| Dear Katy, Donald Trump hates equality. When he promises to "make America great again," he's talking about undoing decades of civil rights gains and doing everything he can to institutionalize white supremacy and misogyny. That's why, when it's time to appoint heads of civil rights offices across the government, he picks people who will undermine the very principles they are supposed to defend. Eric Dreiband, Trump's nominee to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a perfect example. Instead of having years of experience defending civil rights, he comes with decades of work defending people and corporations accused of discrimination.1 We need to do everything we can to keep him from being confirmed. Tell the Senate: Don't confirm Eric Dreiband as director of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. Click here to sign the petition. Our country's civil rights laws are part of a generations-long effort to come to terms with and make amends for a country founded on both the systematic oppression and dehumanization of people of color and the misogynistic subjugation and disenfranchisement of women. The Civil Rights Division has a history of defending voting rights, holding rogue police departments accountable, fighting housing discrimination and ensuring equal rights in education. Eric Dreiband's career has done the opposite. He defended: - The University of North Carolina over challenges to North Carolina's anti-LGBTQ HB2;
- A Catholic challenge to the Affordable Care Act's birth control benefit;
- Abercrombie & Fitch's attempt to deny a Muslim woman employment because of her headscarf; and
- R.J. Reynolds' policy of weeding out job applications from "older" applicants.2,3
He also spoke out personally against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act and efforts to "ban the box" as a way to minimize discrimination against job applicants with criminal convictions.4 In advance of Dreiband's committee hearing, Sen. Patrick Leahy said he "honestly couldn't think of a more uniquely unqualified nominee to defend and enforce the core civil rights laws that codify the values of a just and tolerant society."5 But Dreiband's unique disqualifications are what make him a perfect choice for Trump and extreme right-wing Republicans who want to dismantle civil rights protections and use government to protect racists, misogynists, xenophobes and anti-LGBTQ bigots. We have to put massive pressure on every Senate Democrat and any Republican with a conscience to block Dreiband's confirmation.
Click the link below to tell the Senate: Don't confirm Eric Dreiband as director of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Block_Dreiband?t=7&akid=27123%2E12967895%2EJ7pRJF Thank you for everything you do, Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Deena Zaru, "Civil rights activists raise alarm over Trump's DOJ pick," CNN, Aug. 14, 2017.
- Tess Owen, "Trump's civil rights pick has made a career fighting for corporate rights," VICE News, June 30, 2017.
- The Leadership Conference et al., "Oppose the Confirmation of Eric Dreiband to Serve as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights," Aug. 31, 2017.
- Ibid.
- Paul Gordon, "Republicans Advance More Dangerously Unqualified Nominees," People for the American Way, Jan. 19, 2018.
photo: House Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats |
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