BACKTALK | fall 2005 This summer I took the train up to
Philadelphia to lecture at the National Constitution Center.
While the exhibits that chronicle our Constitution thoroughly
impressed me, each new artifact served as a reminder that no one
who looked like me—black, female—shaped the document that has
done the most to influence our nation. It wasn’t until 1981—194
years after the U.S. Constitution was drafted—that a woman was
finally allowed to weigh in on the document. The ascendance of
Sandra Day O’Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court marked the first
time a woman could offer formal and lasting opinions on what the
Constitution protects and prohibits for its citizens. O’Connor
has had a mixed legacy as a justice, but it’s one that firmly
paints her as a pivotal voice on issues of equality, justice and
fairness. Unfortunately, Justice O’Connor will soon end her
tenure. And come October, when the new Supreme Court term
begins, the Court will most probably have lost half its
representation of women. President G