politics

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres is planning to introduce an amendment to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act that seeks to expand the ability for LGBTQ-owned businesses to access capital and credit, according to NBC News. The LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act will not only force financial institutions to collect data on credit applications submitted by LGBTQ-owned businesses but also protect them from credit discrimination and make sure they have equal access to credit. “The logic here is simple: Transparency will strengthen the incentive for the financial community to extend capital to LGBTQ businesses. Wall Street loves to extol the virtues of diversity, but we are asking Wall Street to put its money where its mouth is,” Torres told NBC News. ”Without the kind of rigorous reporting required by my legislation, we have no enforceable means of holding the financial system accountable for serving the credit needs of LGBTQ enterprises,” he added. The current version of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act monitors and protects minority and women-owned small businesses. Torres' amendment would add LGBTQ-owned businesses into the fold.  Torres, who became the first openly gay Afro Latino in Congress when he won his race in November, worked on the issue as a city councilman in New York City and is hoping to help LGBTQ+ businesses nationally.A version of the bill was introduced last year by former Rep. Harley Rouda but it failed to gain traction. “I partnered with the LGBT Chamber of Commerce to persuade America's largest city to adopt a certification program for LGBTQ enterprises,” Torres told NBC News, noting that his work on the issue in New York City allowed LGBTQ businesses to gain access to more than $25 billion in contracts and benefits that were being offered to businesses owned by minorities and women."[It] would essentially make the Equal Credit Opportunity Act LGBTQ inclusive,” he said. The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to stabilize the economy revealed wide disparities in which businesses have access to banking, credit and funding, as Blavity previously reported.As PPP loans flowed to hundreds of businesses last year, Black and women-owned businesses were largely shut out of any funding due in large part to discrimination by banks, which have longstanding ties to many white-owned businesses. Hundreds of Black-owned businesses in the country closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lackluster efforts to keep them afloat as the economy went into a tailspin. Experts told NBC News that LGBTQ+ businesses were similarly shut out of PPP loans and still suffer from a lack of access to financial institutions. “For them to succeed, LGBT business owners must have unfettered access to capital and credit, which the data gathered by this act will support. For our national economy to thrive, all business owners from every diverse community must be included, studied, and supported at every level of government as they are in private enterprise,” Justin Nelson, president and co-founder of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, told NBC News in a statement. "[The act] will only further help accelerate the work in progress for full federal inclusion of LGBT businesses in government procurement,” Nelson said. Torres spoke about the need for more LGBTQ+ protections on the House floor last Thursday as representatives voted on The Equality Act. It passed 224-206 but it often faces opposition in the Senate, which Republicans previously controlled. “As a child of The Bronx who grew up in the projects, I was often too scared to come out of the closet, too blinded to see clearly my own value, my own equality. My younger self could not imagine standing on the floor of Congress as a member of Congress voting on legislation that, if enacted, would make me equal in the eyes of the law,” Torres said. “In the history of the United States, there have only been a little more than 130 Latinx members of Congress and a little more than 160 Black members of Congress, and none of them were LGBTQ or openly LGBTQ until I was sworn in. So for me to have the opportunity to vote for my own equality was an overwhelming experience,” he noted on the House floor. The bill now heads to the Senate where it is unclear what will happen. Democrats now hold a majority of seats but more conservative members of the party have balked at a number of the party's efforts in recent weeks. President Joe Biden has vowed to sign the bill once it makes it to his desk, according to NBC News. “Public opinion has moved decisively in the direction of LGBTQ equality. I am supremely confident that we will have bicameral, bipartisan support for the Equality Act, whether or not we will have enough support to overcome the filibuster remains to be seen. But we are as close as we've ever been to realizing the vision of equality,” Torres...

