Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) released the following statement after participating in the House Judiciary Committee’s briefing on racial profiling and hate crime issues:

“Today I joined my Democratic colleagues in a House Judiciary Committee briefing to examine the issues surrounding the Trayvon Martin case and to discuss racial profiling and hate crime issues. I applaud my colleagues, this Administration and the millions of Americans for insisting that justice is served in the Martin case.

 I am pleased that the Justice Department has launched an investigation into this matter to determine if any federal civil rights have been violated.   

The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ring clear, ‘the time is always ripe to do what is right.’  The time is right for law enforcement to zealously pursue the true facts of this case.  The time is right for this country to acknowledge the systematic societal threat against our black boys and men.  And the time is right for communities around this country to unite and invest in our nation’s most precious resource, our youth. 

We must commit ourselves to working together to institute preventative measures to ensure that tragic events like this one do not happen again.”

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Contact: Rob NeSmith;   rob.nesmith@mail.house.gov;   202.225.2665