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Black Leaders Pin High Hopes on New AG

Civil rights advocates see opportunity for change under Holder

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 5, 2009 9:23 AM CST

(Newser) – For decades, black men have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to execution at disproportionate rates. Now, with the appointment of the country's first African-American attorney general, black leaders are hoping Eric Holder will help the Justice Department reform what they see as a broken system. "The most important thing is that we have a person who gets it," NAACP president Benjamin Jealous tells the Washington Post.

Issues under some semblance of Justice Department control include racial profiling and discrimination in employment and housing, and civil rights leaders are eager for the new AG to move quickly. Although Holder has refrained from promising seismic changes, he has said that his family's experiences with segregation and his own life will give "a unique perspective to the department."

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Vice President Joseph Biden huddles with Attorney General Eric Holder after Holder's swearing in ceremony, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Vice President Biden administers the oath of office to AG Eric Holder during a ceremony at the Justice Department in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009. Holder's wife Sharon Malone is at center. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, January 15, 2009, before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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ABC News reports on Eric Holder's swearing-in as attorney general, Feb. 3, 2009. (cheneywatch)

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He understands that people shouldn't be targeted because of what they look like but because of what they do. He understands that enforcing civil rights serves the interest of law enforcement. - Benjamin Jealous, NAACP president

This department has played a historic role in civil rights over the years, and I owe it to those who came before me and to the American people I serve to oversee a vigorous program that deals with the realities we confront today. - Eric Holder, attorney general

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Black Leaders Pin High Hopes on New AG