With the nomination of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the U.S. ambassador to Japan expected to come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee soon, a coalition of organizations will bring opposition to the steps of Congress on Sept. 27, according to a press release from RootsAction.
According to the release, "Calls for rejecting the Emanuel nomination are coming from dozens of organizations as well as bereaved relatives of victims of police violence in Chicago, where Emanuel was mayor for eight years."
Among those speaking at a news conference at the Capitol's eastern steps will be longtime Chicago political consultant and activist Delmarie Cobb, who was quoted in a Chicago Tribune piece this month. "It was Black voters who took [President Joe] Biden over the top," Cobb said. "He would not be president if it weren't for Black voters. So this is an insult to Black voters everywherenot just in Chicagoto put someone in such a high-profile position whose actions with Laquan McDonald alone should be disqualifying to ever hold a position in anyone's administration."
According to The Hill, progressive lawmakers have criticized's Biden's "offensive pick" of Emanuel. In a joint statement, Reps. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) and Mondaire Jones (D-New York) bashed Emanuel, saying he helped "helped cover up the brutal murder" of McDonald, who Chicago police fatally shot in 2014. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York) has also ripped Emanuel's nomination, saying his handling of McDonald's shooting should be "flatly disqualifying for any position of public trust, let alone representing the United States as an ambassador."
RootsAction.org is sponsoring the picket line and vigil, with co-sponsorship from Progressive Democrats of America, CodePink, Peace Action and the Peace For Okinawa Coalition.