Vernon Jordan, an influential civil rights leader, corporate powerbroker and adviser to several presidents, died Monday at his home in Washington, D.C., CNN reported.“My father passed away last night around 10p surrounded by loved ones his wife and daughter by his side,” announced his daughter, Vickee Jordan Adams, on Tuesday morning. Jordan, who was born in 1935 and grew up in segregated Atlanta, Georgia, got his first exposure to both entrepreneurship and the legal profession when he regularly waited tables for the catering business run by his mother, whose clients included the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. Jordan left Atlanta to attend DePauw University in Indiana, where he graduated as the only Black member of the Class of 1957.After earning a law degree at Howard University, Jordan returned to practice civil rights law and activism in his home state. He served as the field director of the Georgia branch of the NAACP, working with icons such as Medgar Evers, and as the field secretary for Mississippi to fight for school desegregation after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Jordan was also a member of the legal team that successfully sued to integrate the University of Georgia in 1961. He personally escorted the school’s first two Black students onto campus that year.Even as a civil rights activist, Jordan used his grit, charisma and keen mind to make influential connections and powerful friendships. He was tapped in 1964 to lead the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project — an initiative launched three years earlier by President John F. Kennedy. He was one of a few civil rights leaders invited to former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1966 White House summit on civil rights.He became executive director of the United Negro College Fund in 1970 and president of the National Urban League in 1971, holding the latter position for 10 years. In 1980, Jordan survived an assassination attempt after he was shot in the back by white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin.During the 1980s and '90s, Jordan became one of the most influential men in both corporate America and politics. Building upon business connections he made during his time leading the Urban League and then as a corporate lawyer, Jordan sat on the boards of many of the country’s largest corporations at the time, including American Express, Dow Jones, J.C. Penney and Revlon.In Washington, Jordan was best known as the “first friend” and closest adviser of former President Bill Clinton, who he had met in the 1970s during his time as head of the Urban League. Jordan briefly came into the spotlight during the investigation of Clinton’s relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky when it was revealed that Jordan helped Lewinsky land a job after leaving the White House. The subsequent investigation did not find Jordan to have played a role in Clinton’s cover-up of the affair.In the 1990s, Jordan was one of the most powerful men in the country. He helped Lou Gerstner become CEO of IBM in 1993 and pushed for James Wolfensohn for appointment as head of the World Bank in 1995. Additionally, Jordan gained his reputation and influence without ever serving in an elected or appointed political office. As The Washington Post reported, he passed up opportunities to be nominated as U.S. attorney general and ambassador to Britain.Jordan continued to build friendships and mentor influential political and corporate figures throughout his life. Tributes for Jordan began pouring out Tuesday morning upon the news of his death.“Mourning the passage of my friend,” voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams wrote on Twitter.Mourning the passage of my friend, the extraordinary Vernon Jordan. He battled the demons of voter suppression and racial degradation, winning more than he lost. He brought others w/him. And left a map so more could find their way. Love to his family. Travel on with God’s grace.— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) March 2, 2021“Like so many others, Michelle and I benefited from Vernon Jordan’s wise counsel and friendship,” former President Barack Obama reminisced.Like so many others, Michelle and I benefited from Vernon Jordan's wise counsel and warm friendship—and deeply admired his tireless fight for civil rights. We hope the memory of his extraordinary presence and the legacy of his work bring comfort to Ann, Vickee, and his family. pic.twitter.com/HBZfGUuyVl— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 2, 2021In a series of tweets, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. hailed Jordan as “a lion in the Civil Rights Movement.”Vernon Jordan’s passing marks the end of a glorious era in our people’s history, an era that his courage and wisdom and vision did so much to shape...— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) March 2, 2021..A lion in the Civil Rights Movement, he then boldly pioneered the integration of the corporate board room, as surely as Rosa Parks and Dr. King integrated the buses in Montgomery...— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) March 2, 2021..Vernon Jordan was a hero to our people and to all people who cherish racial equality, social justice, and economic opportunity. His passing is a sad day in American history.— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) March 2, 2021Clinton remembered Jordan as “a wonderful friend to Hillary, Chelsea, and me, in good times and bad.” Vernon Jordan was a wonderful friend to Hillary, Chelsea, and me, in good times and bad. We worked and played, laughed and cried, won and lost together. We loved him very much and always will. pic.twitter.com/mZAsx1xETn— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) March 2, 2021 “He was a personal mentor and dear friend,” National Urban League president Marc Morial wrote in a statement Tuesday. “His passing leaves a tremendous void that can never be...

