2018 MA Senate race: on Civil Rights


John Kingston: Most diverse group to ever attend a political kick-off

Kingston spent a chunk of his speech focusing on diversity. "We're joined here by perhaps the most diverse group to ever attend a political kick-off," Kingston said at one point, naming Democrats, independents, and Republicans and ticking off a list of racial backgrounds of those in attendance. "And people representing all faiths or no faith at all. You see--It's in my DNA to bring people together. It's what I've done my entire adult life."

Kingston's six-minute kickoff video begins with photos showing his working-class upbringing and his family of four children. The video also focuses on Kingston's multicultural experience.

Others who spoke ahead of Kingston included the Reverend Ray Hammond, pastor of Jamaica Plain's Bethel A.M.E. Church. Kingston in a campaign video is seen recalling his time as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined the local chapter of Martin Luther King Jr.'s fraternity and was the first white student to join the gospel choir.

Source: 2018 Massachusetts Senatorial campaign site JohnKingston.com Mar 31, 2018

Heidi Wellman: Comfortable with same-sex marriage

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Comfortable with same-sex marriage"?

A: YES

Source: OnTheIssues interview of 2018 Massachusetts Senate candidate Mar 7, 2018

Beth Lindstrom: Supports state law legalizing same sex marriage

Beth Lindstrom, who was Scott Brown's former campaign manager during his upset 2010 special election victory, appears to be running in third place in the Republican primary. She also has stated that she "supports the law from 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage in the state".
Source: DailyKos.com on 2018 Massachusetts Senate race Jan 28, 2018

Shiva Ayyadurai: Only a real Indian can defeat a fake Indian

Shiva Ayyadurai, an Indian-American scientist whose campaign features the slogan "Only a real Indian can defeat a fake Indian"--a jab at the controversy surrounding Warren's decision to check off a minority box marked for Native Americans when she successfully applied for a teaching position at Harvard Law School decades ago--is threatening to sue Walsh and the city over their handling of August's event, should Walsh decline to issue a full apology.
Source: 2018 Massachusetts Senate campaign website shiva4senate.com Nov 14, 2017

Shiva Ayyadurai: It's about free speech, not against Black Lives Matter

Shiva Ayyadurai, who delivered the keynote address at August's "Free Speech Rally" where police restricted access on Boston Common as protesters numbered in the thousands, is demanding an apology from Mayor Marty Walsh, and threatens to sue if not.

The August 19 event, held at the Common's Parkman Bandstand, ended prematurely ahead of the arrival of thousands of marchers organized by Black Lives Matter. Police in anticipation of the rally ringed the bandstand with a series of barriers, preventing rally-goers from moving within less than a football field's length from where speakers assembled. Ayyadurai demands an acknowledgment that Walsh was "wrong in mischaracterizing the approximately 40 people in the Parkman Bandstand as a hate group and as sympathetic to white supremacy."

Ayyadurai is also demanding Walsh "acknowledge the sincerity of the group's commitment to free speech." Ayyadurai himself at one point, according to video he has from the event, declared "black lives do matter."

Source: New Boston Post on 2018 Massachusetts Senate race Nov 10, 2017

  • The above quotations are from 2018 Massachusetts Senate race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Elizabeth Warren on Civil Rights.
Candidates and political leaders on Civil Rights:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Apr 07, 2019