RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) joins the nation in once again experiencing the promises of our constitution and democracy deferred by a U.S. institution, the U. S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), that does not protect ALL of its citizens. These experiences and disappointments are nothing new to generation upon generation of people of color, especially those whose forefathers and foremothers were enslaved in this country. How naïve the notion that we live in a “color blind” society. Over the past decade, our nation has witnessed the overturning of hard-won rights through historic legislation that represented precedent that we thought ensured full inclusion in a democratic society that protected future generations. These encompassed basic rights such as voting rights, reproductive rights, and now affirmative action. The court’s decision on Affirmative Action overturned precedent set in 1978 in the Regents of University of California v. Bakke. Does precedent not matter? Does what is equitable, fair, and just not matter? “The recent decisions reached by SCOTUS will have a chilling and deleterious effect on our society and those people we pledged to protect. It is a slippery slope that could open the door to continued racial injustices and inequalities and many other forms of discrimination based on color, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation,” stated NOBLE President Brenda Goss Andrews. 

“It is our opinion that law enforcement is not immune from the negative societal impact caused when SCOTUS rendered an “eyes wide shut” opinion that does not represent the interests and ideology of the majority of its citizens,” further explained Goss Andrews. In a recent Gallup poll, 25% of Americans have confidence in the Supreme Court, down from 36% in 2021. The result is that law enforcement is sometimes asked to enforce the law, protect the constitution, and serve all citizens without the credible moral wind at its back required to implement the “law of the land.” The SCOTUS landmark decision could hurt the college-to-career pipeline many industries utilize to diversify their ranks. Approximately 67% of local police departments with at least 100 officers became whiter relative to their communities between the years of 2007-2016 in a report published by the New York Times in 2020. Presently, hiring and retention is one of the biggest challenges in the law enforcement profession. This recent decision by the Supreme Court could have a negative impact on the pipeline for law enforcement manpower at a critical time in our country where gun violence and mass shootings, unfortunately, have become the norm. 

Moreover, the belief that systemic racism does not exist in our nation is a hope but not a fact based on any reasonable set of metrics. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the following: “The best that can be said of the majority’s perspective is that it proceeds (ostrichlike) from the hope that preventing consideration of race will end racism. But if that is its motivation, the majority proceeds in vain.” NOBLE’s mission is to ensure equity in the administration of justice in the provision of public service to all communities, and to serve as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action. It is our opinion that the recent SCOTUS decision on Affirmative Action falls well short of achieving any semblance of “equity in the administration of justice.” NOBLE calls on all American citizens regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex to exercise your constitutional right to voice your opinion on the direction and actions of the SCOTUS. It is imperative that we vote for local, county, state, and federal officials that will uphold a basic tenant of our U.S. constitution, Equal Protection Under the Law for Everyone.