Only two black attorneys in DoJ divison.
By on May 7th, 2007 at 11:45 am
Only two black attorneys in DoJ divison.
“Since 2003…the criminal section within the Civil Rights Division has not hired a single black attorney to replace those who have left. Not one. As a result, the current face of civil rights prosecutions looks like this: Out of fifty attorneys in the Criminal Section - only two are black. The same number the criminal section had in 1978 - even though the size of the staff has more than doubled.”
ABC’s Washington D.C. affiliate WJLA-TV, who discovered the lack of diversity, reports:
As TPMmuckraker’s Paul Kiel points out, “The Justice Department responded to WJLA-TV’s story by saying that the Civil Rights Division as a whole is the most diverse office in the Department of Justice.”
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Now, why would anybody expect blacks to help with civil rights. Everybody knows that whites males between the age of 25 and 35 are best suited for that.
/srcasm = Bush is a complete failure
May 7th, 2007 at 11:49 am“The Justice Department responded to WJLA-TV’s story by saying that the Civil Rights Division as a whole is the most diverse office in the Department of Justice”
We’ve got white conservative bornagain men, AND white conservative bornagain women! What more do you liberals want? qualified attys? graduates from accredited law schools?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Clinton had as many minorities here as justice as we do.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:50 amHmmmm… all I can say to the Justice Department and their stance on diversity is what Inigo Montoya once said….
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means”
May 7th, 2007 at 11:51 amAh, The Republican Party. The party of inclusion!!
May 7th, 2007 at 11:57 amdoes this really surprise anyone? politicians create offices, programs, and the like - to give us the impression that they care. but, in the end, they never do what they’d advertised to do…
this is just another example of why we shouldn’t trust the government to do what it promises.
a pretty interesting read on this:
“Beware of Politicians with Good Intentions”
May 7th, 2007 at 11:58 amhttp://www.populistamerica.com/ beware_of_politicians_with_good_intentions
What about Latinos or Asians? Why is it when folks think of minorities, it’s only African Americans?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:59 amAnd yet we hear how the Republican party is the party of inclusion - just look at all the minorities in Bush’s team, after all. And yet at the first Republican debate, we saw ten white men, and commentators told us that was because Americans felt more secure with a strong, patriarchal leader.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:05 pmWhat would blacks know about Civil Rights anyway?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pm/sarcasm
Or Native Americans………..
May 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pmI love how they feel the need to explain a simple concept with a graphic.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pmI think it’s mostly white men who feel secure with strong, patriarchal leadership.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:11 pmHowever, as a white male myself, it is that same patriarchal leadership which causes me the most dread.
This is part of the Raelians plans to exterminate the Black race!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:15 pmBush under orders from his area 51 masters is planning genocide against Blacks!
The Raelians are behind it!
a whole is the most diverse office in the Department of Justice.â€
DoJ: “We have white, we have off white, we have lily white and we have snow white. What could be more diverse.”
May 7th, 2007 at 12:17 pmAre the 2 : in blackface?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:18 pmI think it is time we returned to the matriarchal society of 3,000 year’s ago with a few added changes of the law’s ofcourse..Put me in charge and see how much can inprove by lunch time tomorrow…LOL…Blessings
May 7th, 2007 at 12:21 pmDiverse to this crowd means members of the Ku Klux Klan AND Aryan Nations.
-GSD
May 7th, 2007 at 12:24 pm‘…the Civil Rights Division as a whole is the most diverse office in the Department of Justice’
Imagine what an indictment this statement is on the rest of the Dept. of Just_Us.
If the civil rights division has two token blacks how many do the other deptaments have?
May 7th, 2007 at 12:24 pmLOL
May 7th, 2007 at 12:26 pmI wholeheartedly agree, Sharon, you henceforth and forwith have my fealty…..;)
May 7th, 2007 at 12:26 pmYou know, I am frequently impressed by the willingness of local news to go places where national outlets refuse to go. Our Fox (!) station here in Chicago, for example, is consistently skeptical of the right-wing consensus on these sorts of issues, and unwilling to be drawn into “fair and balanced” (!) representations of right-wing talking points on this kind of issue. What is going on in the Justice Dept. is a disgrace–and how many other sorts of mainstream news outlets do you know that will just up and say that?
