Which America?: Judge Roger L. Gregory and the Tradition of African-American Political Thought
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-2021
Abstract
In this Article, written in connection with a symposium honoring Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory’s twenty years on the bench, I place Judge Gregory’s jurisprudence within the tradition of African-American political thought. I suggest that, at bottom, Judge Gregory has a leveling-up jurisprudence that seeks to interpret the Constitution in a way that ensures the least well-off in society are granted the same rights as the most privileged. This brand of democratic theorizing approximates a mainstream position by Black political theorists optimistically seeking to have the least well-off integrated into a fully equal society. By comparing and contrasting his work with other legal and political thinkers in this tradition, I sketch an example of how Judge Gregory uses his role in the judiciary to help shape an America that lives up to the ideals expressed in its founding documents.
Recommended Citation
Fryer, Daniel. "Which America?: Judge Roger L. Gregory and the Tradition of African-American Political Thought." Washington and Lee Law Review 78, no. 3 (2021): 1087-1101.