The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition. Led by
@mayawiley
.
Powerful: Ranking Member
@RepMcGovern
just read an entire book into the record.
“It's called The Life of Rosa Parks by Kathleen Connors. It was pulled from second grade classrooms in the Duval County public school district in Florida. So let's just see what's so objectionable.”
“I am a survivor of the Tulsa race massacre. Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 107th birthday. Today, I’m visiting Washington, DC for the first time in my life. I’m here seeking justice, and I'm asking my country to acknowledge what happened in Tulsa in 1921.”
–Viola Fletcher
WATCH: Congressman
@MondaireJones
just spoke truth to power on the House floor about why some lawmakers oppose
#DCStatehood
.
Republicans forced him to withdraw his words, but the truth remains: Race is a critical factor in the long-term denial of rights for DC residents. Enough.
“I want to also point out that the states that are passing the most restrictive laws around abortion are also the states that are preventing people from voting.”
Watch Prof. Khiara Bridges connect the dots between restrictive abortion laws and restrictive voting laws in America.
BREAKING: Senate Republicans just confirmed Justin Walker to the federal bench in Kentucky – FOR LIFE.
Never tried a case. Not Qualified rating from the ABA. Hostile to health care access.
It's shameful and outrageous. Walker will be a disaster for civil and human rights.
WATCH: During her confirmation hearing this morning (yes, this morning – in 2018), judicial nominee Wendy Vitter refused to say whether she agreed with the result in Brown v. Board of Education.
#UnfitToJudge
BREAKING: Civil rights attorney and lifelong activist
@mayawiley
is our next president and CEO.
We’re thrilled to welcome Maya to our team and work alongside her in our ongoing fight to protect and advance civil and human rights.
Say it with us:
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
Trans people belong.
#RiseUpOct8
BREAKING:
@SenSchumer
just moved forward on two judicial nominees. This includes Judge Doris Pryor, who would be the first person of color from Indiana to serve on the 7th Circuit.
Judge Pryor would be the ninth Black woman confirmed to a federal circuit court since last year.
BREAKING: With Arianna Freeman’s confirmation to the 3rd Circuit, the Senate has now confirmed eight Black women to serve on federal circuit courts during
@POTUS
’s presidency.
Before last year, only eight Black women had EVER served at this level of the judiciary.
This matters.
BREAKING: The Senate just confirmed Vanita Gupta. She will now be the first woman of color and first civil rights lawyer in U.S. history to serve as associate attorney general at the Department of Justice.
An important and historic moment for our country. Remember this day.
BREAKING:
@SenSchumer
just tried passing a resolution supporting the constitutional right to peacefully protest, saying violence is unlawful, and condemning Trump’s order to tear gas peaceful protesters outside the White House.
But
@senatemajldr
objected – so it failed.
BREAKING: The Senate just unanimously passed
#S475
to establish Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19) as a legal public holiday.
Juneteenth is one step closer to becoming a federal holiday.
Today marks 44 years since the assassination of Harvey Milk in San Francisco.
His words remain true: “All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.”
We remember him. 💜
This year’s
#BloodySunday
commemoration is the first without civil rights legends Congressman John Lewis, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian, and Bruce Boynton, who all passed away in 2020.
We remember and honor them – today and always.
#Selma56
👑
.
@lizzo
at the
#VMAs
: “Your vote means everything to me. It means everything to making a change in this country. So remember when you’re voting for your favorite artist, vote to change some of these laws that are oppressing us.”
BREAKING: The House just passed the
#NOBANAct
to end the Muslim & African bans and to prohibit future presidents from enacting similar discriminatory bans. It is the FIRST time that a chamber of Congress has passed a Muslim civil rights bill. We call on the Senate to act quickly.
Fred Gray is a civil rights lawyer who worked with Dr. King, fought the segregation policy in the Montgomery bus system (defending Claudette Colvin & Rosa Parks), and filed the lawsuit to protect the Selma to Montgomery marchers.
Gray is still practicing law and turns 91 today.
Thank you for covering this,
@maddow
.
We know Vanita Gupta fights for justice, which is why we need her at the Justice Department at this critical moment for our country.
Let’s get her confirmed.
#ConfirmGupta
As our
@LChapmanEsq
made clear in response to questions from Rep.
@AOC
, polling place closures – especially in the wake of Shelby County – are a particularly common & pernicious tactic for disenfranchising voters of color.
It's time for Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act.
