Commentary
To Protect Democracy, We Have to Fix the Supreme Court
Fortunately, there are solutions on the table. President Biden has formed a Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States to study ideas for reforming the Court.

It’s been six months since the Biden-Harris administration began, ushering in an era of hope after four bitter and disheartening years. We have much to celebrate.
At the same time, there are ways in which our future is wavering on a knife’s edge: will we fulfill the promise of a more inclusive democracy, or be dragged backwards by the same forces that tried to reverse the presidential election on January 6?
Will our federal government step up to protect voting rights, or will more and more states suppress them? Can we protect and expand health care?
I am proud of the commitment of advocates who are pushing the Biden-Harris administration and the new leadership in Congress to be their best. But there is another critically important step we must take if we want voting rights, or health care, or workers’ rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, or any of the rights we are fighting for to survive. We must fix our Supreme Court.
For decades now, the same far-right forces that are fighting justice and equal rights for all our citizens have been working to pack our federal courts. Their crowning achievement has been the capture of the Supreme Court, now dominated by ultraconservatives.
The Supreme Court has dealt devastating blows to the Voting Rights Act. It has made it easier for companies to violate the rights of working people. It opened our elections to unlimited spending by corporate interests. And it is undermining health and safety regulations.
This matters greatly because even as we welcome the opportunities for change that we voted for in electing the Biden-Harris administration and Democratic leadership in Congress, there is a real risk that laws passed now — for progress that real people want — could be eviscerated by a far-right Supreme Court.
We can’t let that happen.
Fortunately, there are solutions on the table. President Biden has formed a Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States to study ideas for reforming the Court.
They include a first-ever code of ethics for Supreme Court justices – a good idea in any era. They also include proposals that would address the unique moment we are in now when the Court has been so politicized and distorted by partisan interests.
One idea is to set term limits for justices. Another is to add more seats to the Court, which would have a direct impact in easing the current crisis of a “captured Court.”
There will be lively debate over these proposals, including pushback from traditionalists who think we should not mess with the makeup of the Court. But the number of seats on the Court has been changed before – not once, but half a dozen times.
It’s also important to remember that we didn’t get here though a traditional or normal course of events. The current Court makeup was achieved by cynical political machinations of Mitch McConnell, the former Senate Majority Leader.
McConnell refused to hold hearings for former President Barack Obama’s SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland, thereby stealing the seat for Neil Gorsuch. He did this on the flimsy pretext that it was too close to a presidential election. Then, proving conclusively that he has no shame, McConnell forced through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation for the late Justice Ginsburg’s seat even though voting had already begun in the next presidential election.
So, there are clear wrongs to be remedied. The Roberts Supreme Court is losing the confidence of the American people, if it hasn’t lost it already. In its current form it is becoming a political body incapable of protecting the rights of all, interested only in those of the privileged and powerful.
And that means Supreme Court reform needs to be an integral part of our campaigns for justice and equity on all fronts. We are fighting too hard for justice to see progress wrecked on the shoals of a rock-solid conservative Court.
Let’s raise our voices for term limits and more Supreme Court seats at the same time we’re calling for the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the Equality Act,
immigration reform, reproductive rights, health care and fair pay.
Let’s not trust our future to a captured Court.
Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 22 – 28, 2023
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 22 – 28, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 15 – 21, 2023
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 15 – 21, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
School Board President Shuts Down Meeting Trying to Silence Gaza Ceasefire Protesters
Since the executive board of the Oakland Education Association originally took a stand to oppose genocide and call for a ceasefire, the union has been under intense criticism both from mainstream media and an Oakland parents’ group, which has been encouraging teachers to quit the union.

By Ken Epstein
Several hundred people, including teachers, school staff, students, parents, and community activists, showed up at the Oakland Unified School District board meeting Wednesday night, most of them calling on the board to pass a resolution to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and end the killing of civilians, when school board President Mike Hutchinson refused to let them speak and abruptly shut down the meeting as they demanded to be heard.
At the start of the meeting, Hutchinson announced that a resolution proposed by Board member Valarie Bachelor, “Calling for a Ceasefire and Release of Hostages in Israel and Palestine,” would not be discussed that evening and that there was no place anywhere on the agenda where attendees would be allowed to speak on the issue.
However, there was a moment of confusion when the parliamentarian, speaking over Hutchinson’s objections, explained that there was one 30-minute period for people to discuss nonagenda items.
A chorus of boos filled the auditorium as Hutchinson attempted to move on. He quickly suspended the meeting, and he and several other board members left the room, though some board members remained.
One young woman shouted at Hutchinson. “You’re having a tantrum, and we’re talking about genocide.”
People crowded around a bullhorn at the front of the room, and attendees held their own meeting.
“You are on the right side of history – we’ll be back,” said a youth soccer coach, Maria Martinez.
A young woman named Lulwa said, ‘I believe we all deserve our land, we all deserve our freedom, and we all deserve not to have our children bombed. The media is lying to us, and social media is bringing us together.”
Lulwa explained that she has been living in the U.S. and Oakland since the age of 9. “I was taken in by the community in Oakland, and I was loved.”
Board member Bachelor was cheered as she spoke on the bullhorn, supporting the people of Palestine and the people of Israel.
“We have to stop killing children, we have to stop bombing hospitals, we have to stop killing UN workers; we have to stop the killing,” she said. “We are a global community. The fight continues.”
A woman who identified herself as a Jewish Oakland teacher said, “The school board does not speak for the teachers, Monday night, we (teachers) passed a very strong resolution demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and an end to U.S. funding (for the war).
An Oakland man named Izzy said, “What did the school board do today? They walked out on our kids…. There’s nobody to blame but Mike Hutchinson.”
Jabari Shaw said that African Americans stand in solidarity with Palestine. “We know how it is to not be recognized as human beings,” he said.
Since the executive board of the Oakland Education Association originally took a stand to oppose genocide and call for a ceasefire, the union has been under intense criticism both from mainstream media and an Oakland parents’ group, which has been encouraging teachers to quit the union.
However, on Monday evening, union delegates from the Oakland schools upheld a strong position, voting 66 to 31 in favor of a ceasefire.
Hutchinson and board member Sam Davis, joined by school board candidate Jorge Lerma, have been working with the parent group in opposition to the teachers’ union.
But another group of parents and community members supporting the teachers’ union’s stance just started a petition in the last couple of days and has already received over 300 signatures.
“As Oakland parents, caregivers, and community members, we are committed to the safety and well-being of all of our children,” the petition said. “We are writing to express our solidarity with the families of Palestine and to express support for district leaders and the OEA for standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
-
Activism4 days ago
Oakland Post: Week of November 22 – 28, 2023
-
Activism2 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of November 15 – 21, 2023
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of November 8 – 14, 2023
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of November 1 – 7, 2023
-
Bay Area3 weeks ago
“California Draining:” Stanford Report Explores Why More Californians Are Moving to Texas and Arizona Than Ever Before
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Survivors, Officials Attend State Memorial Honoring 35 Firefighters Who Died on Duty
-
Activism3 weeks ago
The Lookout: What You Should Know About California’s New Gun Laws
-
#NNPA BlackPress2 weeks ago
T.I. and Tiny Open Affordable Housing Complex in Atlanta