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Attorney General Eric Holder
Department of Justice of the United States
Washington, D.C.
Dear Mr. Holder:
Your recent remarks in celebration of Black History Month included many points for consideration, but to call us a nation of cowards in relation to race issues went too far. In the year when the country has elected as our highest officer - President Obama, you could not honestly say that meaningful race discussion has been ignored.
I am a 69 year old caucasian female who 'clawed' my way through the sexist and misogynist educational, social and familial systems in my environment to get into law school at the age of 39. I practiced law - however, as a woman graduate at age 43, none of the male dominated firms would consider hiring me. I was forced to go into private practice and had a fair amount of success, including hours of pro bono work for the economically disadvantaged.
As a result of my pro bono work, the National Federation of Democratic Women named me their 'humanitarian of the year' in 1994. At the time I was proud to claim the honor, knowing that such great women as Barbara Jordan and Tipper Gore had earlier held the honor.
I was reared in the South and my first political involvement was working with my mother in the state of Kentucky to ask people to vote to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would have removed the following words from the Kentucky constitution: "separate schools shall be maintained for white and colored." That was about 1958 and I was 18 years old. I have since been involved in sit-ins in Nashville and worked tirelessly to help erase the stigma that attaches to minorities (specifically African Americans) in my community, state and nation. In fact, I hold a lifetime membership in the N.A.A.C.P.
I have spent equal amounts of time trying to correct the injustices that face girls and women in our society. You know as a student of history, that black men were afforded the right to the franchise in the United States 50 years prior to women being afforded the franchise. Sadly, I was not surprised that the leaders of the Democratic party at the national level, decided to choose a black man over a white woman (with many more years of experience and who won more primary election votes) for the party's nomination in 2008. It reminded me of former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's oft repeated statement that she felt far more discriminated against for being a woman than for being black. It also reminded me of the great Tennessee woman named Febb Ensminger Burn who in 1920 did not have the franchise and who daily read 12 newspapers and employed several men who were illiterate who did have the franchise - and who convinced her young son Harry Burn, to vote in the Tennessee General Assembly to ratify the 19th amendment.
Not once during the campaign of 2007 and 2008 did I hear then Senator Barack Obama speak out against the sexism perpetrated against Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin that was so rampant in the DNC, in the supporters of Obama, or the main stream media. Not once have I heard you speak out against sexism and misogny.
Perhaps I would allow your comments about American being a country of "cowards where race is concerned" to go unnoticed if I thought for a minute you and President Obama had any intention to speak against or work against the hideous stigma of sexism that continues to thwart the attempts of girls and women to succeed in the United States. As one who has practiced law in our courts, has lived in our society, I know that it will be 50 years or more, before women have begun to reach a level of parity with our male counterparts.
In my view the cowardice in America is the unfair, sexist and misognynist treatment of the 51% of our population who happen to be born female.
Sincerely,
Alma F. Sanford, J.D. |
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