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Lee Hill, here ...

Former U.S. Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales and legal scholars Charles Ogletree and Lani Guinier. If you heard today's broadcast, then you heard these voices share their opinions -- and do so quite openly -- on choosing the next Supreme Court nominee, who will replace Justice David Souter after his planned retirement in June.

(By the way, I never thought I'd hear Gonzales, Ogletree and Guinier in the same conversation. Did that strike anyone else as really quite ... something?)

The group, following a one-on-one chat with Gonzales and Michel Martin, talked about whether President Obama should consider the diversity of the high court -- or perhaps the lack thereof -- when nominating the next Supreme Court justice.

What do you think?

Does it matter if the justices do not necessarily look like the rest of the country? Or, is it more important that the court be ideologically diverse (which is not always synonymous with ethnic diversity)? Or, should certain achievements alone -- the prestige of one's academic portfolio, affiliations, past appointments, etc. -- suffice as qualifiers for appointment to the highest court in the land?

And, regarding the latter portion of today's program, take a listen to our discussion on historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We sat down with Sidney Ribeau. He's the new the president of Howard University (well, almost new ... he just finished his first academic year as the school's leader).

Today's other big question: do black colleges still fulfill a vital need in society? If so, can they -- performance-wise -- hold their own, so to speak, in the current educational environment? (Full disclosure: I am an HBCU graduate, of Howard.)

Tough questions, I know. But that's why we're here, right?

categories: More on Race

4:17 - May 13, 2009

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