How Brett Kavanaugh Will Collide with a Changing America

If last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings are any indication, racially infused politics may increasingly consume the U.S. Supreme Court, Ronald Brownstein writes in CNN Politics. If Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh receives confirmation, it will cement a conservative majority in the nation’s highest court for the next 15 years or more. Brownstein points out that this will happen during a time of rapidly increasing diversity in the nation, which could amplify tension in the country. He references PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones PhD, who according to Brownstein, “notes that white Christians are declining as a share of the population by about 1.3 percentage points a year as other groups grow, particularly nonwhite Christians and voters of all races who don’t belong to any religious tradition. At that rate, white Christians could fall to about one-third of the population by 2025 and less than one-fourth by 2035.”

Native American Tribes Sue over Keystone XL pipeline

Two Native American tribes are suing President Trump’s administration over its authorization of the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that it will damage significant cultural sites. The tribes, Fort Belknap and Rosebud Sioux, brought the case Monday. Filing their case with the federal District Court for the District of Montana, the tribes issued a statement that read: “All historical, cultural, and spiritual places and sites of significance in the path of the pipeline are at risk of destruction.”

Why a Black Police Group Issued a Stirring Defense of Colin Kaepernick

When Nike decided to feature Colin Kaepernick in a new advertising campaign, several prominent national police organizations were quick to jump on sporting apparel company. The Fraternal Order of Police implied that featuring the embattled quarterback was an “insult” to law enforcement. The National Association of Police Organizations even called for a boycott of Nike. However, in the wake of this, the National Black Police Association wrote a letter defending Kaepernick, which also served as an insult to the larger police organizations criticizing Nike. “As black officers, we often find ourselves riding the wave with other officers, but no one has asked us what our opinion is,” Sonia Y.W. Pruitt, chair of the NBPA, told The Washington Post. “On many of these social issues we disagree, but nobody knows that, because the assumption is that if you’re a police officer that you all think the same way,” she continued. This racial split between officer organizations could be a reflection of the racial split that exists nationally. According to PRRI polling, when asked about whether professional athletes making public statements about political issues bothered them, 45 percent of white Americans said it did while only 26 percent of black Americans said the same.

Democrats’ Fear is Low Turnout Among People of Color in Midterms

McClatchy reports that some liberal activists are concerned about the upcoming midterm elections and turnout among black and brown communities. “The party’s liberal base is energized and infuriated, motivated by a deep antipathy to President Trump. But the enthusiasm runs deepest among an electoral bloc that is mostly white, female and affluent. To maximize their gains — they need to flip 23 GOP seats to take the House — Democrats need voters of color to show up,” the piece’s author  note. Per PRRI polling, some of those concerns could prove to be misplaced, as black Americans are nearly three times as likely as whites (27 percent vs. 10 percent) to say that all their friends plan on voting in the 2018 midterm election.