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What's On Our Mind ...
This was a week that will go down in history. First and foremost we saw Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed with bipartisan support as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Secondly, Vice President Kamala Harris, our nation’s first Black women vice president presided over the Senate vote.
Our nation showed the world that we can be the more perfect union our founding leaders envisioned. As Jackson said this morning standing at the White House, "good things can be done in the country,” and that, “anything is possible.”
Jackson will take her place on the Supreme Court next session during a time when our judicial system is being severely tested. Approval of U.S. Supreme Court is down to a new low of 40 percent, according to a Gallop poll. This growing cynicism comes at a time when our courts are playing an even greater role in our lives, reviewing and ruling on laws aimed at curtailing the rights of millions of Americans.
Governors and state houses are increasingly passing more and more extreme laws. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a measure that would prohibit abortions in Texas as early as six weeks — before some women know they are pregnant. This week Oklahoma passed a bill that would make performing an abortion a felony, subject to a potential 10-year prison term.
These cases are making their way up the judicial ladder. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the future of Roe v Wade by this summer based on a law from Mississippi—just months before the 2022 midterms.
Jackson is a much-needed voice on the court. But the Supreme court is still conservative as well as the lower courts. Donald Trump packed the lower courts with extreme judges handpicked by the Federalist Society. We can not solely rely on the courts.
Jackson has pledged to support and defend the Constitution and uphold the law. But she is not alone in doing so. There are three co-equal branches of our federal government. We need to make sure that we elect candidates to Congress who are just as committed to the Constitution and the law as Jackson is.
It took just one generation for Jackson’s family to go from segregation to the Supreme Court. The American dream is possible — but only if we continue to work toward it through the political process. Stay involved. Elections matter.
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