Sonya Steele

Judge Robert L. Wilkins re his ancestors:

"Those founding fathers drafted a Constitution that denied the humanity of Edie and Nancy; it didn’t even consider them to be “persons,” and you want to tell me that the only way to properly interpret the Constitution is to endorse and adopt their value system without question? That might honor Madison, but it dishonors Edie and Nancy. I cannot stand for that; but more importantly, no one should."

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/representation-judiciary-federal-bench-judge-wilkins.html

What One Black Judge’s Family History Can Teach Us About Justice

This is why representation matters.

Slate
Dec 19, 2022 at 9:53pmWeb
Show threadE. Hatt-SwankDec 19, 2022
@sonyasteele  So powerful! 
Show threadSonya SteeleDec 19, 2022
@ehattswank
His words moved me to tears. 🔥
Show threadNaomiOhMy 🐝 🇺🇦Dec 19, 2022
@sonyasteele What a speech. His deep (and deeply personal) understanding of the limitations of our Constitution (and of the "originalism" so often touted in conservative circles) must infuse every decision he makes. What a win for all of us that he chose to pursue a life pursuing justice. Thanks for sharing this.
Show threadSonya SteeleDec 19, 2022
@NaomiOhMy
His speech provides such clarity as to why representation matters. There is no intellectually honest or moral rebuttal to his reasoning.
Show threadNaomiOhMy 🐝 🇺🇦Dec 19, 2022
@sonyasteele I feel the same way every time Justice Jackson speaks in court--truth barreling forth, changing the world with every word.
Show threadSonya SteeleDec 19, 2022
@NaomiOhMy I totally agree 🙂
Show threadarkstfanDec 20, 2022
@sonyasteele Missed that, thanks, it’s a perfect quote. Too long for a tat or t-shirt but it delivers truth about the fallacy of Founder idolization.
Show threadSonya SteeleDec 20, 2022
@arkstfan Yes, the way he distills the founders' value system serves to reveal the fallacy of adherence to originalism.
Show threadarkstfanDec 20, 2022
@sonyasteele We have Thomas saying we have to interpret 2A as it would be understood when ratified but then when Alito applies similar standard to abortion and outright lies about the history and manufactures a history. Neither is worthy of the honorific Justice because they don’t use originalism to seek answers. They know the outcome and twist history to justify it.
Show threadSonya SteeleDec 20, 2022
@arkstfan Oh lord, don't get me started on them 🤢 I am in total agreement with you.
Show threadarkstfanDec 20, 2022
@sonyasteele I know. The fraud Alito inflicted in his fractured fairytale of history gets me revved up. Again great quote to start this thread.