Chicago's federal bench was the first U.S. District Court to be integrated with an African-American, in 1961. But since then, black male judges here have been few and far between. There haven't been any since 2012.No word yet on this story from Barack "Everything is Better" Obama.
It's a little-noticed irony in the age of Obama and of Black Lives Matter, and of federal judicial matters deeply affecting the African-American population, from affirmative action to mandatory sentencing and policing in Chicago and elsewhere. It's little noticed, that is, outside a fraternity of African-American lawyers.
In his seven years in office, President Barack Obama has filled half of the 22 District Court seats in his hometown without nominating a single black man. (He has appointed three black women.) Moreover, there aren't any African-American male judges on active status anywhere in the 7th Circuit, which includes districts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
“That's really interesting and hard to understand. I'm shocked,” says Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia who tracks diversity in the federal judiciary and otherwise credits Obama for “breaking all records” pursuing it.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
How many black men are federal judges in Obama's hometown? Zero. Doesn't Obama Care About Black Males Becoming Federal Judges?
Crain's Chicago Business reports:
