The year is 2024, and the U.S. Supreme Court is now far right from where it was while Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive. During the icon’s time, the High Court was under Chief Justice Earl Warren (a Republican appointee of President Dwight D. Eisenhower).
It was responsible for advancing civil liberties with historic court cases that led to life-changing decisions like Loving v. Virginia (1967), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), and Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Martin Luther King’s Day was recently celebrated. And it saw one of his descendants, who has carried on with activism, publish an op-ed. In the op-ed, a warning was shared by Martin Luther King III, MLK’s oldest son, and Arndrea Waters King, King III’s wife. One that many will probably take seriously, given their lifetime of activism.
They believe the Roberts Court is on a direct collision course with civil liberties. Something that could, at worst, undo the progress from all the previous historical court cases.
ALSO READ: Trump Vows to Attend January 6 Case Immunity Hearing
“Everywhere you look,” the Kings lament, “you will see the story of a Supreme Court that has radicalized in service of its billionaire donors at the expense of Black Americans — gutting union power to attack workers’ rights, rolling back the clock on reproductive rights to strip people of the ability to make their own healthcare decisions, decimating environmental protections in service of corporations.
After all, Black workers continue to have a higher union membership rate than white workers, despite making up just 14 percent of the U.S.’ total population.”
The Kings pointed out how “Black women have 2.6 times the maternal mortality rate of white women.” They also highlight how Black and Latino voters are now disproportionate targets of state-based voter suppression laws. Those that require ID checks to cast a ballot.
POLL — Should Donald J. Trump Be Allowed to Run for Office?
The activists emphasized how the Roberts Court’s “MAGA supermajority” has “undone established rulings and legal norms in an attempt to reverse the progress of modern America and to unravel Black political power systematically.”
“As the extreme right-wing plot to capture our democracy progresses,” they warn, “we need our elected officials to step in and do their jobs. That’s why we — alongside United for Democracy — are calling on leaders in Congress to rein in the Supreme Court.”
King III and his wife say Congress must conduct immediate hearings, investigations, and reforms to fix the institution harming the Americans it should protect.
ALSO READ: New York Attorney General Calls for $370 Million Fine Against Trump
They continue, “With the election right around the corner, and in the face of endless attacks aimed at dismantling my father’s legacy, Black voters will again be expected to ‘save democracy.'” This begs the question. If black voters are to be the saviors of the upcoming election, will they make the right choice?
You Might Also Like:
“There’s a High Cost,” Herring Fishermen Kick Against Biden Administration Rule
“It’s Murder!” X Users Slam Greg Abbott Over Death of Migrant Children
New West Virginia Bill Requires Students to Use Bathroom According to Biological Sex
Copies of Colorado Town Newspapers Go Missing From Stands After Publishing a Rape Report
OSHA Blames Mississippi Slaughterhouse for the Death of Migrant Teen Sucked Into Machinery