Of course, that being said, I’m aware that local news can also be terribly pernicious in some places and on some stations. It’s really quite a spread between different outlets.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pmSome of this is no doubt due to the Bush administration’s total disinterest in real diversity or civil rights (unless you count white, Christian fundamentalists as a aggrieved minority needing affirmative action at the highest levels of government), but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s also because most highly qualified black applicants out there wouldn’t be caught dead applying for a job in the Gonzales DOJ. Blacks in general won’t have anything to do with a government run by Bush — cf. NPR’s story this morning on the rapidly declining number of African Americans in the military. I’m sure the two stories are related.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:29 pmWhy do I read this as bing akin to, “This volcano points out that a’a is the lowest temeprature lava emitted daily.” It’s a classic non-denial denial.
Why the hell does anyone listen to anything these people say anymore? How bad does it need to get? Do they need to be caught killing puppies or something? What will it take to get anyone to DO anything? They lie to our face. They kill our boys. They don’t give a damn about anyone you or I know. They are, quite literally, laughing all the way to the bank. It was a moneygrab, folks, and we just watch it go by. If you live in a state with a Republican representative, call them and berate them–they are not representing you. Harry Waxman is my Congressman and I still let him have it from time to time. You have the right to complain–they can be made to listen.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:35 pmBack at ya Raven, good post’s by you on all thread’s today, as alway’s…How’s it going in your area.?
Nothing will change untill we get the neo-con’s out, rounded up and jailed.Blessings all
May 7th, 2007 at 12:36 pmClear weather today, back at the adobe brickmaking!
May 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmIf you watched even a few minutes of the Republican debate the other day, you saw how “diverse” a group this party is. Looked like a “March of the Penguins” rerun.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmThe republican debate commentators didn’t say patriarchal, as in Father. They said hierarchal, as in King.
And the commentator that didn’t bat an eyelash when Chris Mathews said America wants a king was Keith Olbermann.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:41 pmSeems that the blacks aren’t too good at lawyering, huh.
May 7th, 2007 at 12:48 pmokay — here’s a quote
from an anonymous former
civil rights division attorney, now
in chicago, on the same topic. . .
very distressing, indeed.
go get ‘em, rep. john conyers!
this thursday can’t come too soon, for
alberto gonzales’ next episode of klieg-lit
[and, likely falsely-forgetful] testimony, in front
of a congressional committee. . .
so — this will be interesting — how will
mr. gonzales palusibly spin that he wasn’t
aware of the dwindling racial diversity in his
own civil rights division, when rep. conyers
asks him about it on thursday?
“i don’t recall. . .” — just will not
May 7th, 2007 at 12:54 pmwash, on this one, mr. attorney general. . .
The Republican Party is a big tent. Now all you black folks get to the back of the tent.
May 7th, 2007 at 1:11 pmAnd the commentator that didn’t bat an eyelash when Chris Mathews said America wants a king was Keith Olbermann.
Comment by Spudge_Boy
He knows what to expect from Tweety.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:00 pmtragicommedy.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:06 pm2 out of 50 makes it “the most diverse“???
Just how lily white is the rest of the DoJ?
May 7th, 2007 at 2:50 pmFor more on the impact of the DOJ’s war on its own Civil Rights Division, see:
May 7th, 2007 at 3:08 pm- “Republican Plantation Politics.”
- “Supreme Win for GOP, Delay in Texas Redistricting Case.”
- “Voting Rights in Black an White.”
“Clinton had as many minorities here as justice as we do.” –bob
LINK that claim or shut up with the Clinton-bashing. Since you’re ‘there’ at justice, you shouldn’t have any problem pointing us to the stats, right?
LOOVED how ABC tries to pretend that Conyers was hipped to this lack fo diversity and now is going to launch an investigation! Rep. Conyers has been working on an investigation of diversity in the civil rights division for months if not years — as chair now of the Judicial Committee of the House, which oversees DoJ.