As Black History Month wraps up and Women's History Month commences, the Senate saw it fit to swear in Sonceria "Ann" Berry as its first Black American and eighth woman as the legislative body's 35th secretary.Berry was named to the position in February by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer but wasn't slated to serve in the role until Monday, according to The Hill. The Alabama native replaces former Secretary of the Senate Julie Adams who was named to the role by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2015.“I have had the privilege of working in the U.S. Senate for 40 years serving the American people,” Berry said last month. “I am humbled by this opportunity to continue that service as Secretary of the Senate.  It will be an honor to work with Senators and staff on behalf of the country to advance our common goal of representing this great nation.”Growing up in Alabama, Berry said she is aware of the historical significance of her newly appointed role, according to the Alabama News Center. “I think this will be the day of recognition when I truly feel the impact of what it means to be appointed ‘the first' African American woman to hold the position of secretary of the Senate. Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as an officer of the United States Senate will be monumental for this kid who grew up under the love and supervision of Maxie and Mattie Bishop in Birmingham, Alabama,” Berry said. Berry who has been a Senate aide for over 40 years most recently served under Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) as his deputy chief of staff. Additionally, she worked in the offices of Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and former Sens. John Edwards (D-Nc.), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-Ny.) and Howel Heflin (D-Ala.).“We begin this week on a joyful note welcoming an upstanding individual to serve as the new Secretary of the Senate,” Schumer said, lauding her for her public service in Washington. “I am ecstatic about the historic nomination of Ann Berry to be the new Secretary of the Senate,” Schumer said of the appointment back in February. “This is a vital role that not only overseas key personnel but also aids in the institution’s overall effectiveness. I am confident that Ann’s professional experience in both Senator Leahy and Senator Jones’s offices will ensure a successful tenure as she continues to serve the institution of the Senate.”Berry graduated from the University of North Alabama with a bachelor's degree in education. She started her career as a secretary for South Central Bell in the engineering department before being offered an opportunity to work on Capitol Hill for "an opportunity of a lifetime."The appointed position which has been around since 1789 is responsible for the "legislative, financial and administrative functions" that support the legislative body's daily operations. Since the conception of the role, the secretary of the Senate has been responsible for keeping minutes and...

A new digital platform seeks to shift the conversation around police reform.Defund to Refund, a story-based digital platform which launched in February, seeks to reframe the debate over funding for police in order to grow support for efforts to shift resources towards other public safety services. The platform was developed by several strategists from the digital marketing firm Huge.In an exclusive interview with Blavity, marketing expert Asmirh Davis, the lead strategist for the Defund to Refund initiative, says the idea for the project developed after the killing of George Floyd and calls to scale back police presence in communities in order to tackle police brutality.“'Defund’ has been floating around in the [activist] community for a while,” Davis said. “It got into the mainstream last year.”But although many Americans support many of the specific policies aimed at shifting resources from police to other social services, the “defund” label has become a political lightning rod. The call to defund continues to motivate many progressives, while conservatives seized on the label and attempted to tie it to anarchy and violence and even some prominent Democrats have rejected the campaign.Defund to Refund tackles the controversy surrounding defunding head-on by putting it in a context of positive change and not simply scaling back police presence.“Most people focus only on the taking away,” Davis points out, “when the end goal is to reinvest back into the communities.”Davis, formerly a Group Director of Planning for the Southeast region of Huge, developed Defund to Refund in collaboration with a group of marketing experts at Huge Southeast, including Analytics Lead Justin Anderson-Weber and Engagement Director Fuming Cao. Huge has committed to supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy Darien LaBeach has been working with and facilitating efforts such as Defund to Refund.Defund to Refund partners with BIPOC artists to depict stories of real people and their encounters with police.Embedded in the artwork and narratives that Davis says portray the “human cost” of over-policing are data and facts that tell the financial cost of these policies. Each story includes a “Refund” section showing how the money associated with these policies could be reallocated to better serve and protect our communities. These narrative and data-driven presentations are designed to help simplify and shift the conversation surround “defund” to solutions-based discussions.