Politics & Government

State Takes Hard Stance in Fight Against Intolerance

We cannot afford to let the banks of justice go bankrupt says Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas E. Perez.

The ongoing battle to defend and uphold civil rights in America took center stage at a conference in Hamden today.

Hosted by Quinnipiac University School of Law, the 2011 Civil Rights Conference for the District of Connecticut featured a panel of well-known speakers that included Dennis Shephard, whose son, Matthew, died after being beaten and dragged behind a pickup truck in what was determined to be a hate crime because he was gay. Shephard was joined by Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights, Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Lou deBaca, ambassador-at-large to monitor human trafficking, and David O’Malley, lead investigator of the Matthew Shephard case.

U.S. Attorney David B. Fein began the conference by detailing some of the new initiatives recently put in place, including the appointment of two civil rights coordinators, new cultural awareness programs for law enforcement officers, and civil rights fellowships for high school seniors.

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“Civil rights cases are historically under-reported,” Fein said. “We want to encourage early and accurate reporting,” he said to an audience that was comprised of federal, state and local law enforcement, community leaders, service providers and advocacy groups.

“Civil rights enforcement is alive and well in Connecticut,” Perez said. “Regrettably, there is a lot of business in this area.”

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Perez said he thought often about Dr. Martin Luther King’s message, and one of the questions that could be asked, so many years after his death: why do we need a civil rights division in 2011?

The answer, according to Perez, is: “Senator Ted Kennedy [for whom Perez served as special counsel] said civil rights remains the unfinished business of America. Our job is to make sure we do not allow the banks of justice to go bankrupt.”

For those who don’t see a need for a civil rights division, Perez said they should spend a week with him. “You will see that we continue to sail into the strong headwind of intolerance,” he said.

“I wish I were that Maytag repairman, waiting for the phone to ring,” he joked. “But, regrettably, I am more like the Toyota mechanic.”

Perez cited many victims of the current climate of intolerance, including Muslims and gays, and far too often, children.

“I’ve met all too many suffering in silence,” he said. “I’ve met too many parents of children who killed themselves because they were bullied.”

Perez said that while law enforcement personnel are supposed to be the solution to the problem, they are far too often harbingers of hatred themselves. In his travels around the country he is often called to help “fix” broken police departments, including in New Orleans, where he said the public has lost faith in the integrity of their officers.

“I am sure the State of Connecticut,” he concluded, “will continue to embrace Dr. King’s message of equal opportunity.”   

The conference was sponsored by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut and continued throughout the day with topics that included human trafficking, hate crimes, disability rights, voting rights, fair housing, fair credit, excessive force and veteran's rights.


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