Attorney General Holder: 'Policies that disenfranchise specific groups are more pernicious than hateful rants'

Attorney General Eric Holder gave the Morgan State University commencement speech today, and he used the platform to offer his opinions on recent racial controversies, reported The Wall Street Journal.

"These outbursts of bigotry, while deplorable, are not the true markers of the struggle that still must be waged, or the work that still needs to be done, because the greatest threats do not announce themselves in screaming headlines. They are more subtle. They cut deeper. And their terrible impact endures long after the headlines have faded and obvious, ignorant expressions of hatred have been marginalized," Holder said in a written version of his speech. "Policies that disenfranchise groups are more pernicious than hateful rants."

While he did not reference any specific incidents, Holder's speech comes soon after Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks to a female friend were made public, and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy similarly aired racist views. Both stories gained national attention, but Holder said in his speech that recent measures — such as state voter identification laws and zero-tolerance school discipline policies — more subtly but effectively impact minorities.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Read the full story, along with more of Holder's comments from his speech, over at The Wall Street Journal.