Ernie Chambers (original) (raw)

American politician

This article is about the politician and civil rights activist. For the cyclist, see Ernest Chambers (cyclist). For the militia officer, journalist and author, see Ernest J. Chambers.

Ernie Chambers
Formal/Professional photo of Ernie Chambers while he was serving as Nebraska senator for District 11. An older black man with white hair, in a black shirt with a gray background.Ernie Chambers as a Nebraska Senator
Member of the Nebraska Legislaturefrom the 11th district
In officeJanuary 9, 2013 – January 6, 2021
Preceded by Brenda Council
Succeeded by Terrell McKinney
In officeJanuary 6, 1971 – January 7, 2009
Preceded by George W. Althouse
Succeeded by Brenda Council
Personal details
Born Ernest William Chambers (1937-07-10) July 10, 1937 (age 87)Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party Independent
Other politicalaffiliations New Alliance (1988)
Residence(s) Omaha, Nebraska, US
Alma mater Creighton University (BA, JD)

Ernest William Chambers (born July 10, 1937)[1] is an American politician and civil rights activist who represented North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature from 1971 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2021. He could not run in 2020 due to term limits.[2]

Chambers is the longest-serving state senator in Nebraska history, having represented North Omaha for 46 years.[3] For most of his career, Chambers was the only nonwhite senator.[4] He is the only African-American to have run for governor and the first to have run for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska history.[5][6] For years he was the only openly atheist member of any state legislature in the United States.[7]

Chambers was born in the Near North Side neighborhood[5] of Omaha, Nebraska,[8] to Malcolm Chambers, a local minister,[5] and Lillian Chambers. His father's family originally came from Mississippi and his mother's family originally came from Louisiana.[8] He has six siblings,[9] who were all born in Omaha.[8]

In 1955, Chambers graduated from Omaha Tech High School. In 1959, he graduated from Creighton University with a B.A. in history, with minors in Spanish and philosophy. He attended Creighton University School of Law in the early 1960s and completed his degree in 1979.

He refused to join the Nebraska State Bar Association, so was unable to practice law; in 2015, he explained his refusal on the grounds that he had earned the right to practice by passing law school, and should not have to pay the Bar Association dues as well.[10][9]

In 1963, when Chambers was 25, he worked for the Omaha Post Office. He has said he was fired for insubordination because he spoke out against the management at the Post Office calling the black staff "boys". He picketed the Postmaster General's speech in Omaha with a sign that read, "I spoke against discrimination in the Omaha Post Office and was fired."[5][11]

During a series of heat waves in 1966, there were two disturbances in Omaha. In July, the Nebraska National Guard was summoned to restore order after police and black teenagers clashed three nights in a row.[12] In early August, a series of riots occurred over three nights. Chambers worked as a spokesperson for the community during both conflicts, meeting with Mayor A.V. Sorenson and helping to end the riots.[12]

During this period, Chambers emerged as a prominent leader in the North Omaha community, where he successfully negotiated concessions from the city's leaders on behalf of North Omaha's African-American youth.[12] Chambers headed a committee of the Near North Side Police-Community Relations Council, collated information, and presented numerous complaints about the police to city officials.[12] The African-American community had previously been led by more established organizations like Omaha Urban League and the local chapter of the NAACP, not an emerging young anti-establishment leader like Chambers.[12]

Chambers was working as a barber at the time, and appeared in the Oscar-nominated 1966 documentary film A Time for Burning, where he talked about race relations in Omaha.[13]

Nebraska Legislature

[edit]

In 1968, Chambers ran for a position on the Omaha School Board, but was not elected.[14] He also failed as a write-in candidate for the Omaha City Council in 1969.[5][14] In 1970 he was elected to represent North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature, replacing George W. Althouse, who had been appointed to replace Senator Edward Danner, who had died in office.[5] During the election, a policeman was killed in a deserted house by a bomb. Two Black Panthers, David Rice and Edward Poindexter, were charged in the death. Chambers protested, as he thought the men had been framed by COINTELPRO.[5]

