Just a few examples from the sewers:

National Review Online: The DOJ’s Radical Civil Rights Division; Obama’s pick to helm the division seems to hew to a racialist view of civil rights.

From comments:

u.s is turning into planet of the apes

From comments:



Shocking animal ooga booga's promoting other animal ooga booga's.

Thought Tom Perez was Radical? Meet Debo Adegbile:



But in the Obama Justice Department, the law is not as important as the cause. And with Adegbile, the cause is racialist.

We are already aware of the animus against Barack Obama's paternity, and the Kenyan father he never knew, along with the birther conspiracy theory about his nativity. So many of the racist depictions of him as an ape, simian-like, or a savage with a bone in his nose, are deeply rooted in ideations about the Dark Continent , used to maintain slavery and white supremacy.

There have been numerous studies that prove having a non-WASP name affects getting hired, an interview for a job, or entry to a specific college or university. Of course, historically that was true for names that sounded Irish or Jewish. I was fortunate to have the surname Oliver, though after marrying and becoming a hyphenated Velez, slurs of "sp*c", have increased.

Adegbile faces a formidable array of rationales for the vituperation unleashed against him. Bad enough to be black in America, a child of a mixed race union, and to have a clearly African first and surname, coupled with the hated resume of tenure with the NAACP, and his support of voting rights.

He expressed that support clearly in an interview done at NYU when he was chosen as Alumnus of the Month for July 2010.



Q: You also were involved in voting rights cases with the LDF during the 2000 presidential election and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. What draws you to these kinds of cases? A. Voting rights fascinated me when I studied the topic in my constitutional law class with Professor Christopher L. Eisgruber. Leaders like Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall knew that individuals’ ability to express their political voices was essential to take down the racial caste system of Jim Crow. So many of the civil rights leaders understood that having a vote—having an ability to pick leaders and to have a full measure of citizenship—was essential to ensuring equality, not just in the moment but in the future. That lesson was not lost on me. Q: How did you develop an interest and expertise in voting rights law? When I studied at NYU, I had a chance to take a couple of wonderful classes on race and the law in the United States and South Africa with the late, great A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., and later I practiced with him at the Paul, Weiss law firm. He was the former Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He spent his career working as a civil rights lawyer and a federal judge, and was a passionate and unyielding voice for equality in the United States. He was very involved in a number of voting cases and was very passionate in defending the voting rights of African Americans, especially in the twilight of his career. I got to work with him as a summer associate and then as an associate at Paul, Weiss, and through that experience I participated in my first case with the LDF. So that experience set me on a path of not only caring deeply about these issues, but having an opportunity to become involved in the continuing struggle for equality.

In 1966, founders Gus and Marty Trowbridge set out to create an independent school where equality, social justice, a diverse community, and the inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr. would form the basis for childrens’ education. Four decades later, at a school with no racial majority, that dream has become a vibrant reality for nearly 200 students every year.

A: I auditioned for Sesame Street during the first or second season the show was on the air. A big "cattle call" went out in New York City because they were looking for more kids. Off to the audition I went, and I guess I made it through without wrecking the set or acting too unruly. I filmed episodes for nine years. At NYU, I distinctly remember taking a workshop from placement services early in my time at NYU. Their advice was to take anything you’ve done that’s interesting or different and put it on your résumé, because law firms get a lot of résumés and after a while they all start to look alike. On the strength of that advice, I put Sesame Street on my résumé. And true to form, in almost every interview, it was a substantial part of the focus. I guess that talking about the show was a lot more interesting than my views on the law or my command of legal topics – I suspect that is still the case. So in some way, I owe my career success to attending that workshop and heeding that advice.

Adegbile was exposed very early in life to concepts of justice and equality. He is an alumnus of Manhattan Country School , and sits on their board of directors. The school's mission statement reflects the man he is:Of course his childhood association with Big Bird may not win him any applause on the right either ;)The good news on his nomination and future confirmation is that given the rules change in the U.S. Senate, he may not be blocked. We should help make that happen.

For those of you planning to attend Netroots Nation in Detroit in 2014 and interested in hearing more from him, he is scheduled to be on a panel. Here's hoping his bio posted on the NN website will have a new addition—Debo Adegbile, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Department of Justice.