Anderson@Large

NAACP’s Centennial Convention

The NAACP is celebrating its centennial and mapping its future in New York City this week.

During Saturday’s opening press conference, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous called for a fair confirmation process for Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

Jealous had some choice words for Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee: Don’t even think about it.

Don’t even think about trying to score political points with Sotomayor whose confirmation hearings begin today.

A who’s who of elected officials, civil rights leaders and activists will address the convention, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Rep. Charles Rangel, New York Gov. David Paterson, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

President Barack Obama will deliver a keynote address on Thursday.

Roslyn Brock, Vice Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors and Chairman of the 2009 Convention Planning Committee, said:

The NAACP was founded in New York and it is only fitting that we bring the nation’s first African American President to this city to celebrate our 100th year. We look forward to all residents of this city and state being able to share in this momentous occasion.

If you can’t join the thousands already camped out at the New York Hilton, you can watch a live webcast of the proceedings here.

You can also follow my updates on Twitter.

Supremes Set Fire to Affirmative Action

A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled in favor of white firefighters who alleged they were denied promotions based on their race.

The Supremes ruled that by refusing to certify the results of the promotional exam because no blacks had passed, the city of New Haven violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

The 5-4 ruling overturned the decision of a three-judge appeals court panel that included Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote:

No individual should face workplace discrimination based on race.

In a statement, Joseph B. Muhammad, president of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters, said:

We are surprised and very disappointed with this decision. It is clear that the majority of the Court is caught up in a time warp. Especially disheartening is the Court’s failure to see the changing face of race issues and the need for diversity in this country, particularly in our safety forces as they continue to take not only a community but a more global role.

We believe that it opens the door wide open for cheap and substandard testing and virtually guarantees that persons discriminated against--whether White, Black, or Hispanic--will have to resort to courts to have their issues redressed. This will sadly make any resolution of discrimination and testing far more adversarial, combative, and expensive than it needs to be.

In her dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by justices David Souter, Stephen Breyer and John Paul Stevens, wrote:

Firefighting is a profession in which the legacy of racial discrimination casts an especially long shadow.

Ginsburg also questioned the fairness of the test:

In so holding, the Court pretends that “[t]he City rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white.”…That pretension, essential to the Court’s disposition, ignores substantial evidence of multiple flaws in the tests New Haven used. The Court similarly fails to acknowledge the better tests used in other cities, which have yielded less racially skewed outcomes.

Ginsburg’s concerns were echoed by Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights:

The ruling does not eliminate the legal responsibility of employers to find non-discriminatory solutions in hiring, promoting, and compensating employees. However, employers will now face a convoluted minefield when attempting to protect workers from discrimination.

The Court’s decision is clearly contrary to Congress’ intent in passing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It leaves employers in a quandary, and gives them a disincentive to voluntarily ensure a fair workplace.

The case is Ricci v. DeStefano. Background info is available here.

Conservatives’ Reverse Racism

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor made the rounds on Capitol Hill this week. Sotomayor met with Democratic and Republican Senate leaders to press her case for confirmation.

The prospect of the first Latina on the Supreme Court has caused some Republican “white guys” to throw down the race card. But with polls showing more than half of Americans support Sotomayor’s confirmation, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich have reversed course.

The execrable Patrick Buchanan, however, is standing pat.

In a recent post, “In Defense of Sonia Sotomayor,” Yvette Carnell, a political consultant and former Capitol Hill staffer, wrote:

There is nothing so demeaning to political discourse as the injection of race as a weapon, so I’ve become increasingly livid over the past few days while watching right wing hit squads refer to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a “racist.”

Moments after the White House announcement that President Obama was nominating Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice Souter, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich broadcast his objections via “Twitter.” He called Sotomayor a racist for a 2005 comment in which she stated, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

Gingrich’s “tweet” was the shot heard round the world after which other Republicans, bloggers and party leaders piled on to add to the chorus of ideologues accusing Sotomayor of racism. Even some liberals have suggested that Sotomayor will need to distance herself from her 2005 comment. As an African American woman, I disagree.

Sotomayor believes her race and culture give her a unique perspective which benefits her when deciding cases. To say that her experience colors her view of the world and, therefore, her interpretation of the law, is not racist. It is human. Remember, the left wing criticism of Justice Roberts during his confirmation was that he too often sided with the powerful rather than with the people.

Yvette continued:

Empathy is not just some warm and fuzzy impediment that we must overcome in favor of reason. It is an essential ingredient for anyone who wishes to sit on the bench of the highest court in the most powerful country in the world. It is absolutely necessary for someone in such an esteemed and awe-inspiring position to fully contemplate the impact of his or her decisions on America’s citizens. A citizenry, which ethnically, culturally and economically, is among the most diverse of any country in the world. Empathy is the imaginative tool which assists us in identifying with the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of others.

I feel you, sister.

You can read Yvette’s full post here.

For more info on Sotomayor and race, check out PolitiFact.com’s Truth-O-Meter.

Obama Picks Sotomayor for SCOTUS

President Barack Obama’s nomination of federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is being widely praised.

For now, Republicans are holding their fire. In a statement, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said:

Republicans look forward to learning more about federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor’s thoughts on the importance of the Supreme Court’s fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law. Supreme Court vacancies are rare, which makes Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination a perfect opportunity for America to have a thoughtful discussion about the role of the Supreme Court in our daily lives. Republicans will reserve judgment on Sonia Sotomayor until there has been a thorough and thoughtful examination of her legal views.

Rush Limbaugh, the self-styled “leader of the conservative movement,” is not withholding judgment. Limbaugh told his listeners:

But here is why, even though she may not be able to be stopped, here is why Sonia Sotomayor needs to be opposed by the Republicans as far as they can take it, because the American people need to know who Barack Obama really is, and his choice of Sonia Sotomayor tells everybody, if we will tell the story of her, who he is.

Whatever. Sotomayor’s confirmation will be smooth sailing.

But her supporters aren’t taking any chances. The Coalition for Constitutional Values, spearheaded by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Alliance for Justice and People for the American Way, is mobilizing grassroots support for Sotomayor.

For more info, go here.