Civil rights groups say Biden not consulting them on appointments despite campaign promise

A host of civil rights groups are expressing their frustration with what they say has been a lack of consultation between themselves and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team in the nomination of individuals to serve under the 46th president.

Speaking to NBC, Marc Morial, who heads the National Urban League, said groups like his have adopted a “wait-and-see mode” as they have struggled to be involved in Biden’s nomination process. But Morial is only one of a number.

The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Derrick Johnson, has also complained of the neglect by Biden’s transition team.

“We haven’t had a meeting with him, we have not had a conversation about the Georgia run-off election, we have not had direct conversations about key appointments that are going,” said Johnson.

“Civil rights leaders in this country should be on par if not more than other constituency groups he has met with,” Johnson added. His expectations come from promises made by the former vice-president who promised to put together the most diverse government in American history.

So far, a few names have been announced for Biden’s cabinet, and only one Black woman is expected to this powerful executive unit. She is Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the nominee for the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Louisiana congressional representative Cedric Richmond will also play a senior advisory role in the White House. On Sunday too, the president-elect announced an all-female communications staff including three Black women namely, Ashley Etienne, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Symone Sanders, who will be the voice of his administration.

But these nominations are certainly not meeting the demands of the civil rights groups who would not be expecting anything less than the president-elect fulfilling his promise.

“We aren’t asking for some kind of veto, we are asking for some kind of consultation,” said Morial.