In a pointed and at times personal speech, Attorney General Eric Holder on Saturday argued that America’s struggle for racial equality has become defined less by expressions of outright bigotry than by policies that subtly but systematically impede equal opportunity.
Speaking at the commencement at Morgan State University, a historically black college in Baltimore, Holder referred obliquely to a series of racially charged episodes that have “received substantial media coverage” — an apparent reference to controversial comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.
Holder also said that the “outlandish statements that capture national attention” obscure a more troubling reality.
The comments were Holder’s most extensive on the subject of race since early 2009, when he gave a speech during Black History Month.
In that speech, Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, referred to the country as “essentially a nation of cowards,” arguing that Americans were not comfortable enough with one another to discuss the issue of race candidly.
Saturday’s speech — which aides said was vetted by the White House — was centered more on the issues that have animated Holder in the twilight of his tenure, particularly criminal-sentencing policies and voter-ID laws.
In the case of the criminal justice system, Holder pointed to “systemic and unwarranted racial disparities.” Similarly, Holder said voter-ID laws that have been enacted in states across the country threaten to make it harder for minorities to exercise their rights at the polls.
