Kristen Clarke Makes History as First Woman *and* First Black Woman to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division

Kristen Clarke is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s nominee for assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division.

In accepting her nomination, Clarke vowed to “turn the page on hate and closed the door on discrimination by enforcing our federal civil rights laws,” citing leaders like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as key influences.

Civil Rights Hero JoAnne Bland: “This Time, We’re Going to Go All the Way”

JoAnne Bland, founder of Journeys for the Soul tour company, was 11 years old when she crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965—a day that would come to be known as Bloody Sunday.

“To look at those kids out there trying to do what’s right and saying they’re not gonna take it anymore, brought back the memories of the ‘60s. And when police attacked, it really took me straight back to that bridge, straight back to that bridge. How could this happen? To still be happening 55 years later, how can it? … But [I pray that] those children don’t stop. Don’t stop ‘til they get it right. … I encourage them and I pray every day: Please don’t stop. Change will come if you keep their feet to the fire. Change will come.”

Vote 2020: Start Planning Today

This year more than ever, every single one of us must make our voices heard. It’s critical that we understand our rights and navigate the system of roadblocks and misinformation erected to undercut and undercount our votes. Start planning your roadmap today to the destination, which is safe and successful voting so that your vote is counted on, not after, November 3.