Today, I am remembering a chant I screamed to the top of my lungs many times in front of the Supreme Court when Rehnquist died and O’Connor left the court… “5-4, 4-5 these decisions change our lives.” Not only is the “5-4″ chant relevant in terms of reproductive justice issues, it is becoming painfully clear how important a balanced court is for race relations and educational access in this country.

I’m outraged about yesterday’s Supreme Court decision to limit diversity in schools (and overturn much of the ground we gained due to Brown v. Board). What is even more maddening is that Roberts and his cronies are using classic right-wing spin to support their racism, stating that the policy is about eliminating “race discrimination” and “race privilege”.

We all know that this is about keeping access to resources for the privileged. Separate but equal doesn’t work. I’m mad at their decision but even more disgusted by their masquerade. class and race are intimately connected and they know the implications these policies will have for students living in low-income neighborhood that happen to be mostly black and brown. The racist system relies on a structure of deceit and ruthless power grabs that marginalizes and disempowers people. This is a sad reminder of how the effects of intolerance and racism still manage to seep into our lives everyday on such a widely-felt level.

I actually sat in the room when John Roberts was confirmed to the Supreme Court. It was painful and I cried that night. I knew that this so called “moderate” was no moderate all and that he was a wolf in sheeps clothing. Shame on the people who thought we were overreacting by protesting his appointment to the court. He’s a silent but deadly– and we’re seeing the effects now.

Right now the only thing I can really visualize right now is the video for Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” with the little blonde girl dressed in a Ku Klux Klan outfit reaching for a tree with dead fetuses on it. It says it all for me. We’re in a really frightening place as a nation… the clock is being turned back quicker than we even imagined. If we don’t face reality, stand together, and fight back–retrograde policies will continue and have lifelong implications for us. The happenings of the courts may not be felt by us in a way we taste, see, and smell today, but the effects will creep into our realities and cause serious damage if we don’t speak up and demand justice.

Read more to find out how many of your rights have already been chipped away by the new right-wing Roberts court.

“I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black.”– Nirvana, Heart Shaped Box