President Obama to announce Loretta Lynch as choice as first Black female U.S. attorney general, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Lynch would succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, America's first Black attorney general, Rev Al Sharpton applauds the move

Loretta Lynch

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and

The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog  Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist and 21-year investigative journalist who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

United States President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Barack Obama, America's first Black president, is poised to nominate the first Black woman United States attorney general, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said late Friday in a press release to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's leader in Black digital news.

"Ms. Lynch [Loretta Lynch]  is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. Attorney’s offices in the country," said Earnest. "She will succeed Eric Holder, whose tenure has been marked by historic gains in the areas of criminal justice reform and Civil Rights enforcement."

Obama is to announce the nomination today from the White House, which follows Tuesday's blow to the Democrats in losing control of the U.S Senate.

Republicans already control the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives

United States Attorney General Eric Holder

If confirmed by the Senate, Loretta Lynch, 55, a top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York, would succeed Attorney General Eric Holder, the first Black to lead the Justice Department, and who announced his resignation in September.

Civil Rights icon the Rev Al Sharpton , the host of MSNBC's Politic's Nation and head of the National Action Network , which is headquartered in New York City, said in a press release that he supports the nomination of Lynch to the post of the nation's chief  law enforcement officer.

The Rev Al Sharpton

"The nomination of Loretta Lynch to be the new attorney general of the United States is applaudable and deserving," said Sharpton.  She is an excellent and worthy choice to succeed Eric Holder in his groundbreaking work for the American people."

A native of North Carolina and the daughter of a baptist minister and school librarian who holds bachelor's and law degrees from Harvard, the president's Alma Mater, Lynch is the U.S. attorney for Eastern New York, which covers the territories of Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and Long Island.

She is married to Steven Hargrove, whom she married in 2007.(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

Posted to Ohio's Leader In Black Digital News-Cleveland Urban News.Comat 11/08/2014 01:25:00 AM