Chambers was reelected to the Legislature in every ensuing election through 2004. On April 25, 2005, Chambers became Nebraska's longest-serving state senator, having served for more than 35 years.[15] He was not allowed to seek reelection in 2008 because of a constitutional amendment Nebraska voters passed in 2000 that limits Nebraska state legislators to two consecutive four-year terms. But the amendment permits senators to seek reelection to their office after sitting out for four years, and Chambers defeated incumbent Brenda Council in 2012 by a "landslide".[16]

Chambers also ran for the United States Senate in 1988 as a New Alliance Party candidate.[17] He petitioned to be included on the 1974 ballot for governor of Nebraska and also ran for governor in 1994, receiving 0.43% of the vote.[18][19]

South African divestment

[edit]

Because of a legislative resolution Chambers introduced in 1980, Nebraska became the first state to divest from South Africa in protest of apartheid.[20][21] Upon discovering that the University of Nebraska held several hundred gold Krugerrands as an investment, Chambers introduced a nonbinding resolution calling for reinvestment of state pension funds that had been invested directly or indirectly in South Africa.[22] The resolution argued that apartheid was contrary to Nebraska's principles of human rights and legal equality.[23]

Nebraska's divestment caused little immediate change in business practices; David Packard of Hewlett-Packard said, "I'd rather lose business in Nebraska than with South Africa."[24] But other state governments and eventually the federal government followed Nebraska's example, contributing to the end of apartheid. Chambers spearheaded a stronger 1984 law mandating divestment, resulting in Nebraska's public employee pension funds divesting $14.6 million in stocks issued by companies that did business with South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu later visited Lincoln, where he remarked that Nebraska had helped to end apartheid. The state government conspicuously did not invite Chambers to Tutu's speaking event.[25]

Chambers filed a lawsuit in 1980 attempting to end the Legislature's practice of beginning its session with a prayer offered by a state-supported chaplain, arguing that it was unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.[26] The district court held that the prayer did not violate the Constitution, but that state support for the chaplain did. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that both practices violated the Constitution,[27] but in Marsh v. Chambers (1983), the Supreme Court held by a 6–3 vote that both practices were constitutional because of the United States' "unique history".[28]

1986 NCAA student athletes as state employees

[edit]

Chambers has promoted recognizing NCAA student athletes as state employees since the 1980s, arguing that they are generating revenue for their universities without any legal benefits for doing so, which encourages illegal payments and gifts. A bill on this issue was passed by the Legislature but was unable to overcome the governor's veto. After it was revealed that requiring student athletes to be recognized as state employees would jeopardize any university's NCAA standing, the language of the bill was changed so that a university could allow for players to be paid a stipend, after which the bill passed and was signed by the governor in 2003.[29]

1989 Franklin scandal

[edit]

According to The New York Times, unidentified people present at a closed meeting reported that Chambers claimed he heard credible reports of "boys and girls, some of them from foster homes, who had been transported around the country by airplane to provide sexual favors, for which they were rewarded."[30]

Investigating what became known as the Franklin child prostitution ring allegations, a Nebraska grand jury was convened to investigate the allegations and possibly return indictments. Eventually, the grand jury ruled the entire matter was "a carefully crafted hoax," although they failed to identify the perpetrators of the hoax.[31]

Chambers repeatedly sought to outlaw hunting mountain lions, saying "these animals should not be killed for the love of killing."[32]

1993 LGBT anti-discrimination bill

[edit]

Nebraska's LGBT community has considered Chambers an ally since the 1970s.[33] In 1993, he co-sponsored a bill to prohibit employment discrimination by sexual orientation.[34] The bill faced fierce opposition. Opponents of the anti-discrimination legislation formed a Nebraska chapter of the Traditional Values Coalition and brought activist Lou Sheldon to Lincoln to organize antigay rallies outside the Capitol building.[35]

Despite the opposition, Chambers sponsored another LGBT anti-discrimination bill in 1995.[36] He continued to support similar measures throughout his career in the legislature. None of them has been successful.[37]

2006 Omaha Public Schools controversy

[edit]

