We’re back again, folks. Thanks for watching. Go ahead and hit that like button—you know it helps us out, and it helps you too because we keep bringing you these stories every day. Today, we’re looking at a clip circulating online where Representative Brandon Gill questions a representative from the American Bar Association about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
He asks her a series of questions, including whether she thinks Ketanji Brown Jackson should have been nominated to the U. S. Supreme Court. The reason I’m showing this is that it’s an interesting dialogue.
As you’ll see, Representative Gill presents some facts and asks the ABA representative whether she’ll give her opinion—or even the association’s opinion. But like many lawyers, she dodges giving a clear answer to his questions. You have to wonder why she showed up at all if she didn’t want to answer questions and actually engage in the dialogue that’s been happening across the country for the last five to ten years. So, we’ll start with Representative Gill asking his questions, and we’ll see what she says.
Without further delay, let’s get into it. Representative Gill: “Conservative rural Alabamians are much more than what they do with Asian kids from Irvine. I don’t know why we focus on race and not on ideological and geographical diversity. With that, I yield back my time.
”
Chair: “The gentleman’s time has expired. Okay. Um, I now yield myself five minutes for the purpose of questioning. And thank you to all the witnesses again for taking the time to appear before this panel, which I think is very important.
Um, Ms. Banky, according to the American Bar Association’s website, quote, ‘We all have implicit biases. ’ Do you agree with this statement? ”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association believes that diversity, equity, and inclusion improves…”
Representative Gill: “Do you agree with the ABA website’s statement that ‘we all have implicit biases’?
The ABA believes that diversity in every…”
ABA Representative: “Can I answer? It’s a yes or no question. Do you think we all have implicit biases? As your website says, the ABA seeks to remove barriers and we examine…”
Representative Gill: “That’s not my question, ma’am.
Do you think we all have implicit biases? ”
ABA Representative: “I have expressed what the American Bar Association does. That is the position of the American Bar Association, as expressed on their website. ”
Representative Gill: “Against which groups do you have implicit biases?
”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association thinks it’s important to always expand…”
Representative Gill: “Are you going to filibuster? Because this doesn’t make you look good. I’ll ask you again: against which groups do you have implicit biases? ”
ABA Representative: “It’s always important to examine everyone’s perspective and where they might need to consider…”
Representative Gill: “And what about your perspective?
You’re here as the president of the American Bar Association, and I’m asking you what your implicit biases are. ”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association as an entity…”
Representative Gill: “Have you thought about your implicit biases? ”
ABA Representative: “I constantly think about how I interact with the world. ”
Representative Gill: “Would you like to explain what they are?
”
ABA Representative: “I’m here speaking on behalf of the American Bar Association and the association. ”
Representative Gill: “We’ll move to another point. ”
So you can see she wasn’t too eager to answer questions about DEI. Now, Representative Gill moves on to ask questions specifically about Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who you see on the screen.
Now, you might ask, well, why choose Ketanji specifically? I think the reason will become clear here. You could say he’s choosing her just for that reason—you know what I’m talking about—or he’s choosing her just for that reason. You all know what I mean.
But Representative Gill will say, “Well, let’s look at the conversation and let it unfold, and you’ll see exactly why he brings up her name specifically. ”
Representative Gill: “Was race a factor in the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court? ”
ABA Representative: “I have no idea how that process works. I work in real estate.
”
Representative Gill: “President Biden stated, quote, ‘I made no decision except one, and that is that this person will be the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States. ’ So I think it’s fair to say that race and gender were factors in that nomination process. Would you agree? ”
ABA Representative: “You’ll have to have a conversation…”
Representative Gill: “He explicitly stated that.
So I think it’s fair to say. You’re a lawyer. I think it’s fair to say that. ”
ABA Representative: “Um…”
Representative Gill: “Do you think it’s fair or right for Joe Biden to explicitly exclude Black men in the nomination process for a Supreme Court seat?
”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association does not support discrimination of any kind. ”
Representative Gill: “So you don’t think it was appropriate for Joe Biden to exclude all other groups except Black women in deciding who would fill that vacancy on the Supreme Court? Is that your testimony? ”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association values diversity, equity, and…”
Representative Gill: “Is it acceptable for Joe Biden to exclude Black men from the pool of Supreme Court nominees?
”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association never supports discrimination. ”
Representative Gill: “That’s good to hear. And you think—tell me if I’m wrong—that the Supreme Court should roughly reflect the racial diversity of the country. ”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association doesn’t believe quotas are appropriate.
”
Representative Gill: “According to the ABA’s mission statement on its website, it states that judges… it increases the quality of our judicial system when judges reflect the broad racial diversity of our community. So are you saying it’s beneficial—and even saving—if our Supreme Court reflects the racial diversity of America? ”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association believes that diversity in all its forms is important. We want people to come with everything they represent, whether they’re from small practices or not.
”
So it seems Representative Gill isn’t making real progress with this line of questioning. So he changes course and says, okay, what is diversity in the first place? Can you give me an idea of what diversity means fundamentally? More specifically, should the goal of diversity in an organization, body, or company be equal representation of what we see in the population?
Is that what people should aim for? He’s trying to corner her. He’s trying to get concrete, real answers. Do you think she’ll give him one, folks?
Representative Gill: “Can you define diversity here? Would you like to? Should the Supreme Court roughly match the racial makeup of America? ”
ABA Representative: “It’s a yes or no question.
The American Bar Association does not support quotas. We…”
Representative Gill: “I’m not asking about quotas. I’m asking whether it should roughly match the racial makeup of America. ”
ABA Representative: “It should represent everything that people express… everything that people express.
”
Representative Gill: “Okay. So, right now, there are about two out of nine justices on the Supreme Court who are Black. That’s about 22% of the Supreme Court. According to your testimony, about 13% of America’s population is Black.
If the Supreme Court should roughly match the demographic makeup of America—as the ABA states is appropriate—in your opinion, regardless of qualifications, should the Senate refuse to confirm a third Black justice to the Supreme Court? ”
ABA Representative: “Does the American Bar Association support and encourage diversity in all its forms? ”
Representative Gill: “That wasn’t my question. My question was: if a seat opens on the Supreme Court, should the Senate refuse to confirm a third Black nominee based on their race?
”
ABA Representative: “The American Bar Association does not support a quota system. Accordingly, the ABA supports a sort of… we hope to delve into this. The ABA supports making sure the racial makeup has a specific proportion, but…”
Representative Gill: “My time has expired, so we’ll move to another topic. ”
As you can see, there weren’t many concrete answers from this meeting.
You know, folks, I’ve thought long and hard about this whole DEI topic. And honestly, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I don’t know if this video is the right time or place to raise all my questions and thoughts, but I just couldn’t understand it. Personally, I haven’t been able to grasp the logic of this concept.
My questions basically stem from the idea of whether we should look for the best person for a given position. Should employers look for the best person? Should the government look for the best and most qualified person? Or should we look for people who meet certain criteria and do a good job?
Maybe they’re not the best, maybe they’re not the smartest, most capable, most skilled, or even the most dedicated—just someone acceptable who meets the standards we’re trying to achieve, if you know what I mean. Tell me, folks, what do you think? Do you think the ABA representative did a good job representing the association? What are your thoughts on DEI?
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