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Opinion Holder’s Legacy: No Coward on Race “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor J ERRY F OSTER Advertising Manager L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor P ATRICIA I RVIN D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. A fter being confirmed as the nation’s first African American U.S. attorney general, Eric H. Holder, Jr. wasted little time putting everyone on notice that he would not tip-toe around the volatile subject of race. “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melt- ing pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,” Holder declared in a speech at the Justice Department. There was the predictable uproar on the right and President Obama, while not repudiating his new appointee, told the New York Times, “I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used dif- ferent language.” And that’s precisely the point. Holder was courageous in directly taking on the issue of race while Obama, in the words of George- town University Professor Michael Eric Dyson, “runs from race like a Black man runs from a cop.” Holder’s deeds, not his words, are what made him such an excep- tional attorney general. He fought for criminal-justice reform, saying the overrepresenta- tion of Blacks in the criminal justice system “isn’t just unaccept- able; it’s shameful.” He said, “Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement rea- son.” He favored a 2010 law that elim- inated the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. And he led a successful effort to reduce prison sentences In his zeal to plug national secu- rity leaks, the Justice Department T HE C URRY obtained the phone records of R EPORT journalists performing their jobs. Last year, Holder backtracked, promising that the Justice Depart- George E. ment “will not prosecute any Curry reporter doing his or her job.” Republicans highlighted the fail- ure of Operation Fast and Furious, an Arizona-based Bureau of Alco- for low-level, non-violent drug hol, Tobacco, Firearms and offenders. Explosives (ATF) project to track Arguably his most lasting weapons purchased by Mexican imprint was in the area of voting drug cartels. Not only did ATF fail rights. When the Supreme Court to account for more than 1,000 struck down a key section of the firearms that had been purchased 1965 Voting Rights Act, Holder by straw buyers, two of the miss- said the ruling could not be used ing weapons were linked to the for the wholesale disenfranchise- killing of Brian Terry, a U.S. Bor- Holder’s deeds, not his words, are what made him such an exceptional attorney general ment of people of color. He sued Texas over its voter ID law and challenged North Carolina in court over its law to restrict early voting and same-day registration. Holder further revitalized a sec- tor of the Democratic Party by supporting same-sex marriage and his refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which holds that marriage is strictly between a woman and a man. There were some disappoint- ments as well. He supported the FBI’s right to track U.S. citizens without obtain- ing a warrant. He also approved of the National Security Agency’s authority to collect millions of phone records of Americans not accused of any crime der Patrol agent. When Holder, citing executive privilege, refused to turn over cer- tain Fast and Furious records to Congress, the House held him in contempt, the first for a sitting cabinet member. Both conservatives and liberals criticized Holder for his failure to prosecute individuals connected to the Wall Street financial crisis in 2008. While some firms deemed “too big to fail” were subjected to record fines, no Wall Street execu- tives were prosecuted. They were derisively labeled “too big to jail.” Most African Americans will remember the bold stances and actions Holder took following killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida and the Aug. 9 killing of 18-year- old Michael Brown, Jr. by Darren Wilson, a White police officer, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown was shot at least six times. He criticized Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, telling NAACP delegates, “These laws try to fix something that was never broken.” Holder visited Ferguson, sharing his own personal experiences of being profiled by police. Follow- ing his visit to Ferguson, Holder ordered a federal civil rights investigation of the predominantly White police department. He said the investigation would determine whether Ferguson officers had “engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the U.S. Constitu- tion or federal law.” In a speech earlier this month at New York University, Holder said that as a former U.S. attorney and the brother of a longtime police officer, he has nothing but respect for police officers. But he said he is also an African American man “who has been stopped and searched by police in situations where such action was not war- ranted.” Consequently, he said, “I also carry with me the mistrust that some citizens harbor for those who wear the badge.” Under Holder, the Justice Department has initiated twice as many police reviews for possible constitutional violations than any other attorney general. At least 34 other departments are under feder- al investigation for possible civil rights violations. Conservatives have pilloried Holder for being so aggressive on civil rights. But he has not backed down for one simple reason – he is no coward. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2014 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds More Blacks are Headed to Congress T here are 44 African Ameri- can members of Congress. Next year, five more are expected to join them, bringing the total to 49. That will represent the highest number of Blacks in Con- gress in American history. But will it make a difference? Can they leverage their numbers? Another record-breaking devel- opment in the record-breaking 114th Congress will be that all of the new Black members will be women. It is likely that as many as 20 Black women could take the oath of office on Capitol Hill, which is also a record. That’s the good news. The bad news is that as we’ve seen in state- houses throughout the South, when Democrats become a minor- ity in a legislative chamber, that means less clout for everyone in the party, including African Amer- icans. Depending on how many House Democrats there are in 2015 (there are now 199), the Black Caucus could become 25 percent of the House Democratic Caucus. As the Tea Party members in the House Republican Caucus have proven over and over, a voting bloc of just 25 members can leverage a great deal of power. Despite the large percentages and the voting power within the Democratic Caucus that could help drive a Black agenda, the Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner October 1, 2014 NNPA C OLUMNIST Lauren Victoria Burke biggest issue that can block Black power is that all but three Black members are likely to serve in the minority in the U.S. House from 2015 and 2016. Unless there is an (D-Ohio) announced a new strate- gy to make sure that Black voters are aware of the importance of the midterm elections. The plan is to contact more than 3,000 pastors in battleground states and make sure they urge their parishioners to vote. “Freedom Sundays” was launched on September 21 and the goal is to reach more than 1 mil- lion voters. More than $250,000 was spent on the launch day alone for the get-out-the-vote effort. The upcoming midterm elec- tions on November 4 feature what It is likely that as many as 20 Black women could take the oath of office on Capitol Hill, which is also a record unexpected shock on November 4, Black Caucus members may have to wait until 2017 to use the full force of their power. The 1993 class of Black mem- bers, who arrived after many minority-majority districts were created, is also set to control at least six committees in the House. Six African American chairman- ships would also be yet another historic benchmark. That’s if Democrats can regain control of the House. But will it happen? Last week, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Marcia Fudge are expected to be very close statewide races in states that fea- ture and high percentage of African American voters. They include Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas. In all of these states and a few oth- ers, Black voters literally have the fate of control of the U.S. Senate and a few governor’s offices in their hands. Many primaries over this past year and several elections over the last few cycles have fea- tured races that have come down to only one or two percentage points. To punctuate the importance of midterm voting, Barbara R. Arn- wine, executive director, of the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law, announced that her group will send out “voter toolkits” to thousands of commu- nity groups and civic organizations ahead of November 4. Arnwine is stressing that November’s election is the first since and slew of changes in sev- eral states became law. The efforts at voter protection by the Congres- sional Black Caucus and the Lawyers Committee are earlier than usual in an off-year election cycle. In past cycles, there has been lots of criticism that get out the vote efforts get underway too late to be effective. At some point, the changing demographics in the U.S. will have to show up not only on Elec- tion Day turnout stats but in the complexion of members of Con- gress. Though Hispanics are the largest minority group in America at 16 percent, the face of Congress still has not reflected the number. The Congressional Hispanic Cau- cus has 28 members, 16 members less than the Congressional Black Caucus. Next year, as the Congressional Black Caucus grows to the largest number in their history, they will also have to work to adopt a strat- egy that will solidify their power.
