Pete Hoekstra

Civil Rights Commissioner Calls Hoekstra Super Bowl Ad 'Blatantly Racist'

Ryan J. Reilly | February 6, 2012, 12:40PM

A member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has written a letter to Rep. Pete Hoekstra asking him to stop airing an ad featuring an Asian American actress pretending to speak broken English.

"I urge you to stop airing this offensive ad immediately and to reconfigure your website to remove the smear of ignorance and bigotry that permeates every page," Commissioner Michael Yaki wrote in a letter sent to Hoekstra on Monday morning.

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Lowe's

Civil Rights Commissioner: Lowe's Pulling Ads From 'All-American Muslim' Is 'At Best Cowardly'

Ryan J. Reilly | December 19, 2011, 12:10PM

A Democratic member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has written a letter to Lowe's President Robert Niblock about his company's controversial decision to pull advertising from the show 'All-American Muslim' following a campaign by a right-wing fringe group.

"Lowe's appears to have decided to withdraw advertising support for 'All-American Muslim' in response to a letter-writing campaign by a group known as the Florida Family Association (FFA)," Commission Michael Yaki wrote in the letter, which was written in his individual capacity as a member of the commission.

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U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

With Bipartisan Balance Restored, Civil Rights Commission Will Examine Bullying Of LGBT Students

Ryan J. Reilly | April 19, 2011, 12:15PM

Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Roberta Achtenberg and Michael Yaki, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Following a Bush-era move to stack the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights with conservatives, the bipartisan balance of the commission has officially been restored. Democratic appointees on the commission are planning to drastically change the direction of the federal agency, which while under conservative control spent nearly a year and a half examining the Obama administration's handling of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case.

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Michael Yaki

Surprise! Investigation Doesn't End GOP Complaints About New Black Panther Case

Ryan J. Reilly | March 30, 2011, 2:35PM

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Nearly two and a half years after two members of the New Black Panther Party stood outside a polling station in Philadelphia -- and after an extensive internal probe found no improper political influence of the Justice Department's decision to drop a civil voter intimidation case against all but one of the defendants -- conservatives are showing no signs they'll let the issue drop.

As TPM reported yesterday, the Justice Department said in a letter to members of Congress that after an extensive investigation, they found that neither the race of the defendants or political considerations affected the Justice Department's handling of the voter intimidation case.

But many on the right smell a cover up. FoxNation.com called it a "whitewash." J. Christian Adams, the conservative lawyer hired during the Bush administration who was one of two Civil Rights Division Voting Section line attorneys who filed case, wrote for the website Pajamas Media that the "fix came in."

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Michael Yaki

Civil Rights Commission May Examine Anti-Muslim Discrimination

Ryan J. Reilly | March 8, 2011, 12:00PM

Michael Yaki, a former member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who is awaiting reappointment, tells TPM he's planning to propose the federal body examine the rise of anti-Islam and anti-Arab discrimination in America once he rejoins the agency.

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New Black Panthers

New Civil Rights Commission Suspends Printing Of New Black Panther Report

Ryan J. Reilly | February 14, 2011, 1:05PM

Members of the New Black Panthers Party outside a polling place in Philadelphia, PA during the 2008 elections.

Newly appointed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights closed their investigation of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case and suspended publication of hard copies of the report at a meeting last week.

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New Black Panthers

Breitbart, Adams Respond To Criticism Of Their Role In New Black Panther Case

January 29, 2011, 11:40AM

Former DOJ Official J Christian Adams and Andrew Breitbart

Two Democrats on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights say that J. Christian Adams, the former Justice Department lawyer at the heart of the scandal over the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case, isn't credible because he contributes to a "race-baiting" website run by conservative pundit Andrew Breitbart.

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U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

New White House Picks (Almost) Rebalance Civil Rights Commission

Ryan J. Reilly | January 27, 2011, 11:45AM

Roberta Achtenberg and Marty R. Castro

President Barack Obama on Wednesday appointed two new commissioners to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a federal agency best know recently for its partisan focus on investigating the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case. The White House's move will rebalance what was intended to be a bipartisan panel which came under conservative control thanks to a move during the Bush administration to "game" the system.

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New Black Panthers

Conservatives Approve Interim Report Slamming DOJ On New Black Panther Case

Ryan J. Reilly | November 19, 2010, 12:16PM

The conservative majority of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today voted to approve what they are now calling an "interim" report on the Justice Department's handling of the voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party.

Commissioners voted 5-2 along ideological lines to approve the report on their investigation, which started back in the summer of 2009. The vote came after talks between DOJ and the Commission to allow officials to testify on the case broke down because, the Justice Department says, of the "unilateral" terms set up by the Commission.

Michael Yaki, a Democrat on the Commission, said his colleagues had lost focus and were engaged in a "Beltway game" over an isolated incident that took place at a polling place in Philadelphia on election day in 2008.

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Civil Rights Commission

Dem: Civil Rights Commission Went 'Completely Overboard' With Holder Letter

Ryan J. Reilly | October 8, 2010, 12:17PM

Todd Gaziano (far right) is pressing forth on the New Black Panther Party issue.

The conservative majority of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today approved two letters addressed the Attorney General Eric Holder, alleging that the Justice Department is not enforcing civil rights laws in a race-neutral manner.

Expected to hit the press just weeks ahead of the midterm elections, a draft version of the commission's 2010 enforcement report -- focusing on DOJ's handling of the New Black Panther Party case and the alleged culture of hostility to pursuing cases against African-American defendants -- is circulating amongst the commissioners. They were asked at Friday's meeting to have their comments in by Oct. 11 to allow a revised report to be sent out Oct. 15. The commission will vote to approve the report on Oct. 22.

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U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Democratic Commissioner Says Civil Rights Conference Will Cost $100K

Ryan J. Reilly | September 14, 2010, 9:47AM

Michael Yaki, a member with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Today, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will be holding its national conference at the National Press Club in D.C. As we told you yesterday, the conservative-dominated Commission is under fire from civil rights organizations for ignoring important issues, and many organizations wouldn't be attending the conference at all.

Late yesterday, Commissioner Michael Yaki, who was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), issued a statement slamming the conservatives on the commission for keeping him and two other commissioners out of the planning of the conference, which he called "woefully short on civil rights."

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