Senator
@ossoff
: “Voting rights are the very bedrock of our democracy...that is why Congress must pass voting rights. Must restore the Voting Rights Act. Must restore the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act. And must end these blatant voter suppression practices.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson, DC Circuit
Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, 7th Circuit
Tiffany Cunningham, Federal Circuit
Eunice Lee, 2nd Circuit
All 4 federal appellate judges confirmed in 2021 are Black women. Before this year, only 8 Black women had EVER served in this role.
This matters.
“The next time a woman, and especially a woman of color – because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart – tells you what she needs in order to do her job: Listen to her. Believe her.”
–Michelle Williams
#Emmys
Trust us: Stop what you’re doing and watch this incredible exchange between Senator
@CoryBooker
and DOJ Civil Rights Division nominee Kristen Clarke.
She’s the real deal.
#ConfirmClarke
We thank Senator
@ossoff
for acknowledging tomorrow’s anniversary of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia – and we appreciate Judge Garland’s response to his question about Congress equipping the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to launch pattern or practice investigations. Watch:
SENATOR
@OSSOFF
: Will you commit to using the full power of your office to protect the sacred right to vote, which remains under attack in this country, to make democracy real for every American citizen?
VANITA GUPTA: Yes, senator.
#ConfirmGupta
.
@RepCasten
asked Mark Zuckerberg if a member of the American Nazi party who is running for office (which was the case last year in Illinois) can speak on
@facebook
in a different fashion than a member of the Nazi party who is not running for office.
Zuckerberg could not answer.
BREAKING:
@SenSchumer
just moved forward on the nominations of Tana Lin to serve on U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and Myrna Pérez to serve on the 2nd Circuit.
Both are civil rights lawyers & women of color, and we strongly support their confirmation.
.
@repjohnlewis
: “We heard this during the 60s when little children were trying to desegregate schools, when we were trying to desegregate lunch counters & restaurants, when we were trying to get the right to vote – to go back. We’re not going back.” WATCH:
BREAKING: The House just passed the
#AmericanRescuePlan
Act (H.R. 1319) – President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. Includes a $15 minimum wage.
BREAKING: The House just passed
#HR620
, the ADA Education and Reform Act, which limits the power of the Americans with Disabilities Act and turns back the clock on disability rights in America. This is deeply shameful.
.
@AOC
: “To even have the idea of proposing the federal government strip voting rights in one of the Blackest cities in this country that has a history of enslavement…This has nothing to do with election integrity. This is about racial control – and this is not new.”
NEWS: Senator
@ossoff
just secured unanimous consent to pass his first piece of legislation, which honors his hero and mentor, the late Congressman John Lewis, for his towering achievements in the nonviolent struggle for civil rights.
#GAPol
BREAKING: In new letter, 135 civil and human rights groups OPPOSE creation of a new domestic terrorism charge.
Be clear: DOJ already has more than 50 federal statutes it can use to investigate & prosecute individuals who participated in the insurrection.
BREAKING: The Senate just confirmed civil rights lawyer Nancy Abudu to serve on the 11th Circuit – bringing to the bench tremendous civil rights experience that has been historically excluded from our judiciary.
Abudu becomes the first Black woman to EVER serve on this court.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
Restore the Voting Rights Act.
.
@VP
: “It took 3 tries for the marchers to cross the bridge. It took their sweat, their tears, their blood. It took their resilience, their determination, and their courage…In a moment of great uncertainty, those marchers pressed forward – and they crossed. We must do the same.”
Sorry,
@realDonaldTrump
. You can't make racist statements one day and "honor the memory" of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr the next. Your actions don't honor Dr. King's memory; they insult it. We condemn your racism & demand better from you and your anti-civil rights administration.
HISTORIC:
@VP
Kamala Harris is swearing in the first Latino senator from California (Alex Padilla), the first Black senator from Georgia (Rev. Raphael Warnock), and the first Jewish senator from Georgia (Jon Ossoff).
It's a new day in the Senate –
@SenateDems
have the majority.
BREAKING: The Senate just confirmed 12 district court nominees in two hours – and three of them refused to say that
#BrownvBoard
was correctly decided.
Trump now has 187 LIFETIME federal judges. His takeover of our courts continues.
BREAKING: The Senate just confirmed Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the 3rd Circuit. She is the TENTH Black woman confirmed under
@POTUS
to a federal circuit court.
Biden has appointed more Black women to our federal circuit courts than all previous presidents combined.
BREAKING:
@SenateMajLdr
McConnell just filed cloture on district court nominee Thomas Farr of North Carolina and 8th Circuit nominee Jonathan Kobes – two conservative ideologues who should NOT be confirmed to lifetime seats on the federal bench.
We urge all senators to vote NO.