“I want to see more media, more politicians more people comfortable with the idea that this is the right way to go and where we need to be moving as a society,” says Davis of the platform’s long term goals.. And second, I want to see that conversation moving to activism in communities. … seeing more cities really adopt this way of thinking and pushing themselves to divest in areas of policing and incarceration and reinvesting that into mental health resources, social services, housing security, education.”Currently, Defund to Refund features three artists who are using their visual storytelling skills to illustrate the narratives featured on the site: digital illustrator Jessica Coppet, Atlanta-based illustrator Dwayne “Dubelyoo” Wright, and recent Johns Hopkins School of Medicine graduate Hillary Wilson.The platform hopes to continue to grow as artists and activists connect via social media and share Defund to Refund’s work with their own networks.Anyone interested in supporting or collaborating is encouraged to visit the Defund to Refund website and to connect via Twitter or...

If you’re interested in sharing your opinion on any cultural, political or personal topic, create an account here and check out our how-to post to learn more.____Over the past year, we have borne witness, in our home of Washington, D.C. and across the nation, to remarkable engagement in American democracy in the face of great odds. As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s an especially good time to pause and reflect on the history Black people are making in our democracy right now.Last summer, the seeds of the Movement for Black Lives sown by Black organizers bloomed into unprecedented uprisings for racial justice. Throughout the fall, Black communities mobilized to eject from office the most racist, xenophobic, misogynist president in recent memory. Between November and January, Black organizers in Georgia pushed through exhaustion to deliver the Senate to Democrats. And just last month, the first Black vice president and the first Black senator from Georgia both assumed their respective roles in Washington, D.C.But even as we celebrate these remarkable feats, including this transformation of the landscape in our nation’s capital, we must acknowledge another, more dismal reality of Washington, D.C.: to this day, the nearly 710,000 Americans who call our nation’s capital home are almost completely disenfranchised within it.That’s because the District of Columbia is not a state, and its people therefore do not enjoy the full promises of democracy. For more than 200 years, we have been denied voting representation in the Congress our taxes fund and our residents maintain, the same Congress that has veto power over all our local lawmaking and budget. Our city houses a government that purports to be “of, by, and for the people,” yet it is not fully for us.This anti-democratic reality is not an accident. It is an intentional, racist artifact of a system designed to maintain white supremacy and squelch any semblance of Black political power in the heart of our government.Long home to a robust community of free Black people, Washington, D.C. was the first jurisdiction in the United States to abolish slavery — nine months before Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” — and by the turn of the century, D.C. had a higher percentage of Black residents than any other U.S. city. In the early days of Reconstruction, newly-enfranchised Black men elected Black leaders to every level of D.C.’s local government, only to have white politicians in Congress eliminate local democracy altogether, replacing the democratically-elected D.C. government with an all-white board of appointed commissioners. In defending the move, Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan claimed Congress had “to burn down the barn to get rid of the rats ... the rats being the negro population and the barn being the government of the District of Columbia.”Today, more than 150 years later, conservative lawmakers continue to stand in the way of democracy for D.C. residents. While their language is more subtle, their motivation remains the same: to thwart and erase Black political power. And as a city made up mostly of people of color — the majority of them Black — with a rich tradition of organizing and Black elected leadership, Washington D.C. is as threatening to the white power structure as ever.But, as we were made painfully aware last summer during the uprisings for Black lives, when Trump used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to clear a multiracial crowd of protestors from Lafayette Square, and again on January 6, when the mayor was unable to call up the