Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is partnering with Columbia University to spearhead "civil and political rights" courses and internships for undergraduate students.
Holder, a 1976 Columbia Law grad, kicked off 'The Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights" last week at a campus event called "Living the Core and Advancing Justice," the Columbia Spectator reports.
The initiative has so far raised $10 million, half of its $20 million goal.
In an address at the New York City-based Ivy League school, Holder said:
"We too often teach kids how to do well without teaching how to do good. I thought that this was an opportunity to build on that which is already done so and take it to a place where we can equip students to do good."
Holder, who ran the Justice Department under President Barack Obama, told the Spectator the program is being launched as long-term source of education and civic engagement rather than a quick answer to current political problems.
"We will get through this period. But that does not mean we will be in the place we need to be. I hope this initiative will focus on solutions that will help build a better society that we are capable of constructing," he said.
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