Political Quotes

“Madam President, Debo Adegbile has the keen intellect, life experience, and knowledge sufficient to be an excellent assistant attorney general. What an American story we find in his life. The son of Nigerian and Irish immigrants, he worked his way up from poverty--including periods of homelessness and reliance on welfare--to the top of the legal profession. He graduated from Connecticut College and NYU Law School and spent the early years of his career in one of the most highly regarded law firms in New York. Then he decided to start working at the NAACP legal defense fund, ultimately becoming the organization's acting president and directing counsel. For those who don't know the NAACP legal defense fund, I would commend to them a book called ``Devil in the Grove.'' It is a Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the work of Thurgood Marshall in the 1940s and 1950s when the fund was literally the only voice for those who were poor and Black in America. Time and again, Thurgood Marshall would journey to parts of America and risk his life to defend someone accused of a crime. They were the only ones who would stand and speak for the poor and those who were in minority status. Mr. Adegbile joined the NAACP legal defense fund, and during his 20- year career he has gained experience and perspective on a wide range of issues, certainly qualifying him for this job with the Civil Rights Division.…”