She’s ready to bring change on the federal level!
Rachael Rollins, the first Black woman to be named a district attorney in Massachusetts, has been nominated by President Joe Biden to become the state’s top federal prosecutor. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Rollins would become the first Black woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts.
“Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins is incredibly humbled by the great honor of being nominated by President Biden to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts,” a statement from Rollins’ office said. “She remains focused on doing the hard work of keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.”
Rollins was one of eight nominees for U.S. Attorneys to be announced Monday by the White House. Six of the candidates are Black, and three are women; along with Rollins, the nominees include Erek L. Barron, Nicholas W. Brown, Matthew M. Graves, Clifford D. Johnson, Zachary A. Myers, Trini E. Ross, and Vanessa Waldref.
“These individuals — many of whom are historic firsts — were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials in this field, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice,” the Biden administration said in a statement.
Rollins received her undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her law degree at Northeastern University. She has experience in the federal system, serving as an assistant U.S. Attorney early in her career. The distinguished lawyer previously served as chief legal counsel to the Massachusetts Port Authority and general counsel to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
During her career, she has pushed for progressive criminal justice reforms. In the 2018 Democratic primary, she beat the district attorney candidate backed by the incumbent and police groups and took office in 2019. She has blasted police brutality, and while on the campaign trail, she promised to decline prosecution for certain low-level crimes.
Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Christian Cooper. While we are being murdered at will by the police & their proxy, privileged racists like Amy Cooper play the victim. No more apologies. No more words. Demand action. Radical change now. Nothing less. ✊
advertisement— DA Rachael Rollins (@DARollins) May 31, 2020
At the time, she said she wanted to focus resources on connecting people to the services that will help keep them from committing crimes in the first place.
“We’re sending them to jail, they’re not getting any services for the root cause of whatever the problem is, and they’re getting out, going back and doing the same thing,” she said.
U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, who recommended Rollins, made a joint statement praising her nomination and said they’ll be pushing for a speedy confirmation.
“District Attorney Rollins is a great choice for U.S. Attorney, and we were proud to recommend her to the Biden administration,” they said, calling Rollins “a national leader on transforming the criminal justice system and shifting away from an approach based on punishment and penalization to one that combats the root causes of injustice, whether it be poverty, substance use, or racial disparity.”
Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey, the first Black person and woman to be mayor of Boston, congratulated Rollins on her nomination.
“Rachael is an amazing woman; she’s an amazing public servant,” she said. “And I’m blessed to call her a sister in service in this work, and I have nothing to offer her but my deep, deep gratitude for the work that she has done.”
We wish you the best of luck during the confirmation hearings. We need more people like you at the federal level!
Photo Credit: The Bay State Banner