Dear John,

Amy Coney Barrett was just confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice, and I am angry. I am disheartened. But I am fired up.

The anti-democratic priorities of Senate leadership have never been more clear. While millions suffer and thousands die a day, they have explicitly and proudly prioritized the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett over the well-being of the American people.

In the 30 days since Barrett was nominated, our country has lost thousands of jobs, lives, and homes—and we are nowhere near the end of this crisis. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has ignored every closed business, every evicted tenant, and every empty seat at dinner tables nationwide.

But despite the fact that our work becomes harder in the already uncertain days ahead, I am so proud of how hard we’ve already fought. In the last month, so many of you showed up in big ways to dissent to this attack on Justice Ginsburg’s legacy and our rights. You emailed and called your senators in record numbers. You showed up (at a distance) outside of the Supreme Court and at rallies and marches around the country. You spread the word and made sure that even though Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed, her extremist record and dangerous agenda were unmasked. Her name may be listed as a justice of the Supreme Court in history, but the injustice that brought her there means there will always be an asterisk by it.

Throughout this fight, we have heard from so many of you who are scared and enraged by this shameful confirmation. But that anger and fear must continue to fuel us. From the streets to the courts, we can’t and won’t stop fighting. We will not cede our democracy, and we will not cede our futures.

Even on a dark day like today, I am comforted by knowing how many of us dissenters there are. On our side is justice, the will of the people, and the power that comes from resisting together. We will prevail. We have no other choice.

In solidarity,

Fatima Goss Graves
(she/her/hers)
President & CEO
National Women's Law Center