National Guard to protect our city in the face of violent white rioters during the Capitol insurrection, strong organizing and elected leadership can only get us so far. If we want to approximate democracy and achieve economic opportunity and racial justice in Washington, D.C. must become the 51st state.Thanks to Black leadership of a robust movement for statehood, last year, for the first time ever, a bill for D.C. statehood passed a full chamber of Congress. Only a few weeks into the 117th Congress, both the House and the Senate have re-introduced bills for D.C. statehood — H.R.51 and S.51, respectively — and a majority of members of Congress support sending the legislation to President Biden’s desk.But D.C. statehood is not a foregone conclusion. The forces of white supremacy are as well-versed in democratic exclusion as ever, even as resistance by Black communities has forced them to adjust their tactics. Today, they are again mobilizing one of their favorite tools of racist obstruction — the filibuster — to block D.C. statehood.Black Washingtonians have fought for centuries for full democracy in D.C. Now, it is Congress’ turn. Democrats in the Senate must heed the mandate that Black and brown voters across the country, and especially in Georgia, created when they gave them the majority: abolish the filibuster and pass D.C. statehood now.Our city’s history is Black history — and D.C. statehood is its future.____Ericka Taylor is a writer, book critic, and popular educator at Take on Wall Street. She lives in D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Laura Williamson is a senior policy analyst at Demos, a progressive think tank, and calls Mt Pleasant, D.C....

U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday to block President Joe Biden's 100-day moratorium on most deportations cases. The injunction, which was sought by Texas, determined that the moratorium violated federal law and imposed the risk of additional costs on the state, the Associated Press reported. The 46th President ordered the 100-day moratorium on deportations during his first day in office, continuing with his promise to wipe out former President Donald Trump's policies. But the Trump-appointed judge ruled on Jan. 26 that the moratorium is a violation of federal law on administrative procedure. Tipton also said the U.S. failed to show why a deportation pause was justified. The judge then issued a temporary restraining order, which is set to expire on Tuesday.While the Biden administration hasn't confirmed if it will appeal Tipton’s latest ruling, the Justice Department didn't seek a stay of Tipton’s earlier temporary restraining order.According to Politico, the court's ruling favors Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the 100-day pause. “This preliminary injunction is granted on a nationwide basis and prohibits enforcement and implementation of the [100-day pause] in every place defendants have jurisdiction to enforce and implement the January 20 Memorandum,” Tipton wrote in the 105-page ruling.The preliminary injunction, which applies to the entire country, will remain as the case moves forward or until there's a new ruling from a higher court.Cody Wofsy, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the "ruling is legally wrong and will seriously harm families and communities around the country.”“Texas’ suit is an attempt to deprive the Biden administration of a meaningful opportunity to review and assess immigration enforcement after years of living under lawless Trump policies,” Wofsy said in a statement.Biden's 100-day pause was part of a larger memorandum that directs the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a review of policies and practices concerning immigration enforcement."The United States faces significant operational challenges at the southwest border as it is confronting the most serious global public health crisis in a century," the Jan. 20 memorandum stated. "In light of those unique circumstances, the Department must surge resources to the border in order to ensure safe, legal and orderly processing, to rebuild fair and effective asylum procedures that respect human rights and due process, to adopt appropriate public health guidelines and protocols, and to prioritize responding to threats to national security, public safety, and border security."While halting the 100-day ban, Tipton said the court didn't block the entire DHS memo, still allowing a review of policies and practices tied to immigration enforcement and interim civil enforcement guidelines.“This order does not prohibit the government from carrying out or adhering to the January 20 memorandum’s other sections,” the ruling stated.According to CBS News, Biden is aiming to allow legal status to an estimated 11 million undocumented people who live in the United States. The president's Jan. 20 memo excluded individuals who came to the U.S. after Nov. 1, as well as those suspected of terrorism or espionage or pose a danger to national security and those who have waived rights to remain in the U.S. or who've been determined removable by the acting...

Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza described the gruesome details of an injury she sustained during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6 at a Senate hearing Tuesday on the intelligence and security failures of the incident. Mendoza said rioters burned her face with chemicals and nearly broke her arm as they stormed the Capitol Building last month, according to CNN.The Special Operations Division captain first noticed a heavy smoke-like residue in the Rotunda and smelled a "military grade CS gas,” according to Mendoza."It was mixed with fire extinguisher spray deployed by the rioters. The rioters continued to deploy CS into the Rotunda," Mendoza said. "Officers received a lot of gas exposure, which is worse inside the building than outside, because there's nowhere for it to go. I received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day."As a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the US Capitol Police for almost 19 years, Menodza has been involved in dozens of controversial situations. Throughout her career, the veteran said she has been called "so many names so many times that I'm numb to it now."The Capitol riot was "by far the worst of the worst,” she said."We could have had 10 times the amount of people working with us and I still believe this battle would have been just as devastating," said Mendoza, who was one of about 140 officers injured on Jan. 6. "At some point, my right arm got wedged between the rioters and railing along the wall. A (D.C. police) sergeant pulled my arm free and had he not, I'm certain it would have been broken."Officers eventually cleared the Rotunda, but they still had to physically hold the door closed because it had been broken by the rioters, she said."Officers begged me for relief as they were unsure how long they could physically hold the door closed with the crowd continually banging on the outside of the door, attempting to gain reentry," she said. "Eventually officers were able to secure the door with furniture and other objects."Mendoza, who was at home with her 10-year-old before being called in, rushed to help her colleagues after the insurrection had already started."I'm proud of the officers I worked with on Jan. 6. They fought extremely hard," she said. "I know some said the battle lasted three hours, but according to my Fitbit, I was in the exercise zone for four hours and nine minutes, and many officers were in the fight before I even arrived."As Blavity previously reported, five people, including a police officer, lost their lives after supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol, hoping to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Another officer recounted the event in an interview with Good Morning America. The officer described the damage that took place during the attack, particularly noting the demolished tribute to civil rights icon John Lewis."That mural was destroyed. Not just knocked over, it was destroyed," he said. "They ripped it in half, once. They picked it up and they ripped it again, and again. It was in pieces. It was deliberate. The American flag stayed up, but that mural to John Lewis was destroyed. And you can't tell me that that isn't racism."The distraught man didn't hesitate to describe the perpetrators as terrorists."It wasn't just a mob or a bunch of thugs, you know, they were terrorists. They tried to disrupt this country's democracy. That was their goal. And you know what? You all failed," he said, directing his message at the...

Few people have had as large an impact on Black America as W.E.B. Du Bois.Known as the scholar and activist who revolutionized the field of sociology, Du Bois also co-founded the NAACP and led the Pan-African Movement that promoted solidarity between Black leaders and people throughout the diaspora. He is often remembered for his achievements, as well as his differences with Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). Though Du Bois publicly disagreed with the head of one of the nation’s premier Black schools, this does not mean that he overlooked the value of HBCUs. On the contrary, Du Bois was a product of an HBCU education, a faculty member of a Black university for much of his career and a lifelong proponent of Black-led education.  Here's what you should know about how he shaped -- and was shaped by --...

Written by John A. Tures, LaGrange College____When Rev. Raphael Warnock prevailed in the special election on Jan. 5, he was the first African American from Georgia to win a U.S. Senate seat, and the 11th African American to serve in the U.S. Senate.But as a political scientist who has studied African American candidates seeking statewide offices like governor or U.S. senator, I know that Warnock’s real victories were as an African American candidate who had no previous elected experience and won a Senate seat, and he became the first African American to defeat a sitting senator or...

