Document Type
Newsletter
Publication Date
Winter 2021
Abstract
As social justice advocates rejoice over Donald Trump’s defeat and look for paths forward, the biggest lesson comes from the 2020 presidential election itself. The right to vote is “preservative of all other rights[,]” and this past year underscored its importance more than ever. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, high voter turnout—and especially high Black voter turnout—propelled Joe Biden to victory. Even as the Electoral College and partisan gerrymandering continue to undermine the popular will, America’s changing demographics favor people of color and progressives. Moreover, the elected branches of government have become more significant because Trump packed the federal judiciary with conservative judges. Social justice advocates should not expect too many revolutionary legal rulings such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Most progressive change for the next generation will begin at the ballot box rather than the courthouse.
Publisher
Federal Bar Association Civil Rights Law Section’s Newsletter
Publication Title
Civil Rights Insider
First Page
6
Last Page
7
Recommended Citation
Vinay Harpalani,
“Preservative of All Other Rights”: Voting and Social Justice in the Post-Trump Era,
Civil Rights Insider
6
(2021).
Available at:
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/law_facultyscholarship/831
