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The New Supremes!

THE POST, Feb. 2-8, 2022, Page 8

Biden to Nominate Black Woman to Supreme Court By Brandon Patterson

President Biden committed last week to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. Breyer, the oldest sitting Supreme Court justice at 83, will step down at the end of the current Supreme Court term in June after 28 years on the bench. His replacement will mark the first appointment to the Supreme Court since former President Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices. Biden said he would announce a pick by the end of February. His appointment won’t change the 5-4 conservative lean of the court, but it will mark an historic first, with a Black woman elevated to the nation’s highest court. Here’s a look at

six Black women on Biden’s short list for the nomination. Ketanji Brown Jackson Jackson, 51, currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, considered the second-most powerful federal court in the nation, after being appointed to it by Biden just last year. She graduated from both Harvard College and Harvard Law and clerked for Justice Breyer early in her career. As a judge, she’s ruled on high-profile cases including a case involving subpoenas related to the Trump White House. Prior to becoming a judge, Jackson served as an assistant federal public defender and as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, where she led the commission in reducing sentences for federal drug offenders.

We can hurry justice we don’t have to wait, Justice don’t come easy, we gave it time we’ve trusted, now it’s ours to take Leondra Kruger Kruger, 45, currently sits on the California Supreme Court and was the youngest person appointed to the court in 2014. A native of South Pasadena, she is a Harvard graduate and was the first Black woman editor of the Yale Law Journal. Kruger has extensive experience with the U.S. Supreme Court, having served as a clerk for the former Justice John Paul Stevens and serving as acting deputy solicitor general during the Obama administration. She represented the government in 12 cases before the Supreme Court while at the Solicitor General’s office. Sherrilyn Ifill Ifill, 59, a celebrated civil rights attorney, has led the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund since 2013. She has never served as a judge

before, making her nomination less likely than others. Ifill began her career at the ACLU, then went on to work on voting rights issues at the legal defense fund. She has taught at the University of Maryland School of Law for over 20 years. Ifill is a graduate of Vassar College and NYU Law. Last year, Ifill was among the group of lawyers selected by Biden to study potential changes to the make-up of the Supreme Court. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi Jackson-Akiwumi was confirmed as a federal judge in Chicago’s Seventh Circuit last spring where she is the only person of color on the bench. She holds degrees from Princeton and Yale and served as a federal public defender in Illinois for 10 years. She is only the third

federal appellate judge ever to have spent a majority of her time as an attorney as a criminal defense attorney. J. Michelle Childs Childs currently sits on South Carolina’s federal court. She was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by Biden in December, though her nomination is still pending. She’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and is an expert in labor and employment law. Before becoming a judge, she served as deputy director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Childs’ nomination is considered a long shot, but she has a critical ally in House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, who helped deliver the state for Biden as he

pursued the 2022 presidential nomination. Childs has also been praised as a fair judge by former President Trump and Senator Lindsay Graham. Holly Thomas Thomas, 43, was appointed to the federal bench in the Ninth Circuit, which includes San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area, by Biden in January after serving on the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was born in San Diego and holds degrees from Stanford and Yale. Thomas also has an advocacy background. She was an appellate attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Sources for this report include the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Vox News, CNN, Bloomberg Law and Alliance for Justice.

A Black Woman on the U.S. Supreme Court OCCUR, San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Would Make History — But Also a Difference Program Presents Elements of Successful Proposal Writing Workshops for Nonprofits By Pamela Price, Special to The Post

It’s Jan. 9, 2002. I am one of a handful of Black women in the history of this country to have the daunting task of arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The first, who opened the door before me, was the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in 1962. I have been a civil rights attorney and leader and political activist for more than 40 years in Alameda County and I have never been as nervous as I was that day. What rings in my ears, though, are the words “Pamela just…stand and deliver.” It happened in the practice court a few days before the argument. A professor from the George Washington Law School challenged me: “When you go before the United States Supreme Court, what you say and do will affect millions of people. You must ‘stand and deliver.’” As I looked into the faces of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Associate Justices Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Anton Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, I knew that it was time for me to “stand and deliver.” I was there with my client, Abner Morgan Jr., a Black electrician who had been subjected to constant racial harassment at Amtrak’s Oakland Yard. We had won the case in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, but Amtrak appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. I knew I was stepping into a building and institution that had 178 years of exclusivity as an all-white, male club. And then there was the harsh advice along the way pressuring me to allow “a more familiar face” to argue the case before the Court. I knew what they meant. But my determination was bolstered by my mentor, famed civil rights attorney Howard Moore Jr. when he told me, “If a woman with a degree from Yale and two degrees from UC Berkeley cannot argue her own case in the Supreme Court, she should give all of her degrees back.” That hallowed Court with

Pamela Price, left, with her client, Abner Morgan Jr., whose case she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002. Photo courtesy of the author.

only two women and one African American man, ruled 5-4 in our favor, and after a 10-year battle, on May 27, 2004, we finally got a judgment for Morgan. And our victory established a legal precedent for what’s known as the “continuing violation” doctrine that applies to all discrimination cases brought under federal law in the United States. So, it is not lost on me that by the end of this Black History Month, we may have a Black woman nominated to serve on the United States Supreme Court. I am beyond excited by the idea that another Black woman who comes before the U.S. Supreme Court will see another Black woman sitting before her, another woman who truly knows the struggle that Black women face — where we have to work harder and be better than most in our field to get equal recognition. There is significance beyond the fact that the appointment of a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court is historymaking. It means we are at the

table. And unlike our beloved Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, this Black woman won’t have to bring a folding chair to the table — she will have earned an upholstered leather seat at the highest court in the land. Still, today, as the only Black woman running for Alameda County District Attorney, I have to answer questions of qualifications that my male opponents don’t even get asked. I am labeled too soft, too nice or too aggressive. As a Black woman, I have to make sure not to change my hairstyle too often, for fear that voters don’t recognize me — bowing to that unspoken courtroom rule among Black female lawyers so that a jury doesn’t get “distracted” or “be thrown off.” So, yes. A Black woman on the highest court in the land will be historically significant. But it is also a message to all Black girls and women — your determination, spirit, and hard work matter — Black Women Matter. We are all so lucky to be living in this moment of Black history.

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Every moment is an opportunity of change. Even when it seems impossible, change happens the moment you make the decision. For many, a new year is their moment for change. It can bring a new resolve that will propel them into achieving the goal they’ve held in their hearts. Imagine what achieving the goal will look like. Imagine how it will feel to see your vision turn into a reality. As we begin a new year with “A Model Build on Faith” Leadership Series, we will again present ideas that will seem impossible at first but will become more possible with the passing of time and effort. This series was developed to provide the tools and support needed for

Shawn Johnson is program director for a Model Built on Faith.

faith-based and nonprofit organizations to move forward with realizing a vision for a better community. Join us as we explore these questions and much more with

the first of our series, “Elements of Successful Proposal Writing.” This workshop is designed to equip individuals with little or no prior experience in basic grant proposal writing skills and funding research methods. We will also have a proposal writing clinic in March to provide additional support for individuals. The workshop will be held virtually on Thursday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Please RSVP by visiting our website www.amodelbuiltonfaith.org, email info@occurnow.org or by calling OCCUR at (510) 839-2440. The training is recommended for faith-based organizations as well as nonprofit leaders.

MORE INFORMATION (510) 839-2440 OR INFO@OCCURNOW.ORG

OCCUR & San Francisco Foundation present

2022 LEADERSHIP TRAINING SERIES CALENDAR FOR FAITH-BASED & NON-PROFIT LEADERS

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