Hm. Yep, just checked, and this is still our reality. But there are a handful of bright spots out there. For instance, let’s turn to Jefferson County, Alabama—the Birmingham area—which elected a record number of black women to judicial seats on Tuesday.
The Birmingham Times reports:
Jefferson County saw a record nine black female judges elected in Tuesday’s election. They will be sworn-in in January. Birmingham lawyer Emory Anthony said he is excited that in 2016 we are able to have this many black female judges, and that “we are also able to have 15 people of color who have won through-out the county.”
The winners: Javan Patton, Debra Bennett Winston, Shera Craig Grant, Nakita “Niki” Perryman Blocton, Tamara Harris Johnson, Elisabeth French, Agnes Chappell, Brendette Brown Green, and Annetta Verin.
“I just think it’s great. Jefferson County is a majority Democratic County. They turn out to vote, they’re capable of electing qualified individuals,” said Anthony, former president of the Jefferson County Progressive Democratic Council, who also called it a “proud moment.”
One of the winners, Tamara Harris Johnson, said that growing up in segregated Birmingham made her resolved to “never, ever, ever treat anyone unfairly, differently or badly because of a circumstance or a status over which they have no control.” She also said:
“I’m sure that if you probably looked at the statistics either in law school or the national the statistics there probably are more black females that are in law school and even in medicine. I think females are coming into their own. Black females in my mind have always been strong and I’m saying that from a different perspective. I grew up around strong women. And I didn’t know anything except strong women.”
