Barbara Lee's Statement on Your Black Muslim Bakery
(Oakland, CA) – In response to constituent and media questions regarding the nature of the casework her office provided to Your Black Muslim Bakery, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) released the following statement today:
“At the request of representatives of Your Black Muslim Bakery, my office provided a letter to a federal agency related to the bankruptcy.
“Like many people, I historically supported the Bakery because it has been an important institution in the community, but it is clear that is no longer the case.
“Knowing what we know now, we would not have provided such support, and we are reviewing our casework intake process in an effort to avoid any such circumstance in the future.
“The casework our office provided was casework that we would provide to ANY constituent who came into our office. Our mission has always been to serve ALL of our constituents equally and without preference. While this instance is an exception, we are in principle uncomfortable with the idea that federal offices should be in the habit of denying casework to anyone.”
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