In April 2006, Chambers introduced legislative bill (LB) 1024, an amendment to a bill that would divide the Omaha Public Schools district into three different districts.[38] The bill and its amendment were created in response to an effort by the district to "absorb a string of largely white schools that were within the Omaha city limits but were controlled by suburban or independent districts."[39] Omaha Schools claimed that the usurpation was necessary to avoid financial and racial inequity, but supporters of LB 1024 contested the district's expansion, favoring more localized control. The bill received national attention and some critics called it "state-sponsored segregation".[40]

LB 641, passed in 2007, repealed and superseded LB 1024, restoring pre-2006 Omaha-area school district boundaries, after which a "learning community" was created to equalize student achievement in Douglas and Sarpy counties.[41][42]

2007 lawsuit against God

[edit]

Some members of the Nebraska legislature attempted to ban frivolous lawsuits from Nebraska's court system in 2007. Chambers believed that this attempt was misguided, and that access to the court system should not be restricted. To dramatize his point that the court system must be entirely open, Chambers filed a lawsuit against God[43] in Douglas County district court in September 2007.[44] It argued that God has caused "widespread death, destruction, and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."[43]

Nebraska media inaccurately reported that Chambers's lawsuit against God was intended as an ironic protest against frivolous lawsuits. Chambers clarified that, on the contrary, his lawsuit against God "emphasized that attempts by the Legislature to prohibit the filing of any lawsuit would run afoul of the Nebraska Constitution's guarantee that the doors to the courthouse must be open to everyone."[45]

The Westboro Baptist Church filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit arguing that Chambers did not have standing to sue, and that he was "fully deserving of the outpourings of God's fierce wrath." In response, Chambers voiced disagreement with the church but argued that the church's access to the court system must be protected, just like his.[46]

The lawsuit was dismissed in October 2008 because a summons notifying God of the lawsuit could not be delivered to the defendant, who has no listed address. Chambers countered that, because of God's omniscience, God had been notified,[47] but decided not to pursue the suit further.[45]

Chambers is a firm opponent of the death penalty, and introduced a bill to repeal Nebraska's capital punishment law at the start of each legislative session, 36 times over 40 years.[48][49] The bill, LB268,[50] passed the legislature in 1979 but could not overcome Governor Charles Thone's veto; the issue remained a primary focus of his while in office.[51]

In 2015, Chambers again introduced LB268. The measure passed the legislature over Governor Pete Ricketts's veto. Following the veto, a petition drive was undertaken to reject the bill and maintain capital punishment. Enough signatures were secured to suspend LB268 until the November 2016 general election; in the election, 60% of the votes cast favored rejecting the repeal and keeping the death penalty.[52][53][54]

Assorted legislation

[edit]

Outreach activities

[edit]

In 2000, a term-limit amendment was passed that essentially forced Chambers—and half of Nebraska's state senators[66]—out of office in 2008.[67][68][69] The amendment required legislators sit out one term, after which they could run for election. In 2012, Chambers was once again elected to represent north Omaha's 11th district in the Nebraska Unicameral, defeating Brenda Council by 3,408 votes, with 10,336 votes cast. He was forced to sit out the 2020 election due to the same law.[16]

"My ISIS is the police"

[[edit](/w/index.php?title=Ernie%5FChambers&action=edit&section=18 "Edit section: "My ISIS is the police"")]

On March 20, 2015, during a Judiciary Committee hearing on allowing guns in bars (LB 635), Chambers said, "My ISIS is the police."[70][71] He said his comments were intended to criticize the failure to prosecute Alvin Lugod, the Omaha police officer who fatally shot Danny Elrod on February 23.[72] Although fellow senators did not react to his comments during the hearing,[73] there was backlash. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer responded, "The comments that Senator Ernie Chambers made today at the Nebraska Unicameral are not only reprehensible but are completely without merit." Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert also criticized Chambers, saying in a press release that he should be looking for ways to improve public safety instead of "comparing police officers to terrorists."[72][74]

Governor Pete Ricketts called Chambers's comments "irresponsible" and asked for an apology.[75] Stothert, Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson were also critical, and the hashtag #supportblue was organized in response to Chambers's comments. Senator David Schnoor of Scribner called for his resignation.[75]

