attorney general eric holder announced his resignation on thursday at an emotional white house ceremony. president barack obama praised holder saying he did a "superb job," and mentioned holder will leave his post at the justice department once a successor is confirmed.
holder acknowledged his family and colleagues by saying, "i thank you all for joining me on a journey that now moves in another direction, but that will always be guided by the pursuit of justice and aimed at the north star."
holder, 63, also expressed gratitude for obama, whom he called his colleague adding, "but the bonds between us are much deeper than that. in good times and bad, in things personal and professional, you have been there for me. i am proud to call you my friend."
holder is the first black to hold the nation's top law enforcement position. he's been in the job for nearly six years, since obama began his (own historic) reign as commander-in-chief. if holder remains in the position in december, he would be the third longest-serving attorney general.
"i have loved the department of justice ever since as a young boy i watched robert kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can - and must - always be a force for that which is right. i hope that i have done honor to the faith you placed in me, mr. president, and to the legacy of all those who served before me," said holder.
under holder, the department of justice (doj) sought to protect voters' rights, women's rights and lgbt rights. obama said holder helped lower the crime rate and incarceration rate by 10% in six years. the doj also encouraged judges to use discretion in sentencing low-level drug offenders, reduced the disparity between crack and powder cocaine penalties from 100-1 to 18-1, and eliminate "draconian" mandatory minimums.
holder made criminal justice reform his top priority in 2014. he went to ferguson, missouri last month after michael brown, an unarmed black male, was killed by a white police officer, darren wilson. holder wants to restore trust between law enforcement and black and brown communities. he plans to go to scranton, pennsylvania on friday, and complete his goal of visiting all 93 u.s. attorney's offices.
before he was sworn in as the 82nd attorney general in february 2009, holder served as president bill clinton's deputy attorney general, the first black to hold to hold that position. the columbia law school graduate was previously u.s. attorney for the district of columbia and served during ronald reagan's administration as an associate judge at the superior court of the district of columbia.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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