Vanessa Avery.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Newhallville native Vanessa Avery to serve as Connecticut’s next top federal prosecutor.
That vote took place on Wednesday.
Avery will replace U.S. Attorney Leonard Boyle in the role, and will become the state’s first Black female top federal prosecutor.
New Haven’s federal delegation lauded the vote in a series of email press releases sent out Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
“Vanessa Avery’s confirmation as the first Black woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for Connecticut is monumental for our state and our community,” U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro was quoted as saying in one such press release. “As a daughter of New Haven, I could not be more proud to see her serve in this well-deserved role. Her experience working across Connecticut, her lifetime of service, commitment to this community, and expertise makes her exceptionally qualified to serve the people of Connecticut. I look forward to working closely with Avery.”
“Vanessa Avery is a proven prosecutor, a thoughtful leader and a champion for Connecticut’s people,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is quoted as saying in another press release. “She’s fair and tough and will follow the facts and law to deter and punish wrongdoers. Vanessa is a dedicated and diligent public servant with broad experiences across the legal profession that will no doubt inform and inspire her work as U.S. Attorney. Connecticut is lucky to have her leadership and I am proud to have recommended her nomination to the White House with Senator Murphy.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy agreed. “I am thrilled the Senate voted today to confirm Vanessa Avery as U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut,” he is quoted as saying in that same press release. “Our state is fortunate that we will be able to benefit from her extensive legal experience, commitment to fairness and equity in criminal justice, and devotion to the rule the law. I know she will serve us well as U.S. Attorney.”
Avery previously has worked as the Associate Attorney General for Enforcement, Litigation and Investigations at the state Attorney General’s office since 2019. According to Blumenthal’s and Murphy’s press release, in that role, Avery “has managed multi-district litigation and investigations involving the opioid epidemic, the Affordable Care Act, federal immigration laws, environmental regulation, and cases pending locally in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies.”
Before that, Avery worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
She grew up in Newhallville, got her undergraduate degree from Yale University, and got her law degree from Georgetown.
Brother Charles Barron said it well when he said this.
Sick-N-Tired of the First Black Syndrome!
Sick-N-Tired of the First Black Syndrome!
I'm sick-n-tired of the first Black syndrome. The first Black President; the first Black Vice-President; the first Black Governor; the first Black Mayor; (or the second Black Mayor); the first Black Speaker; the first Black Attorney General; the first Black C.E.O. on Wall Street; the first Black Five Star General; the First Black to head The Pentagon; and the beat goes on!
While we have all of these first Blacks, Black communities across the country are first in poverty; first in unemployment; first in mass incarceration; first in inadequate Healthcare; first in a myriad of health related illnesses; first in inadequate education; first in police terrorism; first in homelessness; first in high crime rates; first in high infant mortality rates; and first in low life expectancy rates!
Don't be fooled by Black faces in high places! That does not mean Black Power or progress for the Black Masses!
Dr. Lani Guinier (Who recently made her transition; may she rest in peace) in her book Tyranny Of The Majority, said that there are two kinds of Black leaders, one that is "descriptively Black", they just look like us, and one that is "authentically Black", they are committed to us and our liberation! Hey Black leader, which one are you?
These Black leaders are "Manufactured Leaders" (That's what Dr. King called them) created by this racist "colonial capitalist" system. These Black leaders are given prestigious positions and access to material resources as long as they serve as "neo-colonial" puppets of this exploitative fatally flawed "colonial capitalist" system. They are used by the system to control the powerful Black vote and to sabotage authentic Black liberation movements in our beloved Black communities ("domestic colonies")
Part One.