Senator Bob Krist of Omaha said he regretted that he had not immediately protested the remark.[76] Several other senators disagreed with Chambers's opinion but defended his right to express it. Senator Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins remarked, "It's a wonderful opportunity to pile onto Senator Chambers."[76] Chambers said he would continue to be vocal in his criticism of the police and would not apologize.[73]

Residency challenge

[edit]

On November 8, 2016, Chambers was reelected to the legislature, defeating his opponent, John Sciara, by a vote of 7,763 to 1,726. In January 2017, Sciara filled a protest challenge to the legislature, claiming Chambers did not live in the district he was elected to represent and was thus ineligible to hold office. Chambers denied the allegation, calling it "busybody, gossipy, vengeful cud that already has been chewed."[77] On April 20, 2017, Nebraska state senators voted 42-0 to dismiss Sciara's challenge, following the recommendation of a special legislative committee formed to evaluate the claim.[78][79]

The Ernie Chambers Memorial Hearing Room in the Nebraska Capitol

Chambers is a longtime civil rights activist and the most prominent and outspoken African-American leader in the state.[80] He has been called "the Maverick of Omaha" and the "angriest black man in Nebraska",[80] and has called himself a "Defender of the Downtrodden".[81]

In the 1990s, the apartment complex Strehlow Terrace was renamed Ernie Chambers Court.[82] In 2008, a room at the Nebraska Capitol used for Judiciary Committee meetings was named the Ernie Chambers Memorial Hearing Room.[83]

The Freedom from Religion Foundation awarded Chambers a plaque naming him a "Hero of the First Amendment" at their annual convention in 2005 in Orlando.[84]

Chambers was offered a Distinguished Service award from the American Humanist Association in 2007, but he turned it down.[85] He accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the association in 2016 at its 75th anniversary conference in Chicago.[86]

Aside from serving in the United States Army, Chambers has lived in Nebraska all his life.[5][87] He is known for his casual attire of blue jeans and short-sleeved sweatshirts,[88] even when in session at the Nebraska Legislature.[89][90] He often brings his dog with him to work.[67] Chambers is a sketch artist, a therapeutic activity he adopted during long legislative sessions.[91]

Chambers was married to Jacklyn Adele (née Lee) Chambers (January 31, 1940 – July 15, 2000), with whom he had four children before they divorced.[68][92]

Chambers is an atheist. He views Christianity as a tool of oppression that white people use against Black Americans. For example, in 1965 he called the shooting of fellow Omaha native Malcolm X a "brutal, American-Christian style assassination."[93] Chambers is very familiar with and quotes frequently from the Bible, which he jokingly calls "the Bibble".[94]

For years Chambers was the only openly atheist member of any state government in the nation. A 2015 State Legislatures Magazine survey confirmed that he was the only atheist in a state legislature.[7] He was still the only one in the nation in 2017 according to Kurt Andersen in The Atlantic.[95] In 2019 another atheist, Megan Hunt, joined Chambers in the Nebraska legislature.

Despite not being religious, in January 2009 Chambers obtained credentials as a non-denominational minister so he could officiate at weddings.[89]

