Statement on Justice Allison Riggs appointment to NC Supreme Court

Congratulations to the Honorable Justice Allision Riggs, the next Supreme Court Justice of the State of North Carolina. Justice Riggs is the youngest Supreme Court Justice nominee in NC history. 


Photo taken ten years ago at a Press Conference outside the State BOE (Downtown Raleigh)


Justice Riggs was then Chief Legal Counsel at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and took my case (pro-bono) to get on the ballot and run for city council as a bright-eyed 21-year-old college student in Elizabeth City, NC (2013). My case had statewide and national implications because the requirements to run for office were (and still are) the exact requirements to vote. 


I won the right to run for office and, subsequently, a seat on the city council because of this phenomenal woman and her powerhouse team at the SCSJ, which was at the time led by Justice Anita Earls. My win was a win-win for college students across the country because if we had lost, republicans would have been successful in their attempts to suppress the college vote, especially the black college vote. 


Justice Riggs's historic appointment by Governor Roy Cooper to serve alongside Justice Anita Earls (Founder of the Southern Coalition for Southern Justice) is inspiring and ground-breaking. Furthermore, it's a moment of personal reflection for me because Allison Riggs, Anita Earls, and SCSJ had my back over ten years ago, and they are still fighting the good fight today. This appointment also reaffirms the influence and strength of frontline community-based organizations in North Carolina. They are a voice for the voiceless throughout our state.  


Thank you, Governor Cooper, for appointing someone who shares the values of millions of North Carolinians and will fight for equity, voter access, and equal protection under the law. 

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