Jeff Sessions doesn’t even care if he looks racist anymore–he has to go.

Yesterday, he gave a speech at the National Sheriffs Association winter meeting– and once again his words were racist and disturbing. During the speech he proudly praised the work of law enforcement saying, “The office of sheriff is a critical part of the Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement.”¹ Yes, he really said that–affirming the role law enforcement has played in upholding white supremacy since the era of slave patrols.

This bold and overt racism should not be ignored or dismissed–because Sessions has the power of the entire federal law enforcement body to back up his remarks. In the past year that he’s been appointed as Attorney General, Sessions has completely destroyed all progress made through the Justice Department. However, he is only able to hold such power because he has a law license. Sessions would not have his job if the Alabama State Bar revoked his license to practice.

That’s why over 60,000 Color of Change members have signed the petition demanding the Alabama State Bar revoke Jeff Sessions’ right to practice law. Carmen, your name is missing. Will you sign today?

Until justice is real,

Clarise and the rest of the Color of Change team

P.S. Check out the original email we sent:

References

1. “Sessions invokes ‘Anglo-American heritage’ of sheriff’s office,” CNN News, 02-12-2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/19627?t=6&akid=9132%2E1174326%2E_RT4AH

Jeff Sessions is a liar, a racist, and a white supremacist. Last week, Sessions testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and one thing is clear — enough is enough. Sessions’ entire political career has been to undo major progress hard fought and won from decades-long work by Black people and communities of color. And he continues to spread so many untruths just to maintain power that keeps him in close proximity to the ugliest and most dangerous White House administration. Sessions does not represent and never will represent any symbol of fairness and justice.

Jeff Sessions holds a prominent law license from the state of Alabama that gives him the power to be Attorney General. He should not be the Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice and he has no place in this country to practice law.It is long overdue to finally shut down his power and access as well as stop the harm that he continues to inflict. And the way we’re going to do it is by getting him disbarred from the Alabama State Bar. Bar associations are responsible for issuing licenses for lawyers to practice but just as importantly ensuring that the integrity of how lawyers use their role is upheld.

The Alabama State Bar should not allow Jeff Sessions to keep a license to practice law. He is dishonest and corrupt. It’s time to disbar him today.

Jeff Sessions has spearheaded Trump’s entire Law and Order agenda. As Attorney General, Sessions has built a false, racist narrative that crime has exponentially increased across the U.S. Right after being sworn in as Attorney General, Sessions said national crime rates were the highest they’d ever been–but it was a lie. According to FBI data, the national rate was decreasing.¹ Sessions is following the eerie and distorted words of Trump who said, “In many of our biggest cities, 2016 brought an increase in the number of homicides, rapes, assaults, and shootings.”² This in and of itself is a violation of the Alabama Bar Code of Ethics — Sessions is actively engaging in dishonesty as a chief law enforcer. This ignites fears and sets up a big platform for ruthless policies that directly impact Black people and many other marginalized groups.

This white supremacist narrative of Black people and immigrants as violent and dangerous has led to extreme changes and further violates another ethics code of being prejudice and bias. Sessions was determined to bring back the war on Black people by restarting the “War on Drugs.” This includes pushing prosecutors to issue the most severe punishment against people who commit drug offenses, giving local police departments more power to arrest and surveil with access to militarized equipment. He’s against any form of police accountability and has eliminated consent decrees. Sessions even went after Sanctuary cities by threatening to withhold federal funding for refusing to comply with harsh immigration laws. And Jeff Sessions reversed the ban on federal private prisons. Sessions said, “the ban on private prisons hurt the prison system’s ability to meet the future needs for housing.”³ This, of course, is all code for locking up more people for profit. This list goes on and on, and it will continue as long as Sessions has the power to keep his license.

Jeff Sessions does not represent the people. His job is to only target and criminalize our people. Alabama State Bar must take away his license now.

We already know who Jeff Sessions is. It is not just lies — but he is unapologetic in wanting to dismantle democracy and destroy the rights of all our communities. Plain and simple he is a White man with a lot of privilege and power he doesn’t deserve. He is incapable of upholding the integrity of his position in the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeff Sessions has abused his power long enough.

Sign the petition.

