Newsroom

This month, I assumed the role of President of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), a non-partisan national organization of 56 Attorneys General from states and territories across our country. I am humbled to be the first non-state Attorney General to be President of NAAG. This honor is a testament to OAG’s talented team and their tireless work fighting for justice and equality, standing up for the rule of law, and protecting District residents.

An important part of each president’s role is to select an initiative that focuses the attention of the Attorneys General and their staffs on a salient issue. The initiative leads to programming throughout the year and an opportunity to think, reflect, and take action.

I am proud to announce I have selected combatting hate and building community as my presidential initiative, titled The People v. Hate: Standing Up for Humanity. Hate has been part of our nation’s history since before its beginning: from our displacement and genocide of the Native Americans to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These deep roots have sprung new and troubling branches in the last few years as we have seen a significant increase in hate crimes here in the District and across the country, an increase in online extremism that often fuels hateful acts, and an increase in heinous and deadly attacks. Look no further than this weekend’s attack by white supremacists on two D.C. churches, which are a part of the backbone of the District's extraordinary Black churches. Indeed, these hateful actions are a reminder of how Black churches have been targeted for hundreds of years, as was the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where parishioners were massacred at the hands of a white supremacist.

Hate is a problem that has been ignored for too long and now is the time for the Attorneys General of every state and territory to combat it. I will lead and focus on a range of issues, including improving hate crime data collection, increasing awareness and education around our country’s history of hate and its lasting legacy, and survivor support, to ensure we’re taking care of people who have been hurt and that communities have the tools needed to unite in the face of hate.

I look forward to working with each of you as we address hate in 2021. 

Karl A. Racine
Attorney General 

Honoring OAG's Senior Staff of the Year Award Winner

Solicitor General, Loren L. AliKhan.

NAAG has announced its end-of-the-year awards in a variety of categories. OAG was thrilled that NAAG’s Senior Staff of the Year award this year went to Loren L. AliKhan, our wonderful Solicitor General. OAG's Office of the Solicitor General has been at the forefront of protecting our democracy this year, by litigating to enforce our nation’s oldest anti-corruption laws, the Emoluments Clauses, against President Trump to filing amicus briefs in voting rights cases across the country to protect the right to vote. Read the release.

Launching the NAAG 2021 Presidential Initiative

Top: AG James of NY (left); AG MacDonald of NH (center); AG Grewal of NJ (right). Bottom: AG Wasden of ID (left); AG Tong of CT (center); AG Healey of MA (right).

Attorneys General from all political backgrounds joined AG Racine in condemning hate and standing up for our common humanity. Watch the initiative launch video here.

Addressing Attorneys General Across the Nation

AG Racine gave opening remarks to Attorneys General and their staff, introducing his NAAG 2021 Presidential Initiative.Watch it here.

Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges

Former NAAG President and Montana AG Tim Fox sits down with AG Racine to talk about breaking barriers as a first generation citizen and D.C.’s first elected Attorney General, the background of the District of Columbia and its current status in relation to the states and territories, and his 2021 NAAG Presidential Initiative on combatting hate. Listen to it here. 

Getting Involved

To learn more about the initiative, OAG's framework for countering hate, and OAG's latest countering hate events visit oag.dc.gov/people-v-hate.

If you have ideas, thoughts, or comments regarding the initiative that you would like to contribute, please reach out to our Director of the Presidential Initiative, Erin Wilson atpeoplevhate@dc.gov.