By Leland Ware
Alabama Senator
Jeff Sessions, who has been nominated to serve as Attorney General, should not
be confirmed. He has a history of making questionable, racially-tinged remarks
that reflect an attitude that has no place in an agency responsible for
enforcing equal protection of the laws. Sessions’ statements about race resulted in the denial a federal
judge position in 1986 after a series of hearings found his racial views too
questionable.
Sessions called the NAACP and ALCU "un-American" and
"communist-inspired" for "trying to force civil rights down the
throats of people." He said a white lawyer was a “disgrace to his race”
for representing a black client. He allegedly "used to think that [the
KKK] were OK" until he learned that some of the members were "pot smokers."
Sessions allegedly warned a black lawyer to "be careful what you say to
white folks," calling him "boy." Colleagues claimed Sessions
used the n-word. He called the Voting Rights Act a "piece of intrusive legislation."
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, in the 1960s when remarks like these were
commonplace. Many people and every African American knows what kind of person
makes such statements. These comments cannot be brushed off as something that
happened a long time ago. After the judgeship fiasco, Sessions went on to become Alabama’s attorney
general and later U.S. senator. In those roles, he has fought vigorously
against advances for racial equality, women’s rights, due process for
immigrants, and voting rights.
At a time of unprecedented racial tension and polarization, Sessions’
appointment would send a strong and unmistakable message to world. He should
not be confirmed.
For media
stories about Sessions’ racial attitudes see:
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