About this episode:
During the Democratic primary of 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden made a historic pledge: given the opportunity, he would nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. With the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement earlier this year, President Biden had an opportunity to fulfill that pledge. And he delivered. After weeks of speculation in the media, and comments from the right, Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick.
Before a candidate was even named, members of the right began crying foul, pre-judging the eventual nominee as an “affirmative action” pick. They contended that, because Biden was pledging to nominate a Black woman, he was excluding more qualified candidates. But these attacks glossed over historical context: in the court’s 232-year history, there have been a total of 115 justices to serve. 108 of those justices have been white men – it’s been a case of affirmative action for white men, by white men. And past heroes of the right, like Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan have made similar pledges about appointing women to the court without any pushback from those same corners.
While Biden kept his word with nominating Judge Jackson to the Court, it was never a sure bet. From the time he took office, Biden faced organized pressure from a dynamic group of Black women aiming to make the highest court in the land more closely resemble the face of America. April Reign is a trained lawyer and the creator of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. She, Kim Tignor, and two other Black women lawyers created the organization Sista SCOTUS and the campaign #SheWillRise to keep pressure on in Washington for this historic first.
This week, host Trymaine Lee talks with Reign and Tignor about their campaign.
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Find the transcript here.