By Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, M.Ed., City of Detroit Ombudsman
There is a basic lesson in civics that we cannot afford to overlook: the president nominates justices to the United States Supreme Court, and the Senate decides whether to confirm them.
President Trump has already appointed three of the nine justices currently serving on the Court. If additional vacancies occur before his term ends, he will have the opportunity to nominate their replacements. Two senior conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are often mentioned in discussions about retirement, although neither has announced plans to retire.
The stakes could not be higher. Senators have a responsibility to carefully consider whether nominees will uphold civil rights, voting rights, and the protections African Americans and so many others have fought to achieve. We have an opportunity to elect leaders who will stand for justice and take that responsibility seriously.
This election is about more than whether we love or dislike a particular candidate. We must consider who will protect our rights, defend justice, and preserve a future of opportunity for all.
This is not a love affair vote. It is a vote for our children and our children’s children.
The rights we enjoy today were not freely given. They were won through sacrifice, struggle, and the courage of people who believed that America could live up to its promise. We cannot take those protections for granted, and we cannot allow generations of progress to be rolled back.
We have a chance to make our voices heard and protect our future. Why would we throw that away?
I say we must not!
We must vote in the spirit of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Sojourner Truth, John Lewis, and John Conyers. We must vote in the spirit of JoAnn Watson and all the freedom fighters of our day.
Do we have differences? Of course we do. But we don’t take hate to the ballot box. We take freedom. We take our ancestors’ dreams and their struggles. And most of all, we take love for our fellow human beings.
I can’t tell you who to vote for, but I think you already know what our ancestors would say:
Vote justice. Vote freedom. Vote love.