“Black woman” was the topic of discussion on Wednesday after President Joe Biden made a pledge to fill an upcoming vacant Supreme Court seat with a Black woman.
In the wake of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement, the open seat could be filled by someone appointed by Biden, CNN reported. During his campaign, Biden vowed to make history by putting a Black woman on the Supreme Court.
This decision has sparked an outpouring of calls for President Biden to follow through on his campaign pledge and nominate a Black woman Supreme Court justice.
“As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden said that if elected, he would name a Black woman to the Supreme
Court. We are looking for promises made to be promises kept,” said Reverend Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader and founder of National Action Network in a statement.“There are many Black women in the judicial system more than qualified to be nominated. Secondly, we will be on high alert to make sure that Mitch McConnell does not try to block President Biden’s nominee as he successfully blocked President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland,” he added. “This opportunity
presents a critical choice given that affirmative action, voting rights, and other key issues are before this court.”There are still possible barriers ahead of the potential appointment. Biden will have to choose someone who can successfully garner 50 Senate votes. But with Senate Republicans inching closer to retaking the chamber after the midterm elections, the group has already teased their plans to block a Biden nominee to the Supreme Court.
But with the possibility of history being made in the Supreme Court, “Black woman” became a trending topic on Wednesday.
“@POTUS, it’s time for a Black woman on the Supreme Court,” Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley tweeted.
“It is past time for a Black woman to be named to the Supreme Court,” Congresswoman Cori Bush said.
“It is exhausting to see people decrying Biden picking ‘a less qualified’ or ‘unqualified’ Black woman for SCOTUS, without even seeing who the nominee is,” NYU professor Deborah Archer tweeted. “You are essentially saying that you think there is literally no Black woman in this country qualified to sit on the Court.”
There’s been a proposed circuit shortlist of potential SCOTUS nominees President Biden could appoint. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
, who Biden appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, last year is on the list.California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger is being listed as an option thanks to her past work as a clerk for the late Justice John Paul Stevens. South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs currently has a pending appointment after Biden nominated Childs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last month.