Regular listeners of the podcast know that the importance of our federal courts is a topic we revisit regularly. And with the Right being clearer than ever about their goal to overturn Roe v. Wade and Trump’s judicial nominees refusing to affirm Brown v. Board of Education, the issue has become particularly salient in recent weeks.

In the May 24 episode of “The Progressive Happy Hour,” cohosts Cici Battle and Diallo Brooks talk about the impact that federal judges and Supreme Court justices have on our constitutional rights, and how their decisions affect Black communities and other people of color.

Cici emphasized that “when we’re talking about Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board, it can sound very antiquated … but [some of] these [decisions] aren’t even 50 years old. It’s real … some of the [issues] that … as a Black person, have been unjust in my life [are a result of] rulings that happened 20 or 15 years ago. The way this country can change is dependent on the courts … Judges’ decisions lay the groundwork to expand or [limit] our rights.”

Diallo added, “My grandmother’s first cousin was a litigator on Brown v. Board … I remember conversations about how important Brown was, and how important it was for people that look like him to sit on the court [bench] … how many [judges] have the experiences and the perspective to rule on decisions that [impact] our lives?”

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