Activism

COMMENTARY: We’re Not Letting Anybody Steal Our Joy

We all knew that the week ahead would be a difficult one for Judge Jackson. There would be grueling 12-hour days. There would be disgraceful lies. There would be examples of barely concealed racism. All of that happened. And none of it broke Judge Jackson’s spirit or calm professionalism. In the face of smears and false accusations, she gracefully explained the truth about her record and her commitment to applying the law fairly.

Published

3 years ago

April 4, 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

A congressional meeting room might be the last place people would expect to find joy.

But joy was in the air on the opening day of the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Joy was in my heart and in the hearts of so many friends and colleagues who were in the room that day.

Why were we feeling joyful?

We were joyful because this brilliant judge is about to become the first Black woman ever to serve on this country’s highest court.

We were joyful because we could feel the love and pride from Judge Jackson’s parents, brother, husband, and daughters.

As a father, I was joyful because my Black daughter can look to a new role model. She has a new reason to believe that her dreams, talents, and hard work can take her wherever she wants to go.

We all knew that the week ahead would be a difficult one for Judge Jackson. There would be grueling 12-hour days. There would be disgraceful lies. There would be examples of barely concealed racism.

All of that happened. And none of it broke Judge Jackson’s spirit or calm professionalism.

In the face of smears and false accusations, she gracefully explained the truth about her record and her commitment to applying the law fairly.

She showed Americans a strength grounded in faith. She demonstrated a self-confidence built over years of perseverance and accomplishment.

She spoke about her love for our country and for the Constitution.

We live at a time when the Court is dominated by judges who do not share a commitment to justice for all. We live at a time when white nationalism and bigotry are openly promoted by powerful politicians and pundits.

Judge Jackson’s nomination gave us a reason for renewed hope that our country can and will continue to make progress toward the ideal of equal justice under law and equal opportunity for all Americans.

It was also a reminder that millions of Americans played a part in making this moment possible. Millions of us voted to replace former President Donald Trump with President Joe Biden, who made a commitment to putting a Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Millions of us contributed to the effort to elect Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in runoff elections in Georgia. Those elections kept Republicans from controlling the U.S. Senate.

They kept Sen. Mitch McConnell from being able to abuse his power to prevent Biden’s nominees from even getting a vote, as he did so often with President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees.

All of us who donated time and money, knocked on doors, made phone calls or sent texts to potential voters, and who cast our ballots—we all helped bring about that joyful morning on Capitol Hill. And we can all look forward to celebrating when she is sworn in as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

8 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.