Until justice is real,

Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Scott, Anay, Clarise, Enchanta, Malaya, Kristen, Katrese, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

References:

1. “The ACLU says Trump’s executive order on crime aims to “stop national trends that don’t exist”,” Quartz, 02-09-2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/9697?t=13&akid=9132%2E1174326%2E_RT4AH

2. “Sessions calls rise in crime a ‘dangerous permanent trend,’ but FBI data shows rate consistently falling,” Yahoo News, 02-09-2017 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/9698?t=15&akid=9132%2E1174326%2E_RT4AH

3. “Justice Department Keeps For-Profit Prisons, Scrapping an Obama Plan,” New York Times, 02-23-2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/7973?t=17&akid=9132%2E1174326%2E_RT4AH

BossFeed Briefing for February 12, 2018. Last Monday, a longtime New York City livery driver killed himself in front of City Hall, leaving a suicide note which detailed the growing difficulty of making a living in his line of work. Last Wednesday, a powerful German industrial union won the right to a 28-hour workweek. Today is the 50th anniversary of the first day of the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, where the iconic “I AM A MAN” picket signs were first seen. And Wednesday is Valentine’s Day, in honor of which huge numbers of cut flowers are flown in from South America.

So sue me 

Three things to know this week:

 A new study looked at the economic impact of 137 different minimum wage increases across the country and found that higher wages do not cause any job losses of any kind. This confirms the sense of everybody who lives in Seattle, works in Seattle, or has traveled through the city in the past several years: higher wages and economic growth go together.

 Washington state’s sick time law took effect on January 1st, which means about 1 million people should now be seeing paid sick time accrue on their pay stubs for the first time. We put together a sick time check-up where you can answer a few quick questions to make sure your employer is fulfilling their obligations and you’re getting the rights you deserve.

 The city of Stockton, California is conducting one of the first municipal experiments with basic income in the United States. The city will provide $500/month in unrestricted income to 100 residents, and then measure the results over 12 – 18 months.

Two things to ask:

 Surely, they can’t be serious? The industry lobby group for Alaska Airlines & friends filed suit against the state of Washington, arguing that our sick days law shouldn’t apply to them because it’s too much of a burden on multi-billion-dollar companies to keep track of 6.5 sick days a year. Working Washington responded in the local news, national news, and on TV.

 What will the Senate do? The Washington State House has followed the example of Spokane, Seattle, and many other jurisdictions across the country by voting to “ban the box.” The fair chance employment act, which would stop employers from preemptively rejecting applicants based solely on a criminal record, now heads to the State Senate.

And one thing that’s worth a closer look:

 Regardless of your take on Elon Musk’s various enterprises, it’s quite obvious that a successful rocket launch requires the technical expertise and other contributions of thousands of people. And yet Musk is a primary example of something that happens quite often in popular writing, where the achievements of successful companies are attributed to the singular genius of a founding CEO. Evaporating the work of the people who do the work has political consequences, and a different way of writing about rich people and their hobbies can have a radically different impact, as explored in Donald Borenstein’s pointed Style Guide for Writing About the Rich. Take a closer look at Borenstein’s piece to explore what it means when so many writers spend so much time and effort going out of their way to praise the rich — and what it might look like if journalists treated the ultra-wealthy with a different attitude.

Black voters in Dallas are under attack. On January 19th, Dallas County Republican Party Chair Missy Shorey and her party filed a lawsuit to kick 128 Democratic candidates off the ballot. They’re arguing that Democratic County Chair Carol Donovan did not properly sign their ballot applications, despite the fact that it is common for designated people to sign off in her place.

This lawsuit is a desperate attempt by Dallas Republicans to prevent Black voters from from making their voices heard and selecting the candidates that best represent their communities. 

Dallas County Republican Party Chair Missy Shorey is willing to do whatever it takes to win back Dallas for the GOP. But we know that Missy Shorey doesn’t want to be seen as a racist. When lawyers from the Dallas Democratic Party pointed out the lawsuit’s impact on voters and candidates of color, Shorey was quick to defend herself, calling the accusations “slander”. If we continue to call her out for leading the charge on this racist lawsuit, she may back down to protect her and her party’s image.

We have an opportunity to show that Black voters and our allies will not stay silent while our rights are attacked. We must pressure Missy Shorey to call off this lawsuit so Black voters in Dallas can elect the people that will create a better world for them and their families.

Here is the Petition:

We, the undersigned, urge you to call off your lawsuit to remove 128 Democratic candidates from the ballot in the Dallas primary and general elections.

The success of your lawsuit would only ensure the disenfranchisement of thousands of Black voters, denying them the choice of selecting the candidates they desire. Racist attacks on voters of color will not win back Dallas for the Republican party. In fact, Color of Change PAC is committed to ensuring Black voters in Dallas know about these attacks by the Republican party on their freedom.

Please call off this lawsuit and allow the voters of Dallas County to decide who represents them for themselves.