NAACP Legal Defense Fund : Defend, Educate, Empower

In The Root (a publication of the Washington Post), LDF Assistant Counsel Vincent Southerland responds to a statement released earlier this week by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor. In it, Justice Sotomayor lent her powerful voice to condemn racially charged remarks made by a federal prosecutor during a criminal trial in Texas. By speaking out, Justice Sotomayor demonstrated that the struggle to eradicate the pernicious influence of race on the administration of justice is far from over. But as Assistant Counsel Southerland points out, it will take affirmative, concerted efforts by policymakers to make these changes in our criminal justice system.