We need her to. If this is a signal that she is willing to take on the hard fights, then good. If she is just using his name for symbolism, then not good.

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe." --Frederick Douglass

...however, Loretta Lynch already has a record of accomplishment in office which is further enhanced by this historic role as the first African-American woman to hold that post - all the more validating as a Democratic appointment. That's well worth the symbolism of Fredrick Douglass who was an influential advocate for the advancement of black Americans, and for women, as well.

Actions to benefit struggling communities are better. I look forward to her doing a great job.

...but I think it's unnecessary to mar this historic moment by questioning the symbolism of her swearing-in using Frederick Douglass' bible. I don't think it's too much to give her this moment. I realize that we've come a great distance in race relations, but these denials of opportunity occurred in my own lifetime. Moreover, this isn't someone who is just beginning her fight for justice in a public office. She already has a fine record of accomplishment which makes today's achievement another excellent milestone in her career.

AG Lynch's former office indicted Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, helped investigate Citigroup over mortgage securities sold by the bank, which resulted in the bank agreeing to a US$7 billion settlement, and was also involved in the US$1.2 billion settlement with with HSBC over lapses in the bank anti money laundering controls.

While Lynch was US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, she supervised the investigation into senior FIFA officials from its earliest stages. The investigation culminated in the indictment of 14 senior FIFA officials and sports marketing executives shortly after Lynch was confirmed as Attorney General.

During her tenure as a federal prosecutor, she successfully tried a case of police brutality against Abner Louima, the Haitian immigrant who was sodomized with a plunger and beaten while in custody of the New York Police Department.

I appreciate your sharing her accomplishments. I am not trying to marr the historic moment. But I am weary of lionizing the powerful rather than focusing our attention on those who are suffering or those who may not be quite so powerful but do so much for their communities.

In the town where I grew up, there was an African American woman who for fifty years had free dinners, the biggest being on Thanksgiving, in her front yard for all who wanted to eat. As a child and a teen, my mother and I would cook the night before and bring food and serve. People would come from all over, bringing food. It was one of the most community building events I have ever witnessed. She still had them when she was bedridden and people would go in to her room through the open screen door to her lying on the couch to thank her. She never received an award, but maybe a thousand people showed up at her funeral. She as much as anyone can compare her life's work to those who never forgot the powerless.

What I am saying is not that there is some kind of competition or that AG Lynch is less than a poor old woman who gave more than she had, but I am saying that by invoking one of the greatest thinkers/writers/orators in American history, she has now a responsibility to live up to that. It is one thing to revere the man or quote his words, it is quite another to draw a line from him to yourself.

...of his own advocacy of the advancement of black Americans and women; something she can certainly identify with; something she can be proud of for what she's already accomplished and this elevation she has achieved in her career of public service.

I'm completely lost on attempting to qualify this accomplishment or diminish her identification with an advocate for such a historical advancement with admonitions about future conduct.

It's almost as if you're saying this accomplishment was gifted to her, rather than on the merits of her professional history. I've pointed out that she, indeed, has a distinguished history of public service to the high and low of society. I don't know how much more can be expected from her (or anyone) to legitimately reach back and identify with a prominent advocate for the advancement of blacks Americans; especially someone of such merit as Loretta Lynch.

I'm weary of arguing my perspective on issues of race to folks here; understandings which are readily apparent to most of my peers outside of this forum. Weary...


"Over 200 years ago, we decided what kind of a country we wanted to be," the top law enforcement official said, after she had laid her hand on Frederick Douglass' Bible during the swearing-in ceremony. "We have not always lived up to the promises made. Yet we have pushed ever on, and with every challenge we get a little bit closer."

And you've gotta figure Sotomayor didn't screw up the oath like what's-his-face.