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In Voting Section, Charges of Discrimination Persist
When John Tanner, the chief of the Justice Department's voting rights section, goes before Congress tomorrow, he'll have a lot to answer for.
One of the most uncomfortable topics, to be sure, will be continuing charges of discrimination in the section that is supposed to be the font of civil rights enforcement -- charges that point squarely at Tanner himself. Things became so bad that a 33-year veteran analyst sent out an email to colleagues on her last day last December: "I leave with fond memories of the Voting Section I once knew, and I am gladly escaping the 'Plantation' it has become. For my colleagues still under the 'whip', hold on - 'The Times They are A Changing.'"
In an interview with NPR, that analyst, Teresa Lynn, made clear who was holding the whip in that metaphor. It was "aimed toward the leadership of the section," she said, "both the section chief [Tanner] and the deputy chief of section five [Yvette Rivera]." Lynn told NPR that she got "high fives" from her former colleagues for her parting shot.
We first reported on charges of discrimination in the section -- charges that resulted in at least two Equal Employment Opportunity complaints from African-American employees -- in May. But the same problems still persist today, Carl Goldman, executive director of AFSCME's Council 26, the union that represents non-attorney staff in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, told me:
The employees feel that [Tanner] has decimated the voting rights program... and they're glad that he is being called to task by Congress.We’re hopeful that lawmakers will ask him about the problems the employees face: about the many employees who felt they had to leave due to his poor leadership, the atmosphere of fear that he has created, and the severe damage he’s done to the cause of voting rights.
In addition to the charges of discrimination against the non-attorney staff, Tanner will have to answer for the drain of African-American attorneys in the section. As of May, only two of the approximately thirty-five attorneys in the voting rights section were African-American.
Comments (11)
IceJustIce wrote on October 29, 2007 12:47 PM:Tanner must also be called to account for his hiring and retention of Yvette Rivera. Rivera is the acting deputy section chief of the Section 5 Unit in the Voting Section. She is Susana Lorenzo-Giguere's counterpart.
There are currently nine individuals performing the duties of Section 5 analysts, down from 23. Since Rivera took over from 28-year veteran Bob Berman, whom Tanner forcibly transferred to a dead-end training job, over 100 years of Section 5 analyst experience has been forced out. Almost all of these analysts were black. One, on her departure, as has been reported by NPR, referred to the Section as a plantation. Of the nine remaining individuals, two are black.
Thursday was the Civil Rights Division awards ceremony. Rivera decides which analysts get awards. Seven of the nine got awards of one form or another.
Guess who didn't get an award? The two black analysts. They also happen to be the two most experienced analysts.
Rivera, on the other hand, got a Special Commendation Award, which includes a cash bonus.
Carolyn wrote on October 29, 2007 1:23 PM:The Voting Section, and more specifically Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act stopped Jim Crow. Under Tanner and Rivera, the Voting Section has BECOME Jim Crow.
IceJustIce: Thank you. That info should be on the front page of every major newpaper in the land.
Talin wrote on October 29, 2007 1:23 PM:It makes me want to cry, watching investigation after investigation going the way of the wind.
AFSCME is no knight in shining armor in this scenario either. Despite countless pleads for help, what has Carl Goldman done for these employees (besides having the stewards repeatedly ask how many of the section's employees are dues paying)?
oldie but goodie wrote on October 29, 2007 2:00 PM:Having just vented some long-held negative feelings about the Section Chief, I decided to erase all the words and try again. There really just aren't enough words to describe the damage this person did to staff members, the public for whom he is supposed to work, and the whole realm of civil rights. And, sadly, he seems to believe all the misrepresentations, irrational conclusions, contradictions, and often downright dumb things he says.
moondancer wrote on October 29, 2007 2:01 PM:By the time investigators drill down through all the corruption of the Bush regime, we'll see indictments of political involvement in floor waxing and trash disposal.
Bigger Thomas wrote on October 29, 2007 7:32 PM:I have friends that are retired career DOJ mostly civil rights. To a person they have the same story, we thought it was bad under W French Smith but this is historic in its destruction of Justice as a functioning department.
Among black employees at the Voting Section, morale is at an all-time low right now. I used to genuinely enjoy my job, but now, I'm just motivated to collect the paycheck. It's no fun coming to work and you feel like your leaders have no respect for you. Feeling like all you are to them is an indentured servant.
One time in a staff meeting, I had my job likened to being a "seamstress" or unskilled labor. Can you understand how insulting or humiliating that is?? Last time I checked, you didn't have to be at least computer-literate to be a seamstress! I dunno, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you have to be computer-literate to pick cotton, shuck black-eyed peas, and cook collard greens too! Sheesh.
I have to keep daily statistics of everything I do now, because the probing eyes over my shoulder are looking for any small excuse to label me a lazy, shiftless Negro. I can't even take advantage of watching and listening to CNN on my computer without someone questioning if I'm spending more time working or entertaining myself at work.
I'm just a low-level employee and I'm experiencing these difficulties on the job now. I can't even imagine how hard it is for the analysts and attorneys who have managed to survive the "purge"...
Bigger's fan wrote on October 29, 2007 9:15 PM:hey Bigger, dont lose faith. im here for you if you need to vent. i feel you on the morale in the office, and my ass isnt black ;) we will all be streaming the committee hearing tomorrow, so if you get in trouble, we all get in trouble. matter of fact, come watch it in my office!
Bigger Thomas wrote on October 29, 2007 9:29 PM:Thanx. Maybe I will take you up on that offer. Always nice to know someone's in the opposite corner, rooting for the underdog....^_^
Bigger's fan wrote on October 29, 2007 10:03 PM:cool, Bigger, tho im now outta those cookies i had this morning ;)
Bigger Support Group wrote on October 29, 2007 10:40 PM:Cheer up Bigger, you can almost count on one hand the number of Voting Section employees that don't want to see Tanner run out of town on a rail. Maybe a hand and a half. But there ain't that many.
We could name names, but we won't. We could point fingers, but for now we'll just wait.
If Tanner does not exit post haste, we'll get those pointing fingers ready for the other abusers.
Bigger Thomas wrote on October 30, 2007 12:12 AM:Oh, drat. I really liked those cookies...
Thanx again for the backup and kind words of support, guys. Going to bed now. Tomorrow (or should I say, in a few more hours?), sparks will fly on Capitol Hill!!