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AFA Activism
 Support John Ashcroft's Nomination
Minority Issues Record of Attorney General Designate Senator John Ashcroft
Setting The Record Straight
Senator Ashcroft has a strong civil rights record.
As Governor, he appointed numerous African Americans to judicial and other positions, including David Mason, Jimmy Edwards, Charles Shaw and Michael Calvin, and the first African-American judge, Ferdinand Gaitan, to the Western Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City, Missouri’s second highest court.
He was commended by the Mound City Association, an African American Bar Association in St. Louis, for diversity in appointments to the bench.
He was endorsed by the Limelight Newspaper, the largest African American Newspaper in St. Louis, for his 2000 campaign.
Ashcroft was given an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) in 1989 by Harris-Stowe State College, self-identified as "the only historically black college serving the unique needs of metropolitan St. Louis."
Of the 28 African-American judges nominated while he was in the Senate for 6 years, he supported 26 of them. The two he opposed are as follows:
Missouri Judge Ronnie White's nomination to the federal bench was strongly opposed by national and Missouri law enforcement groups such as the Missouri and National Sheriffs’ Association due to Judge White’s record of dissenting opinions in death penalty and other law enforcement cases. This, and a review of Judge White’s dissents in approximately one out of every ten death penalty cases he heard (the next closest judge on the Court dissented in only 2.6% of the same cases), led Senator Ashcroft to oppose Judge White’s nomination.
Fredrica Massiah-Jackson faced such strong, bipartisan opposition that the White House withdrew her nomination.
He convened the first and only Senate hearing on Racial Profiling (March 30, 2000) with Senator Russ Feingold, stating on the record that racial profiling is unconstitutional and indicating support of the statistics legislation with minor changes.
Senator Ashcroft also signed into law Missouri’s first hate-crimes statute and the state holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday.
He led the fight to save Lincoln College, founded by African-American soldiers and signed the law establishing Scott Joplin's house as Missouri's first and only historic site honoring an African-American.
He established an award emphasizing academic excellence in the name of George Washington Carver, a wonderful intellectual role model for all Missouri students,
Senator Ashcroft has a solid record on women’s issues.
He nominated the first woman to the MO Supreme Court (Judge Ann Covington).
As Senator, he helped to secure $100 million in increased funding to combat violence against women.
As Senator, he voted to prohibit those convicted of felony or misdemeanor domestic violence from owning a firearm.
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