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With Republicans having control of the White House and the Senate, Democrats have an opportunity to level out the playing field and improve representation in the U.S. Supreme Court while President Joe Biden is in the White House. His choice to choose a Black woman for the Supreme Court is good for diversity and inclusion in the country.
Looking back at previous U.S. Supreme Court Justice replacements, it is vital that Stephen Breyer, one of the oldest judges on the court, retired so the Democratic Party can secure a new justice that represents its values.
In 2016 during former President Barack Obama’s presidential term, Republicans held back from appointing his nominee eight months before the election.
However, in 2020, Republicans rushed to appoint Amy Coney Barret 38 days after the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s passing to secure a Republican nominee after it seemed that former President Donald Trump would lose the re-election.
With this now empty seat, Biden was quick to declare that he will nominate the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, which was one of his presidential promises.
Sen. Ted Cruz claims to worry about the new Justice being qualified but there are plenty of qualified Black women for the Supreme Court. Again, the majority of the court is white and has always been so. There is no harm in making diversity a priority.
With the Supreme Court consisting of a majority of white Justices, Cruz’s words fall flat. While there is some representation, the vast majority of justices throughout the country’s history have been white.
A Black woman as a Justice in the Supreme court might not end the disproportionate rulings of conservatives in the court, but it will be a step towards America becoming inclusive towards the minority population.
The majority of judges in even lower federal courts are white so hopefully, the nomination of a Black woman in the highest court in the country will start to change representation in courts across the board.
Conservatives’ main issue is not founded on how qualified the new justice will be no matter how much they try to push that narrative. The main issue is how having a Black woman’s experience in America on the Supreme Court will push a new lens on the court and force a new perspective on intersectionality.
It’s about time the Supreme Court gets more diversity so that there can be more representation from the American population. Despite what conservatives say, Biden’s decision to choose a Black woman is a good step towards the U.S. being more inclusive and fair to minorities.
Cindy Rivas Alfaro is an journalism freshman who can be reached at [email protected]
