Kenneth Marcus, an outstanding defender of civil rights, was recently nominated for Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and is an exceptionally qualified nominee.
A civil rights lawyer and a former public affairs professor with a degree from University of California, Berkeley, he served in the second Bush Administration as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s deputy assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity. He was the de facto head of the U.S. Department of Education’s civil right office and the staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. According to The Atlantic, the administration “started taking a stronger approach to enforcing civil-rights laws” under Marcus’ leadership. He is also the president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law.
And now, Marcus is being subjected to a smear campaign due to his outspoken advocacy against anti-Semitism, including cases of bigotry that involve Israel. Anti-Israel extremists are worried that if Jewish students get all the protections that they deserve, it will be more difficult to spread hate against Jews and Israelis.
We must stand up for the civil rights of Jews, and all other communities that face discrimination, by supporting Marcus’ nomination.