After the Supreme Court handed down several major decisions this week – from upholding the president’s Muslim travel ban to allowing “fake women’s health centers” to continue deceiving pregnant women, Justice Anthony Kennedy delivered another blow to Democrats by announcing his retirement from the Supreme Court.
“As you well know, this Supreme Court vacancy puts issues that affect every single American in the balance — from a woman’s right to choose to equal rights under the law to privacy and our civil rights,” said U.S. Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-California), a rising figure in national politics, in a statement on June 27. “Given the high stakes of this seat, which I believe will determine the fate of many fundamentally protected constitutional rights, the American people should have a say in this decision.”
With midterms coming in just four months, Harris is calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold the nomination until “after the American people have a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” she said.
Harris gave the keynote address at the 83rd Annual Freedom Fund Leadership Dinner of the St. Louis County NAACP chapter. The event took place June 21 at the Four Seasons St. Louis, with the theme, “Strength through Diversity.”
Harris received the Margaret Bush Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award. In her remarks, Harris said this is an inflection point at a time in our history.
“I believe that this is a moment in time that is requiring us as a country to collectively look in a mirror and ask this question ‘who are we’, and I believe the answer to that question is a good one,” Harris said. “Flawed we may be, imperfect though we may be; I believe we are a great country.”
Harris rose to national prominence in 2016 when she was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming just the second African-American woman and the first South Asian–American senator in U.S. history. Prior to her election to the U.S. Senate, Harris had already spent decades fighting for the rights of Californians.
“Do not despair, do not be overwhelmed, do not be tired, do not throw up our hands when it is time to roll up our sleeves,” Harris said.
Harris’ background is in criminal justice. She served nearly two terms as California’s attorney general after completing two terms as district attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. Previously she was an assistant district attorney in Alameda County, California. She grew up during the Civil Rights movement and dedicated her career in public service to advocating for those who cannot defend themselves.
“If folks weren’t clear, Charlottesville made it clear,” Harris said. “Racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, sexism are real in this country. Let’s speak that truth so we can deal with it.”
Other honorees receiving awards included Jason Kander, founder of Let America Vote and former Missouri Secretary of State. He received the Medgar Wiley Evers Freedom Award.
