Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw writes:

In October 1991, I was part of the legal team that supported Anita Hill in her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in which she bravely alleged sexual harassment at the hands of now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. His confirmation by that committee, chaired by then-Democratic Sen. Joe Biden, was one of the most consequential moments in setting the future trajectory of the ideals that matter most to me — civil rights, gender equity and our multiracial democracy.  

As I sat on the steps of the Capitol with a colleague after the narrow confirmation of a man who opposed much of the legacy of Thurgood Marshall, the great American civil rights lawyer who Thomas was being tapped to replace, we both came to the same conclusion: This appointment was going to shape the rest of our lives. 

Unfortunately, history has confirmed our fears. As national commitments to racial justice and basic civil rights continue to unravel, under what is functionally regarded as the Thomas Court, the very health of our multiracial democracy is a long-term casualty of that day.  

This week’s Supreme Court ruling overturning affirmative action is further confirmation of those fears. [Continue reading…]