Civil and Human Rights Leaders Chart Path Ahead in Trump Administration
WASHINGTON – On Thursday, November 10, the leaders of many of the nation’s civil and human rights organizations representing people of color, immigrants, religious minorities, women, the LGBT community, and people with disabilities gathered at a press conference to discuss their key concerns in advance of a Trump administration and new Congress.
· Listen to the full audio, courtesy of the National Council of Churches.
· Read an early report about it from the New York Daily News.
Below are quotes from some of the leaders who spoke:
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
“The nation we know honors equal protection for all of its people, views its diversity as its strength, and strives to be a place where all people can live, work, and study as free and equal Americans. We view this election as a modern nadir for these ideals and want nothing more than to move past the demagoguery and fearmongering of this campaign. Over the 240 years of American history, our communities have seen a lot worse. But we’ve also seen a lot better, and we know that it takes the hottest fire to make the strongest steel…We will not be victims of a Trump Administration or a Congress that seeks to turn back the clock on our progress. We will continue to protect our most vulnerable and to ensure that everyone has a seat at the table.”
Rev. Aundreia Alexander, associate general secretary of the National Council of Churches
“It is our hope that President-elect Trump will repent of and repudiate the demeaning, divisive, and often hateful rhetoric that he has used in this campaign and stand with us in our continued work to help America be as great as its highest ideals. Our agenda will remain the same: we will continue to pursue justice such that all Americans will have equal rights and access to the basic principles that are foundational to our democracy: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We will continue to pray for the soul of our nation.”
Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law
“We stand at a critical moment in American democracy. The demonstrations now playing out across our country make clear that our nation is deeply divided. We must work together to bridge this divide to create the conditions necessary to achieve unity, promote cross-racial understanding and eliminate racial tensions. As we prepare for President-elect Donald Trump’s tenure and a change in administration, the Lawyers’ Committee will push for policies that ensure that every man, woman and child living in this nation is treated with dignity, fairness, respect and equality.”
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
“Throughout our nation’s history, we’ve faced devastating setbacks in our pursuit of a more perfect union and, even in the darkest of moments, Americans have summoned the courage and persistence to fight on. Together, we must continue our fight for equality and justice for all with greater urgency and determination than ever before because lives depend on it. This is a moment that requires people of all backgrounds—of every race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity—to stand together to defend our progress, guard against hate and move our country forward.”
Christopher Kang, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
“We call on President-Elect Trump to reject the divisive, hateful, and prejudiced rhetoric that should not have been a part of his campaign in the first place. If he does this, and if he sincerely seeks unity and to truly understand the needs and concerns of our communities, we know there is much we can accomplish together—from voting rights and criminal justice reform to immigration reform and economic justice for all Americans. If he does not seek a more inclusive path, we will have no choice but to oppose any and all efforts that do not expand opportunity for all.”
Samer Khalaf, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
“Arab and Muslim Americans are still feeling the effects of President-elect Trumps rhetoric. Hatred and bigotry existed before President-elect Trump, however, he provided a space for it to be normal. As a president-elect, Mr. Trump must repudiate the rhetoric he made during his campaign.”
Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates
“If President-elect Trump truly wants to bring us together and be a leader for all Americans, he must explicitly and unequivocally withdraw [these] unconstitutional and un-democratic proposals he made during the campaign.”
Cristina Jiménez Moreta, executive director and co-founder of United We Dream
“We need a multi-racial movement of love to counter the hate. We are digging deep, tapping into the resilience that motivated us to come to this country and which we used to survive. United We Dream is led and staffed by people who are undocumented. We are looking at an era where our very existence may be an act of civil disobedience. We are calling on all people to demand that their governors and mayors declare their states and cities as safe places for immigrants.”
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
“The Reform Jewish Movement stands shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim brothers and sisters. We emphatically reject the scapegoating and fearmongering that they have unjustly experienced. We remain as committed as ever to welcoming refugees and defending freedom to worship….In the face of polarization, we will build bridges. We will be a religious movement of resistance; we will resist the hatred against women, minorities, and even Jews that this election has exposed. And we will resist the politics of division, bigotry and hate.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
“Donald Trump has pledged to get America’s working families a better economic deal, but that won’t succeed without a deep respect for those same families. So if the president-elect’s call for healing and unity is real, it’s incumbent on him and his surrogates to end the divisive rhetoric that has been so frightening to so many of our children and families we educate and care for every day. If he does that, no doubt some common ground will be found. As fighting for America’s working families is our life’s work, we will always be the soldiers on behalf of kids, democracy and working people in America, and we will not stand for anyone’s rights to be abrogated or threatened.”