The following is an open letter from the president of the NAACP to members and friends of the organization:
I'll be blunt:
Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is among the worst people who could serve as our nation's Attorney General.
His records on voting rights, criminal justice reform, and the civil rights we've fought for over the last century are unreliable at best. He is actively hostile to protecting our voting rights, and has a record of racially offensive remarks so bad that he was denied a federal judgeship because of them.
Today, we took a stand in his home state of Alabama: we organized demonstrations in Mobile, Birmingham, Montgomery, Dothan, and Huntsville to protest his nomination and demand he withdraw from the confirmation process.
How can a man like this be trusted to uphold justice for all of us — especially now, at a time when we're facing some of the worst civil rights crises of our lifetime?
The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. That means they have the last word on police brutality and voter suppression — two issues Senator Sessions has refused to admit exist. Our lives truly hang in the balance.
For nearly 20 years, every single year, Senator Sessions has received an F on our federal legislative civil rights report cards. He has voted against our policy positions nearly 90 percent of the time. He cheered when the Voting Rights Act was gutted and has shamelessly voted against federal hate crime legislation four times between 2000 to 2009.
We can stop him from taking away our rights. Contact your senators RIGHT NOW and urge them to vote to REJECT Sessions' nomination on January 10.
We only have a few days left to change the course of our nation's history. Please make sure your senators hear from you today.
In solidarity,
Cornell William Brooks
President and CEO
NAACP
