Washington, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement responding to racist campaign mailers sent to residents around the country targeting minority candidates.
“We denounce and condemn the recent slew of hate-filled mailers circulated around the country which seeks to polarize communities, demonize minority candidates and depress minority voter participation in the 2017 election cycle. While every election cycle brings those who are willing to use such unimpeachable language from out of the shadows, these flyers must be understood in the context of an intensifying hate crime crisis currently unfolding across the country. These hateful flyers use language that has now become synonymous with anti-immigrant, divisive and xenophobic policies promoted by the current administration, including the Muslim Ban. Racial campaign appeals are an old and familiar tactic that evidence the discrimination and voter suppression that continues to infect our voting process in this country. We encourage communities to condemn these appeals when they appear and urge federal and state election officials to investigate these seemingly coordinated efforts to determine whether they violate laws that prohibit intimidation or interference with elections.”
The Edison flyers calling on readers to “Make Edison Great Again” and the flyer targeting the Sikh Mayoral candidate used the language used by President Trump to support his racist, Islamophobic Muslim ban and are a thumb-in-the-eye to the progress we have made to be a more inclusive country.
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 54th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.
The Vote and Verified Voting Foundation—at the national, state and local levels and provides voter protection services nationwide. For more information about Election Protection and the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, please visit www.866ourvote.org.
