HRC Blog

HRC, civil rights leaders to hold press conference in support of Eric Holder for Attorney General

January 6, 2009

As the confirmation process begins for President-elect Obama’s nominees, HRC is actively supporting the nomination of Eric Holder as Attorney General. Tomorrow, HRC will join members of the civil rights community and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) at a Capitol Hill press conference to urge the Senate to confirm Holder.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. ET

WHERE: 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

WHO: Sens. Whitehouse and Cardin along with leaders representing the civil rights community

The Human Rights Campaign announced its support for Eric Holder as a signee of a December 18 letter sent by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Read a copy of the letter here (PDF).

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Eric Holder joined the Department of Justice’s Attorney General's Honors Program. In 1988 he was appointed Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In 1993 President Clinton nominated Mr. Holder for the position of United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and he was confirmed later that year. In this role he worked vigorously to reduce crime and increase neighborhood safety.

Notably, Holder used his positions to emphasize hate crimes enforcement to ensure that bias-motivated crimes would receive adequate resources, attention, and punishment. Hate crimes continued to be a priority for Mr. Holder after his 1997 appointment by President Clinton to Deputy Attorney General. His dedication to the issue of addressing hate-motivated violence is exemplified in his 1999 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. Read the text of his remarks at: http://www.hrc.org/11605.htm