It’s Been Two Years Since Loretta Lynch Became the First African-American Woman to Serve as Attorney General

Here are six times she stood up for civil and human rights.

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Loretta Lynch’s confirmation as our nation’s 83rd Attorney General made history two years ago today — on April 23, 2015 — when she became the first African-American woman to hold the position. Her confirmation process was also historic because of the unprecedented obstruction she received from Senate Republicans, who made her wait longer than the previous seven Attorney General nominees combined before finally giving her a vote.

The civil rights community strongly supported Lynch’s nomination and, even though she served as Attorney General for less than two years, Lynch made clear her commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans. To the nation, and in particular to the communities she addressed in her speeches, those words mattered. Here are some examples:

When she announced a federal civil rights lawsuit against North Carolina for the state’s anti-transgender bill, H.B. 2.

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When she spoke at a Virginia mosque about the Justice Department’s commitment to combatting hate crimes.

A cornerstone of that work is investigating and prosecuting hate crimes against Muslim Americans, as well as those perceived to be Muslim. Muslim Americans are our friends and family members, our doctors and nurses, our police officers and firefighters. They own businesses and teach in classrooms. Thousands of them have fought for the American flag. Many have died defending it. And yet, too often — especially in the last year, following a number of tragic terrorist incidents, and amidst an increase in divisive and fearful rhetoric — we have seen Muslim Americans targeted and demonized simply because of their faith. And to impose a blanket stereotype on all members of any faith because of the actions of those who pervert that faith is to go backwards in our thinking and our discourse, and to repudiate the founding ideals of this country. This is unacceptable in a nation whose Bill of Rights guarantees the freedom of religion in its very first clause, and the Department of Justice has vigorously prosecuted a number of these repugnant acts.

When she addressed voting rights during a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

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When she commented on community-police relations at last year’s White House HBCU Week Conference.

Ultimately, that is what the issue of community-police relations is all about: whether we will be content so long as so many of our fellow Americans feel that the law works not for them, but against them. We have faced that question at so many junctures in our past. And every time, we have offered the same answer. It is the answer given by the two Florida A&M University students who began a bus boycott in Tallahassee in 1956. It is the answer given by the four North Carolina A&T students who sat at a lunch counter where they were not welcome day after day. It is the answer given by a young Fisk University graduate named John Lewis when he led a march across a bridge in Selma. And it is the answer that young people are offering with increasing conviction throughout our country today: that no, we will not be content — we will not be satisfied — until the promise of liberty and justice is made real for all who call this great country home.

When she stood with LGBT Americans in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

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When she celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with this tribute.

The Hispanic American story — like the story of other groups in America — is the story of a group that has too often been denied the equal rights, liberties and respect to which they are entitled as citizens of this great country of ours. Their story, like that of so many disparate groups, holds up a mirror to our society as we measure our progress towards that more perfect union. And it is also the story of visionary leadership, inspiring courage and boundless resilience. Thanks to countless activists, artists and leaders — from well-known figures like Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, to anonymous individuals who lent their voices to calls for justice — we have slowly brought our ideals into closer alignment with our actions.

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