Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) announced her guest for the State of the Union: North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. Justice Earls has been a leader in the fight for voting rights in North Carolina and worked to combat egregious gerrymandering by Republican legislators. As leaders in Washington try to rollback the sacred right to vote, her presence at the State of the Union is a reminder of the need to protect voters’ access to the ballot box.

 

“I’m honored to welcome Justice Anita Earls to Washington for the State of the Union,” said Congresswoman Ross. “In North Carolina and across the country, we are witnessing unprecedented attempts to erode voting rights that generations of Americans fought for. Now more than ever, we must preserve the bedrock of our democracy. Justice Earls has been a fighter for our rights and freedoms for decades.”

 

About Justice Anita Earls:

 

Justice Anita Earls is a civil rights attorney and experienced jurist who is currently serving as an Associate Justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court. For over 30 years, she stood alongside people whose right to vote was denied, people who were mistreated at work, and the parents of children who were being denied equal educational opportunities, seeking equal justice under the law in state and federal courtrooms. President Clinton appointed her to be a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Returning to North Carolina, she worked alongside Julius Chambers at the UNC Center for Civil Rights and, in 2007, founded the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that partners with historically marginalized communities across the South. After serving as the organization’s executive director for 10 years, Justice Anita Earls was elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2018. 

 

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