“This administration has brought only one case under Section 2 of the Act, alleging discrimination by a black-majority county against whites. Moreover, political appointees in the Civil Rights Division have overruled the career staff to allow “preclearance” implementation of blatantly discriminatory redistricting schemes, like the Delay plan in Texas that disenfranchised millions of blacks and Latinos, and the Georgia photo ID requirement, which was likened to a poll tax by a Federal judge.” — Conyers, on Voting Rights Bill, May 03, 2006
“there are a number of staff and trial attorneys that I want to commend for the work that they are doing, but we have the issue of partisan politics infecting the work in the Civil Rights Division, from hiring to substantive decision-making.”
“Now, you know how many times you have been—that you have elected to recuse yourself and, to my knowledge, have never provided a public response, not even to the letters that I have sent you, and probably lots of other people as well. Your departure left the Civil Rights Division with no minorities whatsoever, from management to line attorney, participating in the section 5 review of the Texas plan. — Conyers, March 2, 2004
Also, this amazing fact:
“One Justice Department chart revealed that over a six-year period the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had referred 3,200 individual complaints of discrimination to the civil rights division for action. They have resulted in only six lawsuits for race discrimination.”
May 7th, 2007 at 3:29 pm– Politico
With the DOJ this incredibly mean-spirited and bigoted civil rights unit how are the rest of us joes going to stand a chance. Given America’s history, enslavement & extermination of dark skinned folks, etc. These folks are literally trying to take America back to the early 1800’s when they believe all was as it should be according to the Strict Constructionists.
Bigots are just naturally attracted to that idea because that was a time when middle-aged white men ruled supreme. Forget about equal pay, if you were unlucky enough to have dark skin, you’ld be someone’s property. If you were a woman, you couldn’t vote or determine your future in any real serious way either. Women were essentially slaves to their white male husbands/owners under the law of that time.
The very popular and well-funded Federalist Society believes in such nonsense. These folks know how they want the world and simply generate the arguments that will drive that conclusion. Sound familiar? Remember how the facts were fixed around the pre-determined policy to invade Iraq? Yep, same thing here.
The frightening thing is we now have 3 Federalist Society members in the US Supreme Court. Justice Thomas, Alito and Roberts are, like their fellow members, Strict Constructionists. While they may be catagorized as “social conservatives” on our radical right-wing corporate owned communication channels, they espouse radical notions and interpretations of law.
Fight against the Federalist Society and the rest of the radical right wing fascists want to do to this beautiul society. Volunteer your time to a campaign or moveon.org!
Please, we are all depending on everyone to push hard!!!
May 7th, 2007 at 3:38 pm“The Justice Department responded to WJLA-TV’s story by saying that the Civil Rights Division as a whole is the most diverse office in the Department of Justice.â€
If two out of 50 is the best they have, what does that say? How pathetic. Civil rights as long as you’re a white republican. But this is how their entire government works. Poor white women (with children) fare no better. Unless you have money and declare you’re a conservative republican, you’re basically doggy poo to them - they just want to scrape you off their shoes, then kick you in the bum, and either turn their back on you or spit in your face.
Welcome to America. Give us your tired, your poor and your huddled masses so we can put them to work at slave wages to make the rich richer. IBM is cutting 100k “jobs” (when will someone wake up and realize these are not just jobs but PEOPLE; families!)
They don’t give a crap about anyone if it doesn’t line their pockets. be it war, business, politics, everything…SHOW US THE MONEY!
May 7th, 2007 at 9:22 pm“If two out of 50 is the best they have, what does that say? How pathetic.”
It says that African American conservatives don’t want to be slandered by the NAACP and the black lobby. Look at the fate of Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice, and Colin Powell, for attempting to think independently.
Who the hell wants to be called Uncle Tom by the far left?
May 7th, 2007 at 11:00 pmOscar Wilde: Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice plays to virtue.
May 7th, 2007 at 11:39 pmIt says that they have 4% representation for 13% of the population. If there were 5 more blacks would be disproporionately represented. If that was actually a useful measure of anything that is.
There’s another article around here about the number of white people appearing on cable news.
Malkin’s in the plus column there.
Like Thomas is for the SCOTUS.
And Rice among her roles.
And Gonzales among AGs.
How many seconds would I need to spend searching to find someone calling for the expulsion of one of these threatened minorities ?
May 9th, 2007 at 7:50 amOr do we get the point that the colour of your skin isn’t a useful measure.