Statement on Nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court
Washington – Yesterday, Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. Advancement Project, a national civil rights and racial justice organization, released the following statement:
“A slot on the Supreme Court grants the opportunity to shape interpretation of our laws for generations to come,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project’s national office. “While the Supreme Court has at times served as a vehicle to advance civil rights, history also shows that the wrong appointment can set back communities of color for generations. With this administration positioned to harm Muslims, Black people, the LGBTQ community, women and immigrants, the stakes are as high as they have been in generations.
“Trump made clear that his intent was to nominate a justice in the mold of the late Antonin Scalia, a justice who sought to narrow civil rights and called the Voting Rights Act a ‘racial entitlement.’ This only underscores that, for people of color, there is no limit to what could hang on the balance with this nomination. As our own voting rights litigation uncovered, racism still corrodes our democracy. Without a court ensuring equal protection under law and justices grounded in the full context of our nation’s legal and judicial history –at a time when the President of the United States seems intent on limiting our access to the ballot – the wrong appointment risks moving us closer to when the courts allowed Jim Crow to rule the land.
“No less is at stake with this nomination, and the U.S. Senate should not allow a path forward for any nominee that directly or indirectly threatens to turn back the clock on hard-fought gains for equality.
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Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras.
