WASHINGTON
Presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama told members of the Howard University community Friday that if elected he would work to restore justice and equality in the country and confidence that America’s judicial system works for everyone.
“From the day I take office as president of the United States, America will have a justice department that is truly dedicated to justice,” Obama told an audience of 1,500 students, alumni and faculty at a ceremony marking the start of the 140th academic year at the historically Black university in Washington, D.C.
“For the first time in eight years, the civil rights division will actually be staffed with civil rights lawyers who prosecute civil rights violations and employment discrimination and hate crimes,“ Obama said. His administration, Obama said, would recruit more public defenders by forgiving college and law school loans.
Obama spoke at the end of a week that marked the 50th anniversary of nine Black students integrating Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. Three days before this anniversary, an estimated 20,000 traveled to Jena, La., to protest charges against six Black teens involved in a fight with a White teen last year at Jena High School. Protesters have argued that the case stemmed from discrimination and the Black students are being unfairly prosecuted.
Obama said that it is up to the current generation of young people to continue the work toward equality that began five decades ago.
“We have more work to do,” Obama said. “It’s not enough just us to look back and wonder at how far we have come. I want us to look ahead with a fierce urgency at how far we have left to go.”
