Attorney General Ford Issues Statement Supporting Renaming of McCarran International Airport


February 16, 2020

Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford issued the following statement in favor of Commissioner Richard Segerblom’s proposal to rename McCarran International Airport:

“America’s reckoning with racial justice has brought more urgency to remove Pat McCarran’s racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic legacy from Nevada’s famous landmarks. I fully support the renaming of McCarran Airport and Commissioner Segerblom’s proposal to name it after former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Throughout his entire career, Senator Reid has been a champion for Nevada’s Black community and fought to bring equal opportunity through policy. Senator Reid knew our education system, healthcare system and financial systems disproportionately worked against communities of color. He became our advocate to right the wrongs of the past through his legislative work.

Senator Reid supported civil rights legislation to end racial profiling and worked to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act. He championed the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act and the Nevada Minority Business Enterprise Center to help Nevada’s Black-owned businesses. One of his proudest accomplishments, the passage of the Affordable Care Act, made health care possible for Black Americans who have some of the highest uninsured rates in the nation.

I’m proud to support the renaming of our airport to honor Senator Reid. It’s time for Nevada to do our part in confronting our racist history, and to honor a man who has been a true champion for communities that McCarran himself resented.”

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