free Media director Jamie Henn said on social media, adding that "89% of Americans want politicians to crack down on Big Oil price gouging."
In a
separate post, Henn urged ABC News, which is hosting the first—and likely only—2024 presidential debate, to ask the candidates about the climate emergency.
"Ninety-nine percent of Americans have experienced some form of extreme weather this year," he wrote. "If ABC News doesn't ask about the climate crisis this evening, it's journalistic malpractice."
On Tuesday, a trio of Democratic U.S. lawmakers called on fossil fuel executives to comply with a request for "information regarding quid pro quo solicitations" from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who earlier this year promised to gut climate regulations if they donated $1 billion to his Republican presidential campaign.
Climate campaigners have been warning of the dangers of a second term for Trump, who during his previous administration rolled back regulations protecting the climate, environment, and biodiversity, resulting in increased pollution and
premature deaths and fueling catastrophic planetary heating.
"If a Trump administration was merely going to be a four-year interregnum, it would be annoying. But in fact it comes at precisely the moment when we need, desperately,
acceleration," 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben wrote in a Guardian opinion article last week.
"The world's climate scientists have done their best to set out a timetable: Cut emissions in half by 2030 or see the possibilities of anything like the Paris pathway, holding temperature increases to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, disappear," he continued. "That cut is on the bleeding edge of the technically possible, but only if everyone is acting in good faith. And the next presidential term will end in January of 2029, which is 11 months before 2030."
"If we elect Donald Trump, we may feel the effects not for years, and not for a generation," McKibben added. "We may read our mistake in the geological record a million years hence. This one really counts."
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Missouri Supreme Court Restores Abortion Rights Ballot Initiative
"Anti-abortion opponents are trying everything to keep abortion rights questions away from voters—but their dirty tricks keep failing," said one campaigner.
Sep 10, 2024
Reproductive freedom defenders on Tuesday cheered the Missouri Supreme Court's restoration of an abortion rights referendum—one of numerous 2024 ballot initiatives seeking to codify access to the healthcare procedure in states from coast to coast.
Missouri's highest court overturned Cole County Judge Christopher Limbaugh's ruling removing Amendment 3—also known as the Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative—from the November 5 ballot. Limbaugh ordered Republican Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who decertified the measure on Monday, to place it back on the ballot.
“The majority of Missourians want politicians out of their exam rooms, and today's decision by the Missouri Supreme Court keeps those politicians out of the voting booth as well," Planned Parenthood Great Rivers Action vice president of external affairs Margot Riphagen
said on social media. "On November 5, Missouri voters will declare their right to reproductive freedom, ensuring decisions about our bodies and our healthcare—including abortion—stay between us, our families, and our providers."
Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project—which provides funding and technical assistance to abortion rights campaigns in Missouri, Arizona, Montana, and Florida—said in a statement that "anti-abortion opponents are trying everything to keep abortion rights questions away from voters—but their dirty tricks keep failing. They know that when voters have a say, reproductive freedom is upheld time and time again."
Chris Hatfield, a lawyer representing abortion rights groups in the case, toldThe New York Times: "This is a big deal. The court will send a message today about whether, in our little corner of the democracy, the government will honor the will of the people, or will have it snatched away."
Missouri has one of the nation's most draconian abortion bans, with the procedure
prohibited in almost all circumstances "except in cases of medical emergency." The ban—which dates to 2019—took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade in 2022.
The Midwestern state joins
at least seven others in which abortion will be on the ballot this November. Every abortion rights ballot measure since the overturn of Roe has passed.
In neighboring Nebraska, the state Supreme Court on Monday
heard arguments in three lawsuits filed by activists trying to keep multiple abortion rights referenda off the ballot.
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