Biden Cabinet members actions and issues: on Civil Rights
Deb Haaland:
Everyone deserves to love without discrimination
As a member of the U. S. House, Haaland was a committed ally of the LGBTQ community. In May of 2019, Haaland was awarded the prestigious Vanguard Award by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). The Vanguard Award is given to an outstanding
ally who uses their platform to further LGBTQ+ equality. Accepting the award she stated; "Everyone deserves to love who they love and be who they are without facing discrimination or violence."
Source: The Washington Blade on Biden Cabinet
Mar 16, 2021
Deb Haaland:
I have this wonderful lesbian daughter who I adore
Q: Please describe how an LGBTQ person in your life has affected your worldview.Haaland: "That would be my daughter, who is a lesbian. Sometimes I think about how I have this beautiful, wonderful lesbian daughter who I adore, and who
I want to have every opportunity for success. I just feel that every single American, regardless of where they are, what community they belong to, deserves to have opportunities to succeed."
Source: The Washington Blade on Biden Cabinet
Mar 16, 2021
Deb Haaland:
Was Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus
Haaland was also Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, a group of lawmakers that serves as a resource for Members of Congress, their staff, and the public on LGBTQ+ issues at the federal level.
The caucus works toward the extension of equal rights, the repeal of discriminatory laws, the elimination of hate-motivated violence, and the improved health and well-being for all regardless of sexual orientation of gender identity and expression.
Source: The Washington Blade on Biden Cabinet
Mar 16, 2021
Cedric Richmond:
Expand religious institutions' protection from hate crimes
Richmond, speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America's virtual mission, said Biden plans to push for increases to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Richmond was a proponent of the program during his tenure in the House.
Richmond added that the Biden administration is considering establishing a program within the Department of Justice to prevent attacks on faith-based organizations and increase sentences for individuals convicted of hate crimes at religious institutions.
Source: Jewish Insider on Biden Cabinet
Feb 3, 2021
Tom Vilsack:
Claimed diversity of farmers was accounting change by USDA
Vilsack has been criticized for inaccurately stating that the number of farmers of color increased during his first go as secretary of agriculture. In fact, a change in the
USDA's method of accounting--not an attempt to confront racism--made the population of farmers appear more diverse than it really is.
Source: Quad City Times on Biden Cabinet
Dec 20, 2020
Tom Vilsack:
Failed to protect slaughterhouse works, help black farmers
Groups like the Independent Black Farmers coalition and the Family Farm Action Alliance have strongly criticized Vilsack's record, with the former's president, Michael Stovall, telling Politico, "When it comes to civil rights, the rights of people, he's
not for that.""Vilsack failed to enact protections for slaughterhouse workers or improve the department's treatment of black farmers, and oversaw the approval of high-speed slaughter," Leah Garc‚s, president of Mercy for Animals, said.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
Tom Vilsack:
Apologized for firing black woman over doctored video
In July 2010, a misleadingly edited clip of Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia state director of rural development, was posted. Andrew Breitbart edited the clip to make it sound as though she refused to help [a farmer] because he was white.
Sherrod was forced to resign. Vilsack admitted he had been taken in a hit job and offered Sherrod a new position at the USDA, telling reporters, "This is a good woman, she's been put through hell and I could have and should have done a better job."
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
Tom Vilsack:
Foreclosed on black farmers six times more than whites
A 2019 investigation painted a devastating picture of Vilsack's civil rights record, finding that he dragged out discrimination cases until they reached the statute of limitations and no longer needed resolution, and foreclosed on Black farmers six
times as often as white farmers. "The department sent a lower share of loan dollars to black farmers than it had under President Bush, then used census data in misleading ways to burnish its record on civil rights," they report.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
Tom Vilsack:
Pushed for minority voting rights on Farm Service committees
A veteran of the Vilsack USDA noted he reformed the Farm Service Agency's county committees, a key form of community consultation. Committees used to have non-voting "minority advisers" to address racial equity concerns, and Vilsack successfully pushed
to give those representatives voting rights. Another source defended Vilsack's record on civil rights, citing his department's increase in microloans to historically disadvantaged farmers.
Source: Reason magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
Pete Buttigieg:
Fight racial, economic injustice with transportation policy
Pete Buttigieg promised to fight racial, economic, and environmental injustice as nominee to lead the Department of Transportation (DOT). During his speech, he warned there was a dark side to the DOT. "At its worst, misguided policies and missed
opportunities can reinforce racial, economic, and environmental injustice, dividing or isolating neighborhoods," he said, promising to work to deliver "equity" and "empower everyone to thrive."
