Joe Biden has promised to tackle systemic racism head on. He can start by appointing diverse judges and cabinet members.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
- Should Biden win, he must appoint the most diverse cabinet and judiciary in history, says five Black lawmakers in swing states.
- By appointing public defenders of color to the judiciary, Biden can better equip our country to reckon with the crisis of systemic racism.
- The success of a Biden presidency will depend on the people he empowers as members of his administration.
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the authors.
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This opinion article was co-authored by Rep. Vernetta Alston (North Carolina), Rep. Reginald Bolding Jr. (Arizona), Rep. Carolyn Hugley (Georgia), Rep. Joanna McClinton (Pennsylvania), Rep. LaKeshia Myers (Wisconsin).
America is at a critical moment in its history. The intertwined pandemics of COVID-19 and entrenched racial and class inequality continue to threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of families.
This precarious moment was made all the more evident with the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her absence on the Supreme Court lays bare yet another vulnerability — the protection provided to everyday people by our courts.
As the Democratic Party looks forward, its presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, must confront these crises head-on by committing to build the most diverse cabinet and judiciary, composed of leaders willing to fight for the safety, security, and civil rights of all of this nation's residents, including the most vulnerable.
Should Biden win in November, we call on on him to appoint and nominate officials who demonstrate a commitment to: democratic values over proximity to power, direct experience over distant study, and true expertise over political connections.
Supreme Court justice and judicial candidates
The Supreme Court and federal bench are woefully lacking in terms of diversity of personal background, education, religion, geographic representation, and experience.
In federal courts, more than 73% of judges are men, while 80% are white. Many are former prosecutors, while just a fraction has experience defending the most underserved in our criminal legal system.
By giving preference to diverse judicial candidates with public defender backgrounds, Biden can better equip our country to reckon with the crises of mass incarceration, police brutality, and the system's disproportionate harm on minority communities.
We also expect Biden to fight to keep Republicans from filling the vacancy now so he can keep his promise to nominate a Black woman to the highest court in the land.
Further, his choice should he be able to appoint a new Justice — either to Ginsburg's seat or another during his term — must be someone who has had a meaningful career as a public defender, legal aid attorney, or civil rights lawyer protecting the rights of the vulnerable. The potential selection needs to be someone who can fill the gap left behind by Justice Ginsburg — a public interest lawyer who brought her professional and life experiences to the bench.
Department of Justice
With widespread calls for reform and a reimagining of public safety, we need an attorney general with a longstanding and proven commitment to fighting mass incarceration, challenging the injustices of the criminal legal system, and encouraging police reform.
We need a Justice Department run by attorneys with backgrounds not only as prosecutors, but as civil servants in indigent defense, legal aid, and civil rights. The DOJ cannot effectively guard our justice system unless it is intimately familiar with the most pressing causes of injustice.
Department of Health and Human Services
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately devastated Black and brown communities. It has also triggered skyrocketing unemployment and economic uncertainty for millions of people.
It is painfully clear that we must end our country's insistence on tying healthcare to employment. The next Secretary must be committed to implementing a public healthcare system and must have experience addressing the massive healthcare disparities that leave so many in our country uninsured or underinsured. They must also commit to crafting a concrete plan to reduce racial disparities in health outcomes for Black and brown Americans.
Department of Education
The next secretary for the Department of Education must be committed to reducing the inequality that has always existed and continues to exist between white children and children of color. This commitment must be rooted in a belief that public schools are a critical public good.
The secretary must also be committed to addressing our student-debt crisis, which disproportionately harms Black and brown borrowers. Lastly, we expect the secretary of education to have direct experience in public education, preferably having taught students in the past in an underserved community.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
The pandemic has exposed our nation's longstanding failures to provide sufficient affordable housing to residents and now threatens to spur an eviction crisis the likes of which we haven't seen since the Great Depression.
The next secretary must have experience addressing housing affordability issues, have strong relationships with housing advocates and policymakers, and must be attuned to the obstacles that exist for people without housing or at risk of losing their homes. The secretary must also be committed to supporting state and local efforts to humanely and effectively care for those experiencing homelessness.
We are eager to work with a Biden administration to address systemic racism and inequality, and we believe he can be a strong ally in this fight. But ultimately the strength of his commitment to solving these issues will be reflected in the people he empowers as members of his cabinet, the rest of his administration, and the judiciary.
Joanna McClinton serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (District 191) and is the first African-American woman to be elected as the chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
Vernetta Alston serves in the North Carolina House of Representatives (District 29). She previously served as a Durham City Council member.
Reginald Bolding is an educator, community leader, and social entrepreneur serving in the Arizona House of Representatives (District 27).
Carolyn Hugley serves in the George House of Representatives (District 136). She is the former Minority Whip.
LaKeshia Myers is a former public school educator serving in the Wisconsin State Assembly (District 12).
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