In an article regarding President Bush’s nomination of two whites to fill open Federal Judgeships in Alabama, the Birmingham News Washington reporter gives some misleading statistics in this article from today’s newspaper, according to the Rev. Jack Zylman.

Bush Names 2 for Judicial Posts

“In response to criticism of Bush’s consistent failure to nominate African-American to the bench, Mary Ornsdorff wrote, ‘Nationally, 74 of the 678 active district court judges are black, or 11 percent. In Alabama, 2 of 12 are black, or 16 percent.’ Apparently she thinks that Alabama has a sufficient number of African-American judges,” Zylman said.

“Since African-Americans make up about 12% of Americans, the national numbers show we have made progress. However, Alabama is about 28% African-American, with only 16% of federal judges coming from that population. That is gross under representation.”

We have and have had only two, U.W. Clemens and Myron Thompson, both nominated by President Jimmy Carter, who left office in 1980, he said.

“Alabama has many African-American attorneys who would make excellent judges,” he said. “The racism of the Bush administration is unmistakable.”

The Senate confirmed John Glover Roberts Jr. as chief justice of the United States, replacing the late William H. Rehnquist, the mentor for whom he clerked, according to this Washington Post story.