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IN THIS ISSUE

Table of Contents

Letter from the President: The Answers, My Friend, Are Blowin' in the Wind

How Do We Carry on the Legacy of Brown?

Notes on the Right — Winds of Change: Is Conservatism Dead?

Will Civil Rights be High on the Agenda of the New Congress?

New Tactic: Placing Right-Wing Loyalists in US Attorney Posts

Between the Lines - The State of Black California: 'Three-Fifths Compromise'

"Achingly Beautiful" - EJS' 2006 Annual Gala

EJS Student Art Show Honors Little Rock Nine

Staff News and Notes

Newsletter Editors:
Elaine Elinson
Miguel Gavaldón

Email Feedback

 From Eva Paterson

Letter from the President:
The Answers, My Friend,
Are Blowin’ in the Wind

When I was in our nation’s capital the first week of January, I felt the winds of change blowing away the stale odors of the past six years.

The President seemed to have heard the voice of the voters about the insane war in Iraq.  Speaker Pelosi was being feted all around town.  Reactionary nominees for federal judgeships withdrew their nominations.  National meetings with civil rights attorneys and activists revealed a sense of hope that had not been visible since the theft of the 2000 election.  This issue of the EJS Newsletter will examine various aspects of this new political landscape.

Six weeks after the power shift, where are we? The Senate has refused to even debate a non-binding resolution condemning the escalation of the war in Iraq.  Things are so nuts that Senator Warner voted to silence debate on his own resolution.  He said he must support “his leader.”  Meanwhile, young men and women die in an illegal and unjust war. 

The latest Gallup poll indicates that only 33% of Americans support Bush’s approach. It is ironic that opposition to a national leader who ignored the wishes of his people was one of the many (and ever shifting) rationales for toppling and executing Saddam Hussein. Physicians heal thyselves, Mr. Bush, Mr. Cheney, and Dr. Rice.  The power shift may result in a healing wind on the illegal war on Iraq.

EJS is devoted to racial healing.  The lawyers and social scientists who devised the successful strategy that led to Brown v Board of Education are our heroes.   President Bush may be wounded politically but his two appointments to the Supreme Court may be about to strike down Brown v Board.  In a scene that would have played well in a revival of "Alice in Wonderland," Justice Scalia impugned the integrity of Black parents in these cases by claiming that they just wanted their kids to go to good schools.  “And, Justice Scalia, your problem is????”  EJS Board Chair Charles Ogletree was in the Court on the day the two school desegregation cases were argued and reports on his observations in this newsletter.

The stubborn resolve of the radical Right is playing out in the Justice Department in the replacement of US Attorneys all around the country.  Our Motley Fellow, Nicholas Espíritu, details the rationale for these political moves. Whatever one may think of our President, one must acknowledge his determination to “have it his way.”  This move has been widely seen as an attempt to undermine Congressional oversight.  The civil rights community is mobilizing to encourage our Senators to condemn this attempt to undermine the independence of the US Attorneys office.

Lest we think that the Radical Right in Congress is going to do a lay down and let progressives have their way, the article by our analyst Lee Cokorinos examines what they are up to in the new Congress and beyond. They have effectively blocked a debate on the so-called “surge.”  On the more frivolous side, they are attempting to distract Speaker Pelosi with petty, mean-spirited attacks on her wanting to fly non-stop between San Francisco and DC.  Lee’s insightful understanding of the conservative movement has guided EJS’ strategic work.  This issue’s article provides a cautionary tale for those of us who thought the election results in November drove a stake through the heart of darkness that is the Radical Right.

Our focus this issue is on changes at the national level, but we are also intrigued by the article by Anthony Asadullah Samad, sent to us by our colleague in San Diego Lei-Chala Wilson, on the state of African Americans in California, and his assertion that the “Three-Fifths Compromise” still holds true.   We appreciate his giving us permission to share it with you in the EJS Newsletter.

The current political moment often feels bleak and the prospects for change slim.  EJS lights a candle in many ways.  We share information.  We work and play with our friends and allies.  We keep on doing the work.  We also feel strongly that art lifts the spirit. A filmmaker interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air said it best when he remarked “art changes the way one sees the world.”  In December, the fabulous and gifted composer, Marcus Shelby changed the way we saw the struggle for justice through the Harriet Tubman oratorio.  Miguel Gavaldon writes about this moving piece.

There is much to do. Just how much was brought home to us over the past few months as we focused on creating a strategic plan for the next three years, mapping out what we need to do as we work on our goals to “put race back on the table,” connect legal and social science scholarship with advocacy and practice, and build a grand alliance. We’d like to share our work in progress with you, and invite you to read our Vision Statement.

We are heartened to know that so many of you are out there working for justice.  Be well and stay strong.  The answers to the burning questions we have are blowing in the wind.  We must be part of the force that keeps the winds of change blowing and blowing hard.  Peace.

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