Civil rights leaders, activists call on Gov. Carney to appoint Black judge to all-white Court of Chancery

DOVER, Del. – Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton paid a visit to Dover Tuesday morning. He and other activists called on Governor John Carney to carefully consider who he will appoint to the state’s Court of Chancery. This decision comes as Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III prepares for retirement.

“No inclusive judiciary”

In Delaware Court of Chancery’s 230 year history, only one judge was Black: the Honorable Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves, who served between 2015 and 2019. Currently, each judge in the Court is white. “With nobody in the court looking like us, understanding our experiences, understanding the challenges that we face, it is exclusion by the fact that you have no inclusive judiciary,” said Rev. Sharpton.

Pastor Blaine Hackett of St. John African Methodist Church says appointing a Black judge will set a precedent for diversity in the First State. He adds that precedent could help Delaware lead the way for other, similar courts across the nation. “Governor Carney can be the person to make that change, not just for our state, but for the nation. That’s one reason why we’re out here, to constantly be coming back out here, because somebody has to do it,” said Pastor Hackett.