District Court Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee, faced hours of questioning on Monday during his confirmation hearing.Garland dealt with tough queries from Republicans and Democrats all morning, but he was confronted with a particularly pointed line of questioning from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).Booker, the only Black senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee, pressed Garland about his views on racism within the country's justice system and his goals for trying to reduce racial disparities found throughout the nation. “I’m actually concerned with something I consider pernicious and very difficult to root out, which is the realities of implicit racial bias that lead to larger systemic racism. Now, I have been kind of stunned that the issue of systemic racism has become something argued over but if I can just walk you through for a second: Does our justice system treat people equally in this country, at this point?” Booker asked Garland.Garland’s response was simple, “Sadly, and it is plain to me that it does not.”Booker also pointed out the alarming rate of marijuana arrests in 2019.“One of the big things driving arrests in our country, stunningly to me even that it’s still the case, is marijuana arrests,” Booker said. “We had in 2019 more marijuana arrests for possession than all violent crime arrests combined.”Booker added that when broken down by race, these arrests disproportionately involved Black and brown people even though there’s no difference between how drugs are used or sold based on race. “It is shocking that an African American has no difference in usage or selling than someone who is white in America, but their likelihood of being arrested for doing things — that two of the last four presidents admitted to doing — is three to four times higher than somebody white?” Booker asked. “Is that evidence that within the system there is implicit racial bias? Yes or no, sir?”In response, Garland admitted that the country's justice system does not treat people equally based on race. "Senator, there is no question that there is disparate treatment in our justice system. Mass incarceration is a very good example of this problem," Garland said."We're incarcerating almost 25 percent of the world's population and we have something like 5 percent of the world's population. I don't think that is because Americans are worse," he added.When asked what he would do about this, Garland spoke about the need to focus on violent crime as opposed to drug crimes and said it was becoming clearer for many people that racism has an effect on almost every aspect of life in the United States. He did not drill down into specifics about what exactly he would do to address racial disparities in arrests and charges, echoing much of what Booker said without going into detail. “Race right now in our country is still playing a specific influence in the justice that someone gets,” Booker added. Booker went on to ask his final question, which struck a chord with Garland.“One thing you said to me privately particularly motivated me to believe you when you talk about your aspirations," Booker said. "I'm wondering if you can just conclude by talking — answering the question about your motivation and maybe some of your own family history in confronting hate and discrimination in American history."Garland broke down and replied that his family fled to the United States because of anti-semitism."This country took us in and protected us. And I feel an obligation to the country to pay them back, and this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills. And so I want very much to be the kind of attorney general that you're saying I could become," he said. "This is why I wanted to be attorney general," he added. Garland will face one more day of questioning before his nomination is voted on. He is most well-known for being former President Barack Obama's choice for a seat on the Supreme Court.But, at the time, Democrats did not hold the Senate and Republicans refused to even consider Garland's nomination before the election, a decision that drew outcry last year when the GOP pushed through the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett just days before the presidential election. The United States has the world's largest incarcerated population and data shows Black people are significantly more likely to be arrested, charged and imprisoned more harshly than any other race in the country.Black people represent 33 percent of the prison population despite being just 13 percent of the general population. Overall, there are 465,200 black people being held in state or federal prison as of the end of 2018. Even as the rate of incarceration has fallen significantly since 2006, Black people still have an imprisonment rate that was twice that of Hispanics and five times that of white people, according to Pew Research.Of all the groups in the United States, the rates are specifically high for Black men. As of 2018, there were 2,272 inmates per 100,000 black men and just 1,018 inmates per 100,000 Hispanic men. There were only 392 inmates per 100,000 white men. The rates were even worse for specific age ranges for Black men. Pew found that one out of every 20 Black men between the ages of 35 and 39 were in state or federal prison in...