  1. ^ "Ernest Chambers – United States Public Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Star, Lincoln Journal. "New faces in the Legislature include some familiar ones". Hastings Tribune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Facts and figures from Ernie Chambers' time in Nebraska Legislature". Omaha World-Herald. Omaha, NE. August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Stoddard, Martha (August 9, 2020). "'Once-in-a-lifetime lawmaker' Ernie Chambers winds down historic career in Nebraska Legislature". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Steed, Camille; Aylward, Pat; Valentine, Julie (1997). Ernie Chambers: Still Militant After All These Years. Lincoln: Nebraska ETV Network. OCLC 46454011. Archived from the original (Video interview, 59 min.) on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  6. ^ Huggins, Rachel (May 28, 2015). "The eccentric lawmaker who helped end Nebraska's death penalty once sued God and compared cops to ISIS". Vox. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Kurtz, Karl (December 2015). "Who We Elect: The Demographics of State Legislatures". State Legislatures Magazine. National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Ernest Chambers – United States Census, 1940". FamilySearch. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "The Life and Times of Ernie Chambers". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  10. ^ "Voices: Ernie Chambers" Archived January 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, deathpenalty.org, July 10, 2015; retrieved January 11, 2017.
  11. ^ Biga, Leo Adam (2006). "Goodwin's Spencer Street Barber Shop: We Cut Heads and Broaden Minds, Too". The Omaha Reader. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e Taylor, Jr., Dr. Quintard. "Manual – Chapter 9 The Civil Rights Movement in the West". History 313: The History of African Americans in the West. University of Washington. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Online resource, see Larsen in Further reading, pp. 272-74
  13. ^ Carter, Ed. A Time for Burning (PDF) (Report). Library of Congress. p. 1. Retrieved February 7, 2019. The film wastes no time getting to the core of racial injustice, with perhaps the most compelling and significant sequence, early in the film when the church's young pastor, William (Bill) Youngdahl, visits Chambers in his barbershop. Another film might have lauded the pastor for making the effort to hear Chambers out, but he has to sweat his way (literally) through Chambers' soft-spoken, eloquent, and blistering assessment of the racial divide in Omaha and the United States.
  14. ^ a b Fletcher, Adam F.C. (March 21, 2019). "A Biography of Ernie Chambers". North Omaha History. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  15. ^ "For the Record". Lincoln Journal Star. Associated Press. April 24, 2005. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  16. ^ a b Burbach, Christopher. "Chambers' return to Lincoln follows strange campaign season". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  17. ^ Thomas, Richard C. (June 1, 1989). "Election Results for the U.S. President. U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Election Commission, United States of America. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  18. ^ Beermann, Allen J. (December 2, 1974). "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, General Election, Held November 5, 1974" (PDF). Nebraska Library Commission. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  19. ^ Beermann, Allen J.; Englert, Ralph (December 5, 1994). "Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, General Election, Held November 8. 1994" (PDF). Nebraska Library Commission. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  20. ^ Lansing, Paul (1981). "The Divestment of United States Companies in South Africa and Apartheid". Nebraska Law Review. 60 (2): 301. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Catania, Sara (2006). "The Importance of Being Ernie". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  22. ^ Barker, Karlyn (February 8, 1985). "States, Cities Fight Apartheid". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  23. ^ South Africa Divestment: Hearing and Markups Before the Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs and Health of the Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, Second Session, on H. Con. Res. 216 and H. Res. 372. University of Michigan: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1984. p. 316.
  24. ^ Knight, Richard (1990). "Sanctions, Disinvestment, and U.S. Corporations in South Africa". Sanctioning Apartheid. Africa World Press.
  25. ^ Kelly, Michael (December 11, 2013). "Fight against apartheid came to Nebraska in 1980s with gift of South African gold coins". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  26. ^ Chambers v. Marsh, 504 F. supp. 585 (U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska 1980).
  27. ^ Chambers v. Marsh, 675 F.2d 228 (8th Cir. 1982).
