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Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

​Performer Bad Bunny on stage.

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Has Joe Biden appointed more Black women as federal appeals court judges than all previous presidents combined?

Ketanji Brown Jackson testifying before Congress

Before being elevated to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson was one of 13 Black women appointed to an appeals court by President Biden.

China News Service/Getty Images
Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
By Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin WatchJun 04, 2024
Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
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This fact brief was originally published by Wisconsin Watch. Read the original here. Fact briefs are published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network, and republished by The Fulcrum. Visit Gigafact to learn more.

Has Joe Biden appointed more Black women as federal appeals court judges than all previous presidents combined?

Yes.

Thirteen of the twenty-one African-American women who have served on the U.S. Courts of Appeals were nominated by President Joe Biden.

They are Nancy Abudu, DeAndrea Benjamin, Julianna Childs, Tiffany Cunningham, Stephanie Davis, Dana Douglas, Arianna Freeman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Eunice Lee, Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, Doris Pryor and Holly Thomas.

Biden also nominated Brown Jackson to serve as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The other eight Black, female U.S. appellate judges were appointed by Democratic presidents Jimmy Carter (1); Bill Clinton (3); and Barack Obama (2); and by Republican President George W. Bush (2).

Appellate judges determine whether the law was applied correctly in trial courts.

The appellate judges claim was made May 9, 2024, on Milwaukee talk radio by Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Federal Judicial Center Black female federal appeals court judges

People for the American Way 70 Years Since Brown: Advancing Diversity in the Courts

Defender Services Office President Biden Has Confirmed 150 Federal Judges. 100 Are Women

American Presidency Project ICYMI: President Biden Now Has 129 Federal Judges Confirmed – More Than Last 3 Presidents

Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789-present

101.7 The Truth A.I. Terrorism in Milwaukee! | The Truth Sherwin Hughes


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Barbershops Are Helping Black Boys See Themselves as Readers

One of the barbershops participating in the Barbershop Books program.

Photo courtesy of Alvin Irby

Barbershops Are Helping Black Boys See Themselves as Readers

Barbershop Books, an organization whose award‑winning literacy programs celebrate, amplify, and affirm the interests of Black boys while inspiring kids to read for fun, has spent more than a decade transforming everyday community spaces into joyful reading hubs. That mission was on full display this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when the organization partnered with a neighborhood barbershop in the Bronx—Flava In Ya Hair—to offer free haircuts and free children’s books to local families.

As families examined stacks of Dog Man, Fly Guy, Captain Underpants, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, barbershop owner Patrick shared that growing up, reading was associated with negative school experiences and used as a punishment at home. “Go in your room and read!” he said.

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We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

When Hegseth ordered all top brass to assemble in Quantico in September, he declared women could either meet male standards for combat roles or get cut. Strong message, except the military was already doing that, so Hegseth was either oblivious or ignoring decades of history. Confusion aside, it reaffirmed a goal Hegseth has made clear since his Fox News days, when he said, “I'm straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles.” Now, as of January 6th, the Pentagon is planning a six-month review of women in ground combat jobs. It may come as no surprise, but this thinly veiled anti-woman agenda has no tactical security advantage.

When integrating women into combat roles was brought to Congress in 1993, a summary of findings submitted that, “although logical, such a policy would [erode] the civilizing notion that men should protect . . . women.” Archaic notions of the patriarchy almost outweighed logic; instead, luckily, as combat roles have become available to them, more and more women are now serving, increasing military readiness. As it turns out, women are highly effective in combat. Khris Fuhr, a West Point graduate who worked on gender integration at Army Forces Command, calls this new review "a solution for a problem that doesn't exist." She says an Army study between 2018 to 2023 showed women didn’t just perform well in ground combat units but sometimes scored even better than their male counterparts.

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Diversity Has Become a Dirty Word. It Doesn’t Have to Be.

I have an identical twin sister. Although our faces can unlock each other’s iPhones, even the two of us are not exactly the same. If identical twins can differ, wouldn’t most people be different too? Why is diversity considered a bad word?

Like me, my twin sister is in computing, yet we are unique in many ways. She works in industry, while I am in academia. She’s allergic to guinea pigs, while I had pet guinea pigs (yep, that’s how she found out). Even our voices aren’t the same. As a kid, I was definitely the chattier one, while she loved taking walks together in silence (which, of course, drove me crazy).

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DEI Dilemma? Start Building Community within Your Organization

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DEI Dilemma? Start Building Community within Your Organization

Amid the pushback to DEI, an essential truth often gets lost: You have agency over how you approach building diversity, equity, and inclusion into your organization.

No executive order or unhinged rant can change that.

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