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COMMENTARY: How History Will Be Made Again: Black History Month and the Supreme Court

It won’t be an easy time to be a justice committed to achieving justice for all. The court is now dominated by justices who are committed to a very different view of the Constitution. The Roberts court is the most pro-corporate court in history, ruling consistently to undermine protections for workers and the ability of the federal government to regulate and punish corporate wrongdoing.

Published

3 years ago

February 13, 2022

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches leadership.

By Ben Jealous

February is Black history month. The news we are making and witnessing right now reflects all the contradictions of our history—American history.

The history of Black people in this country is a story not just of oppression—but of overcoming. It is a story of both savage inequality and hard-won progress. It is a story of discrimination and spectacular accomplishment.

Let’s start with accomplishment. President Joe Biden will soon nominate the first Black woman to serve as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court—if he hasn’t already by the time you read this. She will be brilliant and accomplished and committed to the constitutional principles of equality under the law and justice for all.

I can say that confidently without knowing who the president will nominate. That’s because the president has already nominated a record number of such Black women as federal district court and appeals court judges. There is a deep bench of impressive, highly qualified Black women judges, lawyers, scholars, and activists. I cannot wait to celebrate the confirmation of one of them as a Supreme Court justice.

The court’s majority has repeatedly weakened the Voting Rights Act. And that has allowed unprincipled politicians to target Black voters—and weaken our democracy.

The same destructive forces are at work outside the legal arena, too. Allies of former President Donald Trump are putting new voting restrictions in place all across the country. And they are inciting anger among Trump’s followers by repeating the Big Lie that he won the election.

Trump’s allies are also trying to build political power by stoking fear and anger and racial resentment among conservative white parents. They are passing laws that will make it nearly impossible for public school teachers to teach honestly about racism in U.S. history and society—or even engage students in conversations about controversial topics.

They’re taking over local school boards and purging libraries of books that explore the experiences of Black people, Native Americans, and LGBTQ people. One school district in Tennessee has even banned an award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust and others are already looking to them as a model.

Dealing with racism on an individual level, and watching it play out in our political system, can be painful and discouraging. We can also allow it to motivate us to action.

When we act, when we fight, we can win. After all, we as Black people and we as Americans have overcome far worse than what we are facing today. This year, and in every election year, we have another chance to make history.

We made history in 2020 when we turned out in record numbers to vote. We elected President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black person and first woman vice president. We elected Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate. And that has allowed President Biden to appoint the most personally and professionally diverse set of judges in history, making our courts look more like our country.

In this Black History Month, we will take another step forward with the nomination of our next Supreme Court justice. Later this year we will celebrate her confirmation. And history will be made again.

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches leadership.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Oakland Post

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The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

5 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.