Civil Rights Organizations Urge Senate to Confirm Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke for Historic Nominations to Justice Department
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen Peters, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released two letters today signed by numerous civil rights organizations urging the U.S. Senate to quickly confirm Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General of the United States and Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
If confirmed, Vanita Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve as Associate Attorney General, and the first civil rights lawyer to serve in one of the top three positions at the Department of Justice. Kristen Clarke would be the first woman — and indeed the first Black woman — in history to be confirmed to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), said ‘Ms. Gupta is among the most highly-respected, visionary civil rights lawyers in the country, and her skill in consensus-building is exceptional,’” the organizations wrote in the letter. “Ms. Gupta will bring a vital civil rights and racial justice focus to the work of the Biden-Harris Justice Department at a critical moment for our country.”
“Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, said: ‘as the leader of one of this country’s most important civil rights organizations, Kristen Clarke has devoted her life to the pursuit of equal justice for all. Her efforts to combat discrimination throughout her career have helped to strengthen our democracy,'” wrote the organizations in a separate letter. “The Civil Rights Division is in desperate need of a course correction, and Ms. Clarke is an ideal person to right the ship.”
The full letter of support for Vanita Gupta is available here.
The full letter of support for Kristen Clarke is available here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.