By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
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Eric H. Holder Jr. (AP Photo)
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(February 4, 2009) - In a history-making feat on Monday, Eric Holder Jr. won Senate confirmation by a wide margin to become the country’s first African-American attorney general.
After weeks of delay, and with a legion of supporters touting his exemplary resume, Holder, 58, won over the Senate with a 75-21 vote. All the opposition came from Republicans.
His supporters said shortly after the controversial nomination and long-anticipated confirmation that Holder’s new post is a fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that people should be judged by the content of their character. They also saw it as a huge opportunity to reinvigorate and restore the U.S. Department of Justice to some semblance of integrity and strength at a time when both are sorely needed.
“It’s a powerful, powerful position and agency,” said University of Maryland political analyst Ron Walters. “And with the right person [at the helm], they will be able to have an impact on some of the things that African Americans feel strongly about.”
So, “It’s beginning,” Walters added, “meaning that the Obama administration can finally begin the process of change in a very critical area of government.”
Walters went on to refer to a report led by Mary Berry in 2004 before she left the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He said that in addition to the report’s focus on civil rights related to the Bush administration, it had also criticized the funding of civil rights agencies within the government.
“They criticized the posture of the White House in terms of its leadership in civil rights and various regulations that had been established,” Walters said. “The new attorney general is going to have a role in some of these regulations [as they relate] to civil rights enforcement. “
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Holder’s chief supporter and chair of the Judiciary Committee, invited Holder’s detractors to climb on the right side of history.
“I am more convinced than ever that Eric Holder is the person who will reinvigorate the Department of Justice,” Leahy said, adding that Holder is “a good man, a decent man, a public servant committed to the rule of the law.”
District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who chose Holder for the position from a list recommended by her nominating commission, said the District’s residents had offered their best and brightest and that former President Clinton recognized those qualities when Holder served in his administration as deputy attorney general.
“Now, the new president has seen these qualities and more in choosing Eric Holder as attorney general of the United States of America,” Norton said. “Every resident of this city has reason to be proud today.”
The NAACP also expressed excitement over Holder’s potential and what his confirmation as the highest-ranking law enforcer means to the U.S. justice system.
“Our nation, and especially our racial and ethnic minority citizens, are clearly facing a crisis in confidence that the U.S. Department of Justice has become dysfunctional and is not a true defender of our rights,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous.
“Eric Holder is the right person at this time to rebuild not only the department, but also our country’s reputation as a defender of the rights of all Americans.”
Among those rights are ones dealing with voting, housing and employment, he said.
The NAACP also said that throughout his career, Holder has taken seriously several issues of concern to the organization and its members.
In addition to placing renewed emphasis on hate crimes where he implemented measures that ensured criminal acts of intolerance would be severely punished, the NAACP credits Holder for creating a domestic violence unit and developing comprehensive strategies that have led to more effective handling of child abuse cases.