  28. ^ "Frank MARSH, State Treasurer, et al., Petitioners v. Ernest CHAMBERS". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  29. ^ Dopirak, Dustin (February 17, 2004). "Debate rages over paying college athletes". The Daily Collegian. Penn State. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  30. ^ Robbins, William (December 18, 1988). "A Lurid, Mysterious Scandal Begins Taking Shape in Omaha". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  31. ^ Robbins, Williams (July 29, 1990). "Omaha Grand Jury Sees Hoax in Lurid Tales". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  32. ^ Young, JoAnne (February 21, 2019). "Chambers keeps up fight to stop mountain lion hunting in Nebraska". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  33. ^ Tetreault, Pat. "Forty years of history in the Heartland". Out History. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  34. ^ Loudon, Sharon (October 6, 1993). "'Pro-family' coalition leader opposes job sex bias law". Lincoln Journal (Open access icon). Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  35. ^ Reeves, Bob (January 11, 1994). "2,000 expected to protest homosexual job rights bill". The Lincoln Star. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  36. ^ Knapp, Fred (February 28, 1995). "Ban on gay job bias fails to win support". Lincoln Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  37. ^ "LGBTQ Non-Discrimination in Nebraska". Freedom for all Americans. February 15, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2020. There are currently no explicit, comprehensive statewide non-discrimination protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people in Nebraska.
  38. ^ Keyes, Allison (April 24, 2006). "NAACP Threatens Suit Over Omaha Redistricting". News & Notes. NPR. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  39. ^ Montgomery, Rick (April 27, 2006). "Omaha schools: Divide and conquer?". Seattle Times. Knight Ridder Newspapers. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  40. ^ Dillon, Sam (April 15, 2006). "Law to Segregate Omaha Schools Divides Nebraska". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  41. ^ Raikes (January 17, 2007). "LB641 - Change provisions relating to schools, learning communities, school governance, and school finance". Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  42. ^ "Neb. Governor Signs Bill Repealing Racially Charged Breakup Of Omaha School District". News on 6. Oklahoma. May 24, 2007. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  43. ^ a b "Chambers says lawsuit against God has a point". Fremont Tribune. Associated Press. August 6, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  44. ^ "Hearing set in suit against God". Fremont Tribune. Associated Press. August 5, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  45. ^ a b Chambers, Ernie (January 27, 2011). "Former senator clarifies statement". The Daily Nebraskan. Lincoln, Nebraska. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  46. ^ Abourezk, Kevin (November 5, 2007). "Protesters of military funerals weigh in on suit against God". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
  47. ^ "Suit against God tossed over lack of address". NBC News. October 15, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  48. ^ Associated Press (May 27, 2015). "Nebraska abolishes death penalty in landmark override vote". KETV. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  49. ^ Genoways, Ted (May 28, 2015). "Inside the Unlikely Coalition That Just Got the Death Penalty Banned in Nebraska". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  50. ^ Chambers, Ernie (January 14, 2015). "LB268 – Eliminate the death penalty and change and eliminate provisions relating to sentencing". Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  51. ^ Walton, Don (May 20, 2015). "Death penalty repeal passes Legislature, awaits veto". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  52. ^ Duggan, Joe, Paul Hammel, and Martha Stoddard (May 28, 2015). "Hours of suspense, emotion lead up to a landmark vote for legislators on repealing death penalty", omaha.com; retrieved January 16, 2017.
  53. ^ Hammel, Paul (October 16, 2015). "Death penalty supporters put repeal on hold till 2016 vote", Omaha World-Herald; retrieved January 16, 2017.
  54. ^ Berman, Mark (November 9, 2016). "Nebraska and California voters decide to keep the death penalty", washingtonpost.com; retrieved January 16, 2017.
  55. ^ Jenkins, Nate (March 3, 2005). "Chambers takes aim at hunting measure". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  56. ^ Chambers, Ernie; Osborne, Tom (July 1, 2004). "Damage from casinos would be long lasting" (PDF). Gambling With The Good Life. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  57. ^ Walton, Don (April 6, 2004). "Ethanol fund gap divides senators". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  58. ^ Ross, Joann M. (2015). Making Marital Rape Visible: A History of American Legal and Social Movements Criminalizing Rape in Marriage (PhD). University of Nebraska.
  59. ^ Hicks, Nancy (April 11, 2006). "Bill that would aid Lincoln arena is dead". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved May 24, 2006.
  60. ^ "Pipeline foes appeal to Nebraska lawmakers in testy hearing". The Washington Post. Associated Press. March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2015.[_dead link_]
