Historic St. John African Methodist Church, Inc. Pastor Blaine Hackett Joins Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware in Calling for Governor Carney to Appoint a Black Justice to the All-White Chancery Court

Pastor Hackett echoes Rev. Al Sharpton’s demands for increased diversity on Delaware Courts with the vacancy of Chancellor Andre Bouchard

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Pastor Blaine Hackett of historic St. John African Methodist Church, Inc. in Newark joined Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware’s (CPBD) calls to fill the vacancy of Chancery Court Chancellor Andre Bouchard with a Black justice. Pastor Hackett echoes the calls of legendary civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton in his recent letter to President Biden advocating for increased diversity within the federal judiciary, and in Delaware.

“For too long in Delaware, and across the nation, our leadership has not reflected the diversity of our congregations, our neighborhoods or our State,” said Pastor Blaine Hackett of St. John African Methodist Church, Inc. “The vacancy on the Chancery Court gives us yet another opportunity to advance Black leaders and support diverse, fair courts which, in turn, lead to fair rulings and fair sentencing. I stood outside the Senate building about a year ago and urged the Governor to increase diversity on Delaware’s courts and fill Justice Montgomery-Reeves’ vacant seat with a Black justice. Although our calls were not answered, we are again faced with the opportunity to begin to correct the past that has disproportionately awarded white men these positions of leadership. I urge the Governor to replace Chancellor Bouchard and Justice Smalls with Black judges and move our courts in the right direction for diversity and justice.”

Pastor Hackett has joined Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware in their $250,000 awareness campaign for diverse appointments in leadership and on courts. The group has purchased print, radio and digital advertising space to spread awareness of the vacancies and urge Governor Carney to take the opportunity to achieve his own stated goal of advancing diversity in leadership roles in Delaware. Since launching the campaign, CPBD has engage more than 350 Delaware residents to send emails to Governor Carney urging him to appoint a Black justice to replace Bouchard.

“We have only just begun our outreach to Delaware residents and we already have more than 350 emails into the Governor asking him to appoint a Black justice to the Chancery Court, which in times of turmoil is tasked with representing the best interest of people across the nation from many different backgrounds,” said Chris Coffey, Campaign Manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “How can Delaware courts represent those they are meant to serve when they are overwhelmingly comprised of wealthy, white men? The opportunity for Governor Carney to increase diversity on the courts is here again, and the time for change was decades ago.”

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.