Racial Discrimination, Dissenting Opinion, Justice Sotomayor
Racial Discrimination is a heavy matter that has affected America since its conception until the present day. Historical battles have been fought and the country has lost many of its admirable and noble leaders starting with our very own founding father Abraham Lincoln and the likes Martin Luther King Jnr. in the course of ending social injustices subjected to citizens of this great nation brought about racial discrimination. Even in the present post modern day and age characterized by significant technological advances that has given rise to "global village", a concept that often translates to a social unity and oneness, America as a first world country is still tragically affected by the issue of racial discrimination, which is a lag in matters of progressive development. Racial discrimination is at the moment the principal cause of hatred, distrust, discontentment and disunity amongst citizenry of this great nation. Several cases have been dealt with amongst them the Brown vs. Board of Education including the present controversial Michigan case of voter ban on Affirmative Action within public universities in the state, yet there has been no success in completely ending this social menace that is racial discrimination that has plagued this nation since time immemorial.
In the case of Brown versus the Education Board the court came to a ruling that segregation of children in public schools by virtue of race regardless of the equal distribution of educational facilities, and materials in both white and black schools indeed deprived children of minority races equal opportunities in education ( Warren 33). The court concluded that racial segregation undermined Affirmative Action promoted in the 14th amendment of 1868 that protected equality for all, regardless of sex, race, color, national origin and ethnicity in the light of public employment, public admissions or public contracting (Warren 32).
[...] She extensively relies on the constitution as the sole basis for her argument against the Michigan Affirmative Action ban for Public Universities. In her dissenting opinion Sotomayor extensively cites the constitution as the only sane entity employed in a democratic society to protect the minority and impose limitations on the majority in order to ensure equality for all. At the onset of her dissenting opinion, Justice Sotomayor states, are fortunate to live in a very democratic society. But without checksallowed, democratically approved legislation can potentially oppress minority groups. [...]
[...] " Brown v. Board of Education." The American Experience. n.d : 32-34. Print. The Dissenting Opinion of Justice Sotomayor in Relation to the case of Brown v. [...]
[...] Racial discrimination is at the moment the principal cause of hatred, distrust, discontentment and disunity amongst citizenry of this great nation. Several cases have been dealt with amongst them the Brown vs. Board of Education including the present controversial Michigan case of voter ban on Affirmative Action within public universities in the state, yet there has been no success in completely ending this social menace that is racial discrimination that has plagued this nation since time immemorial. In the case of Brown versus the Education Board the court came to a ruling that segregation of children in public schools by virtue of race regardless of the equal distribution of educational facilities, and materials in both white and black schools indeed deprived children of minority races equal opportunities in education ( Warren 33). [...]
[...] The court did not rely on public opinion , or plurality that Sotomayor identifies as a major derailing factor that uphold a majority rule and tend to overlook the significance of constitutional limit. In the light of seeking judicial precedents and weighing the constitutionality of a case, prior to seeking plurality and the public opinion of the electorate majority in critical cases involving the minority groups, I believe that Justice Sotomayor is justified in her dissenting opinion. Sotomayor provides facts that are logic, practical and in accordance with constitution, that not only provide guidelines for leaders in government exclusively, but also for the people. [...]
[...] Even though both cases of Justice Sotomayor and of Brown vs. the Board of Education occur in two totally varied periods of American political history, they both establish the 14th Amendment as the most appropriate, and effective tool within US constitution that America's founding fathers relentlessly fought for in the Civil War, in guaranteeing equality for all and inhibiting discrimination against any citizen of the country. In the light of upholding the constitution more so the 14th Amendment as a public watch dog for preserving equality for all rather than relying on the majority to decide the fate of the minority, I concur with Justice Sotomayor in her dissenting opinion for acknowledging that although the constitution guarantees the right to self- governance through a voting process determined by a majority win, it does not the permit the undermining of the minority in the process. [...]
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