  61. ^ Batchelor, Tom (November 5, 2020). "Ernie Chambers Praised by Biden Supporters As Nebraska's Split Electoral Votes Could Decide Election". Newsweek. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  62. ^ Hammel, Paul (November 28, 2014). "Sen. Ernie Chambers quits Omaha Star column, plans blog". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  63. ^ "Don Walton: Legislature rolling toward spring showdown". Public News Press. February 3, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  64. ^ "#Erniegram hashtag on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  65. ^ Bauer, Scott (March 25, 2006). "Impact of term limits on state's unicameral government feared". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  66. ^ a b Gordon, Ed (January 24, 2006). "Sen. Ernie Chambers, a Solo Act in Nebraska" (Audio interview – includes transcript). News & Notes. NPR. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  67. ^ a b Saulny, Susan (April 29, 2008). "Statehouse Journal: An Irascible Firebrand, Quieted by Term Limits". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  68. ^ Catania, Sara (February 2006). "The Importance of Being Ernie". Mother Jones. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  69. ^ "Judiciary Committee Hearing on Allowing Guns in Bars (LB 635), March 20, 2015" (Video of Nebraska Legislative Hearing). Nebraskans Against Gun Violence. YouTube. March 20, 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Time of comment is at 51m25s
  70. ^ Young, Joanne (March 26, 2015). "Transcript of Ernie Chambers comments on LB635" (Transcript of legislative hearing). Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  71. ^ a b Hammel, Paul (March 25, 2015). "Ernie Chambers faces criticism for comparing police to ISIS". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  72. ^ a b Young, Joanne (March 26, 2015). "Senator calls out Chambers for comments on police". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  73. ^ Young, Joanne (March 26, 2015). "Senator calls out Sen. Ernie Chambers for comments on police". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  74. ^ a b Hammel, Paul; Stoddard, Martha (March 26, 2015). "List of critics grows after Ernie Chambers' 'my ISIS is the police' comments". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  75. ^ a b Walton, Don (March 26, 2015). "Chambers' remarks stir senatorial backlash". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  76. ^ Bureau, Martha Stoddard / World-Herald (January 4, 2017). "Ernie Chambers takes Legislature seat amid residency challenge".
  77. ^ Stoddard, Martha (April 9, 2017). "Nebraska legislative committee rules in favor of Ernie Chambers on question of residency". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  78. ^ Stoddard, Martha (April 21, 2017). "Senators dismiss challenge to Ernie Chambers' residency". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  79. ^ a b Beckel, Michael (January 5, 2006). "The Maverick of Omaha: Sen. Ernie Chambers talks race and politics". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  80. ^ "Sen. Ernie Chambers: District 11 – Biography". Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Official Nebraska Legislature lists 'Occupation: Defender of the Downtrodden.'
  81. ^ "Chambers Court". WOWT NBC Omaha. October 26, 2005. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  82. ^ Young, JoAnne (November 11, 2008). "Room at state Capitol dedicated to Chambers". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  83. ^ Gaylor, Annie Laurie (November 12, 2005). "Special Awards". Freedom From Religion Foundation. Orlando, Florida. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  84. ^ Young, JoAnne (August 7, 2007). "Chambers: Thanks, but no thanks for consolation prize". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  85. ^ "Humanist, Atheist, Agnostic and Nonreligious Elected Officials". Center for Freethought Equality. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  86. ^ Norman, Andrew; Adams, Sara (2013). "4: Making a Difference (Ernie Chambers and Christopher Rodgers)". Then and Now: A look at people in your neighborhood (iBook). Omaha Public Schools. pp. 14–16. Retrieved March 26, 2015. An iBook on a topic of Omaha and Nebraska history as it relates to African American History (3rd grade book series)
  87. ^ "Sen. Ernie Chambers: What will he do? - Associated Press". starherald.com. March 31, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  88. ^ a b Young, Joanne (July 10, 2010). "Ernie Chambers shows a softer, romantic side". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  89. ^ Meyerson, Collier (May 28, 2015). "Meet Ernie Chambers, who led Nebraska's death penalty ban and also sued God once". Fusion. Fusion Media Network. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  90. ^ Schulte, Grant (March 22, 2015). "Longtime Nebraska senator flexes a second skill: sketching". Fox News. Associated Press. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  91. ^ 1970-1971 Nebraska Blue Book (PDF). Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska Legislature Reference Bureau. 1970. p. 252. ISBN 9781343208117. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2017.
  92. ^ Chatelain, Dirk (June 29, 2019). "In Ernie Chambers' letters to The World-Herald, see the shift in his ideology". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  93. ^ Connor, Goodwin (November 6, 2020). "The Black Nebraska Lawmaker Who May Have Delivered the Presidency to Joe Biden". The American Prospect. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  94. ^ Andersen, Kurt (September 2017). "How America Lost its Mind" (PDF). The Atlantic. p. 89. Retrieved June 7, 2021.