The first session of the United States Supreme Court was held on February 1, 1790. Since that date a total of 116 persons have served as justices of the high court. For most of those 232 years, the court has been the sole domain of white Anglo-Saxon protestant men — women and other minorities need not apply.
The demographics of the Court began to change in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson appointed Louis Brandeis as the first Jewish justice — an event that did not go unnoticed by bigots around the country. It was not until 1967 that a person of color was named as an associate justice. That came with the appointment of Thurgood Marshall by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the court’s first Black justice. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan’s appointed Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman.
Aside from servants, the United States Supreme Court cannot be viewed historically as an equal opportunity employer. The first woman law clerk, Lucille Lomen, was hired by Justice William O. Douglas in 1944. It was not until 1948 that a justice hired a Black law clerk. That was the year that Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter appointed William T. Coleman as his clerk.
Today the nine-member court has four women: one is a Latina — Sonia Sotomayor; Elena Kagan, who is Jewish; Amy Coney Barrett, who is white and Catholic; and most recently, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African-American woman to serve.
At her swearing in this week, Justice Jackson had a chance to sit in the chair formerly used by Chief Justice John Marshall, who served as the nation’s fourth Chief Justice from 1801-1835. This past Monday was the first Monday in October, the day that by tradition the court starts its fall term. Justice Jackson heard her first cases. Clearly, she is no shrinking violet. She was vocal and aggressive in her questioning — nothing like Clarence Thomas, who is notorious for his silence on the bench.
Caretakers at the Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, where Chief Justice Marshall is buried, should probably stop by his grave and check to see if the stone has been overturned. Likely, Marshall has turned over in his grave a few times, knowing that a Black woman is now a member of the Supreme Court, sat in his chair, and had the audacity to demand answers of lawyers appearing before the court.
In recent years, Marshall has been the subject of controversy. Because of his tenure as Chief Justice — some 35 years — several law schools have been named after him. But by the 21st century, historians and legal scholars have reconsidered his life and legacy. In 2021, the University of Illinois at Chicago dropped Marshall’s name from their law school, becoming the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
For the last several years, students and some faculty at Cleveland Marshall College of Law — Cleveland State University have lobbied that Marshall’s name be dropped. They point to his history as not only a slave owner but a slave trader. As I pointed out in a commentary earlier this year, Marshall was opposed to the presence free blacks in America, arguing that they were “pests” and criminals. He was a member of the American Colonization Society that sought to return freed slaves to Africa. In his personal life he bought and sold slaves, gave them to relatives and actively participated in the business of human bondage. When he died, he did not free any of his personal servants. In the roughly 50 cases that he heard as a justice of the Supreme Court involving slavery, he ruled against the slave and in favor of the slave owner in every case.
This past week, an Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the President of Cleveland State University recommended that Marshall’s name be dropped from the name of the law school. The committee said that Marshall did not represent a majority-minority city like Cleveland and was inconsistent with the university’s values. “The change of name may seem symbolic to some, but to the African-American community and society at large, it would be a compelling assertion of the values of equality, diversity, and inclusiveness at Cleveland State University,” the committee concluded. The final decision is now up to the University Board of Trustees.
As the face of the nation changes, so should its institutions. President Joe Biden kept a campaign promise by appointing Justice Jackson. With four women, two Black Justices and one Latina, the high court is beginning to look like America — although I often wonder if Clarence Thomas counts as a Black person. We can only hope that the changes in the demographics of the court will be reflected in its decisions. But with the conservative majority in control, that is too much to hope for.
The Board of Trustees of Cleveland State should do the right thing when it votes next month. Drop John Marshall’s name from the law school and make Cleveland State University College of Law, like the Supreme Court — more reflective of the face of the nation.
C. Ellen Connally is a retired judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court. From 2010 to 2014 she served as the President of the Cuyahoga County Council. An avid reader and student of American history, she serves on the Board of the Ohio History Connection, is currently vice president of the Cuyahoga County Soldiers and Sailors Monument Commission and past president of the Cleveland Civil War Round Table. She holds degrees from BGSU, CSU and is all but dissertation for a PhD from the University of Akron.
2 Responses to “The Changing Face of the Supreme Court Should Be Reflected at CSU by C. Ellen Connally”
Larry Corman
Excellent
Luca McKernan
Well stated. Thank you.