STATEMENT FROM CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER REV. AL SHARPTON ON SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER’S PLANS TO RETIRE

—

Jan 26, 2022

STATEMENT FROM CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER REV. AL SHARPTON ON SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER’S PLANS TO RETIRE

Rev. Al Sharpton Urges President Biden to Fulfill his Campaign Trail Promise and Nominate a Black Woman to the Court

New York, NY (January 26, 2022) – According to sources familiar with the decision, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire at the end of the current term. Justice Breyer, 83, has served on the court for more than 27 years. This decision has sparked an outpouring of calls for President Biden to follow through on his campaign pledge and nominate a Black woman Supreme Court justice.

“As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden said that if elected, he would name a Black woman to the Supreme Court. We are looking for promises made to be promises kept,” said Reverend Al Sharpton, Civil Rights Leader and founder of National Action Network. “There are many Black women in the judicial system more than qualified to be nominated. Secondly, we will be on high alert to make sure that Mitch McConnell does not try to block President Biden’s nominee as he successfully blocked President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland. This opportunity presents a critical choice given that affirmative action, voting rights, and other key issues are before this court.”

Likely contenders to succeed Justice Breyer include U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, a former Breyer law clerk; and Leondra Kruger, a justice on California’s Supreme Court.

About National Action Network (NAN)

National Action Network is one of the leading civil rights organizations in the Nation with chapters throughout the entire United States. Founded in 1991 by Reverend Al Sharpton, NAN works within the spirit and tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality or gender. For more information go to www.nationalactionnetwork.net.