Please help keep John Ashcroft, a known racist who spent his 8 years as
Missouri Attorney General working to keep his state's schools segregated
and horribly unequal, from becoming U.S. Attorney General. You can send
the following letter to these key Senators who will be voting on
whether to confirm Ashcroft in the next week or so.
Here is a handy little kit for helping to block John Ashcroft
for Attorney General. Feel free to edit the letter to your taste and/or
pass
it on. Looks like our leaders need some leadership -- again. . .
yours,
Laurie Mlatawou
Feingold: [log in to unmask] (Member, Judiciary
Comm.)
Kohl: [log in to unmask] (Member, Judiciary
Comm.)
Leahy: [log in to unmask] (Dem. chair of
Judiciary)
Kennedy: [log in to unmask] (Member, Jud. Comm.)
Schumer: [log in to unmask] (Member, Jud. Comm.)
Biden: [log in to unmask] (Member, Jud. Comm.)
Torricelli: [log in to unmask] (Member, Jud.
Comm.)
Feinstein: [log in to unmask] (Member, Jud. Comm. )
Boxer: senator@ boxer.senate.gov ( Only declared 'no' vote )
Daschle: [log in to unmask] (Senate Majority Leader til
1/20
)
Dear Senator:
Much is being made of the public record and character of John
Ashcroft
since his nomination to the office of Attorney General. The New York
Times,
most of the national media and opposition groups seem to have focused
entirely on his recent record in the Senate, with the emphasis on
finding
specific and narrow statements, associations or bad actions that will
"prove"
his unfitness for the office. Politicians, (prominently and
embarrasingly
including Senators Feingold, Wellstone, Biden and Torricelli, not to
mention
the ever-silent Herb Kohl), are saying that unless one of these little
'skeletons' are found in his closet, that they will give him a pass in
the
Senate vote.
I find it amazing that Mr. Ashcroft is being given a free ride in
regard
to the most pertinent and damning part of his resume', that of his 8
years
as Missouri Attorney General (1976-1984)*.
In that role, he repeatedly fought the Federal Court- mandated
Desegregation Plan for the St. Louis City school district, which had
continued overt segregation and a grossly unequal education system well
into
the 1970's. As Attorney General, Mr. Ashcroft appealed the Court's
orders,
all the way to the Supreme Court, four separate times! The Supreme
Court
rejected all four appeals, made between 1980 and 1982. In March 1980,
the
Eighth Circuit Court found the Board of Education and the State of
Missouri
jointly liable for maintaining a segregated school system in St. Louis,
and
ordered a desegregation plan drawn up and implemented. In June of 1980,
Federal District Judge Meredith, whose court was charged with overseeing
the
implementation of the plan, laid primary blame for segregated schools on
the
State of Missouri. He added as defendants in the case state officials,
including Governor Joseph Teasdale and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
State
officials reported in 1982 that Missouri taxpayers had paid almost $20
million
for their role in the St. Louis City desegregation lawsuit in 1981 and
1982.
During the same period, Mr. Ashcroft and the State of Missouri were
pursuing similar obstructionist actions in the 1977 Kansas City, MO.
desegregation case, which was not resolved until 1997.
Why have the media dwelt on whether he was dumb enough to speak
openly of
his racism, homophobia or contempt for the law, instead of exposing his
overall record of actions over his 33 years in public service? Is this
a
conspiracy of silence or is the White establishment still too
unconscious to
recognize this as institutional racism - a basic part of how "race is
lived
in America today"?
I urge you and your Senate colleages to do whatever you can to make
sure
this part of Mr. Ashcroft's record is made public, preferably before
next
week's confirmation hearings. You have an important opportunity to
support
the public's right to know and to aid the proper vetting of this
proposed
cabinet member. Thank you for your time and attention.
Note: *( The above information is found in a record of the St. Louis
City
Schools case entitled "Chronology of Desegregation in St. Louis Prepared
by
the Desegregation Monitoring Office. Their Internet address is:
http://dtd1.slps.k12.mo.us/offices/deseg/chronol.htm , dated
1/11/2001.
This is a document maintained by the St. Louis Public Schools. )
Sincerely,
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