Civil Rights Organizations Come Together to Oppose Pickering Nomination
Feature Story by Michelle Russell - 1/24/2002
WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning several national civil rights organizations came together to voice their opposition to President Bush's nomination for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Charles W. Pickering. The advocates charged that Pickering, currently a Mississippi District Court Judge, has an alarming record on civil rights issues.
At a press conference, speaker after speaker recounted Pickering's long history of miscegenation and anti-desegregation positions. While in law school, he supported the imposition of criminal penalties for violating a ban on interracial marriage, while more recently, Pickering has supported measures that have helped perpetuate voting discrimination against African-Americans.
Hilary Shelton, Executive Director of the NAACP, commented, "the right to vote was gained through great suffering and struggle...we are alarmed and have grave concerns" about Pickering's treatment of civil rights issues. Shelton explains that Pickering's appointment threatens "to close doors of opportunity" that past generations struggled to open.
Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), voiced his concern over Pickering's nomination. He stated: "Our exhaustive and careful review of [Pickering's] public record...has left us with little alternative but to oppose his nomination because of his extreme views on important civil rights...he is the wrong man for the Fifth Circuit." Henderson commented on the historical importance of the Fifth Circuit, which has the largest percentage of African-Americans of any Circuit Court in the country. Considering this, Henderson pointed out: "Much is at stake when it comes to civil rights."
The organizations gathered today also called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Bush's nomination of Pickering. Ralph G. Neas, President of People for the American Way (PFAW), called on the Committee to "review Judge Pickering's nomination and reject his elevation to the appeals court." With many civil and constitutional rights at risk, Neas espoused his concern over Pickering's ascension to the appeals court: "Elevating Pickering to a powerful appellate court would give him enormous influence on the interpretation of...provisions that safeguard the rights of all Americans."
Henderson further explained the importance of opposing Pickering's nomination: "Federal courts are often called the guardians of the Constitution because their rulings protect the rights and liberties guaranteed by this most hallowed of documents." The nomination of Judge Pickering threatens to make the Fifth Circuit no longer a bastion of civil rights, but instead a platform to further racist and misogynist sentiments.
Joining the NAACP, LCCR, and PFAW were several other civil rights and women's rights organizations who are opposed to the nomination of Pickering. In attendance was Alliance for Justice, American Association of University Women, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, National Abortion Federation, National Council of Jewish Women, and the National Women's Law Center.