HISTORIC: Laphonza Butler was sworn in as the new U.S. senator for California.
She becomes the first Black lesbian to openly serve in Congress and first openly LGBTQ person to represent CA in the Senate. She’s also the third Black woman to ever serve as senator (
@VP
was second).
BREAKING: Since last week, the Senate has confirmed six civil rights lawyers to the federal bench.
Congrats to Judges Hernán Vera, Casey Pitts, Dale Ho, Nusrat Choudhury, Julie Rikelman, and Natasha Merle.
THIS is the kind of judiciary our nation needs & deserves.
#CourtsMatter
“I share this award with all those who champion progress, equity, and the truth of who we are and who we must become as a nation – one that defends and expands democracy.”
At the
#NAACPImageAwards
,
@MichelleObama
just presented the social justice impact award to
@staceyabrams
!
"Today is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people. The Supreme Court...declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class."
–JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR
BREAKING:
@POTUS
has announced 11 judicial nominees – 10 for lifetime positions. Includes THREE Black women circuit court picks – and nine of the 11 are women.
A great first step in making our courts fairer and more reflective of our incredible diversity.
.
@mayawiley
on
@WagnerTonight
: “This was so important to say, not only do Black people, Black women, have a right to participate in every aspect of our democracy, including being public servants…Every time we get a victory in a case like this…it matters.”
BREAKING: The House just passed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to prevent racial discrimination in voting and protect our democracy.
We call on the Senate to pass this urgent civil rights legislation as soon as possible – our democracy can’t wait.
#FightForVotingRights
NEW:
@SenSchumer
just moved forward on five more of
@POTUS
’s judicial nominees, including civil rights lawyer (and former public defender) Jia Cobb and former public defender Judge Michael Nachmanoff.
This is terrific news for our courts.
#CourtsMatter
Noting that yesterday was John Lewis’s birthday,
@ossoff
discusses current voter suppression measures in Georgia and asks Garland if DOJ will diligently & fully enforce constitutional and statutory guarantees of the right to vote.
His answer: “I give you my complete assurance."
They closed polling places, tried to sabotage USPS, purged voter rolls, gutted the VRA, blocked democracy reform, appointed anti-voting rights judges, attacked vote-by-mail.
They tried to silence us. They tried to scare us.
And still, no matter what: WE VOTED.
#ANDSTILLIVOTE
#OTD
in 1857, in its Dred Scott decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Black people were not American citizens and could not sue in courts of law. The Court ruled against Dred Scott, an enslaved Black man who tried to sue for his freedom.
Eight years ago today, a Cleveland police officer killed Tamir Rice.
Tamir should be alive today and 20 years old.
We will always remember him. We will always fight for him.
Today would have been Sandra Bland’s 34th birthday. We remember her. We honor her. We will never stop fighting for her.
#SayHerName
🎵: HELL YOU TALMBOUT –
@JanelleMonae
f. Wondaland Records
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
We will not go back.
#CancelKavanaugh
"We can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist."
James Baldwin was born
#OTD
in 1924.
We remember James Chaney on what would have been his 77th birthday.
Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were murdered by the KKK in 1964 for registering African Americans to vote. We have to honor them with action and continue fighting for equal access to the ballot.
KBJ on the
#FourLittleGirls
:
“They could have broken barriers. They could have shattered ceilings. They could have grown up to be doctors or lawyers or judges appointed to serve on the highest court…They could have been any one of us. And we could have been any one of them.”
BREAKING:
@SenSchumer
just moved forward on 6th Circuit nominee Judge Stephanie Davis – a highly qualified nominee who is committed to equal justice.
If confirmed, Judge Davis would be the first Black woman from Michigan to serve on the 6th Circuit.
We support her confirmation.
Denise McNair. Carole Robertson. Addie Mae Collins. Cynthia Wesley.
They were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL
#OTD
56 years ago.
Today & every day, we remember these
#4LittleGirls
– and we honor their lives by continuing the fight for justice.
We're not going to the back of the bus. 👏🏿👏🏽👏🏼
@mayawiley
encourages voters to make sure their voices are heard because our democracy is for everyone - not a select few.
Judge Jackson was asked about her position on the board of trustees at Georgetown Day School – the first racially integrated school in the nation’s capital.
Her response was deeply powerful.
#ConfirmJackson
TOMORROW: Senate votes to advance nominations of Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves & Judge Dana Douglas.
Montgomery-Reeves (3rd Circuit) will be the first Black woman from Delaware to serve as Article III federal judge. Douglas will be the first woman of color on the 5th Circuit.