Source: Breitbart blog on Biden Cabinet, "Racial Injustice"
Dec 16, 2020
Pete Buttigieg:
OpEd: Appointed to Cabinet solely because he's gay
[Opinion]: Buttigieg's homosexuality might be Biden's sole reason for picking him. "His expected nomination is a historic moment for LGBTQ Americans. Advocacy groups had been pressuring the Biden transition to make history and nominate an
LGBTQ American to a top Cabinet post," CNN reported. Apparently selecting LGBTQ individuals to run his administration will one of Biden's top priorities. His website's promises and policy proposals for the "LGBTQ community" runs past 8,000 words.
Source: The New American OpEd on Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
Xavier Becerra:
Protect transgender students and adults
Attorney General Becerra is committed to protecting the rights of all people. Recognizing that discrimination has no place in our society,
Attorney General Becerra is fighting to protect transgender students and adults across the nation, and strictly enforcing the recently enacted California law that prohibits state-funded travel to states that discriminate against LGBTQ communities.
Source: California Attorney General website: Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
Marcia Fudge:
Ban discrimination against African American hairstyles
She cosponsored legislation that would ban discrimination against African American hairstyles in federally funded institutions and in the workplace and prodded the
Defense Department to review a decision to restrict braids, cornrows, twists, and dreadlocks which are popular among African American women.
Source: The Cleveland Plain-Dealer on Biden Cabinet
Dec 13, 2020
Tom Vilsack:
Root out inequities and systemic racism in systems we govern
Progressive groups had pushed Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge and would have been the first Black woman to lead the agency, which has a troubled history of discriminating against Black farmers.Accepting the nomination alongside Biden,
Vilsack said he would ensure a "diverse and inclusive senior leadership team" in the department, and "continue the important work of rooting out inequities and systemic racism in the systems we govern and the programs we lead."
Source: U.S. News & World Report on Biden Cabinet
Dec 12, 2020
Xavier Becerra:
For marriage equality; against Defense of Marriage Act
The executive director of Equality California praised Becerra as among the most ardent LGBTQ+ allies he has ever worked with. "He's just been rock solid with us since the very beginning, has an
unblemished record, and in a way that really sets him apart from folks that are obviously very good today," Zbur said. "He stepped out early at a time when it was not necessarily as easy to do as it is today."
During Becerra's first term in the U.S. House he backed marriage equality, something few other members of Congress did. Among 435 senators and representatives, Becerra was among just 67 who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, according
to Equality California. In 2005, he co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, federal legislation that added sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to hate crime law.
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 8, 2020
Xavier Becerra:
Racial divisions exploited by our adversaries
Known more for her extensive foreign policy experience, Rice also pointed to racism as a national security issue, saying, "Our adversaries have figured out that because these divisions exist, all they need to do is pour salt in our wounds, exacerbate
those divisions, pit us against each other, and argue both sides of the issue . We've got to heal them as a matter of national survival, as a matter of our democratic viability."
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 8, 2020
Marty Walsh:
Declares racism a public health crisis
Walsh declared racism a "public health crisis" and announced the reallocation of millions of dollars from the police department's overtime budget to community programs. The executive order states that racism is a "threat to public health and safety,
and is a paramount social determinant of health, shaping access to the resources that create opportunities for heath, including public safety, housing, education and employment, and is a persistent barrier to health equity for all Bostonians."
Source: Breitbart News on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jun 13, 2020
Marty Walsh:
Thanked Art Commission for removing Emancipation statue
The "Emancipation Memorial" was removed from Boston's Park Square six months after the Boston Art Commission voted unanimously for its removal following an outcry from religious groups. Boston's "Emancipation Memorial" shows a former slave kneeling
on the ground with President Abraham Lincoln standing over him. Groups said it was a racist depiction of emancipation. Mayor Marty Walsh thanked the art commission for voting to remove the memorial after its decision.
Source: Townhall blog on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 26, 2017
Marty Walsh:
Sat out parade that barred gay veterans group
Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh has refused to participate in South Boston's St.
Patrick's Day Parade because parade organizers will not permit an openly gay group of veterans to march under a separate banner that identifies them by their sexual orientation.
Source: Breitbart News on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Mar 16, 2014
Page last updated: May 20, 2021