The Need To Protect and Defend Our Constitution
By Julius J. Cherry, Sacramento Fire Chief

Editor’s Note: On May 4, Sacramento City Fire Chief Julius J. Cherry gave the keynote address at the 2004 Law Day Awards Dinner sponsored by “Operation Protect and Defend A Commitment to Civil Education By Judges and Lawyers.” Chief Cherry spoke at the Sutter Club to an audience that included the high school students who had won an essay contest sponsored by Operation Protect and Defend, their families and teachers, as well as local lawyers and judges. For those of you who missed hearing Chief Cherry’s inspiring words, his prepared remarks are excerpted below. Chief Cherry was introduced by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr.

When Judge England asked me to speak, I told him that not only would I do it but I am obligated to do so. You see, I like many of you am a living-breathing example of why our Constitution is the most important document in our nation’s history. On May 17, 2004 the country will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. On June 6, 2004, God willing I will celebrate my 50th birthday. On June 7, 2004 I will be sworn in as the 18th Chief of the Sacramento Fire Department. I will be the second African American and the first lawyer to hold the job. I stand before you as a direct beneficiary of Brown v. Board of Education.

Young people, you should know that Brown was a civil rights case based on constitutional principles, where skillful and dedicated lawyers could take the words of the Constitution and weave them into a compelling and convincing argument that ultimately attracted the vote of all nine Supreme Court Justices. The lawyers and judges in this room understand how rare it is to have all nine Justices agree on anything.

It’s playoff season and I am a huge Kings fan. So, please forgive my sports analogy, I cannot help myself. The Constitution is our rule book and the courts are the referees. We all know that sometimes the referees make a bad call. As long as we have the rule book we have a vehicle to address that injustice. “Separate but equal” on its face doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. But as history now tells us, that under an apartheid system, educational opportunities for blacks were surely separate, but never equal. Education is the fundamental key to the success of any society. If any group is left out, we are all left out; what will destroy us is ignorance.

The oath that I will take contains the phrase “to protect and defend” the Constitution of the United States and that of the State of California. “Protect and defend”; what exactly does that mean? For people who believed that separate but equal, was a violation of our constitutional principles it meant years of sacrifice, litigation and threats to their personal safety. You might be asking yourself, why is the Fire Chief standing here talking to us about protecting and defending the Constitution? As you have already heard, I am also a lawyer. But that is not the reason. I am here because my personal story of success is a direct result of court cases like Brown, which is also a direct result of a constitution that has stood the test of time for more than two hundred years.

I was born almost 50 years ago in Gary, Indiana. I am the oldest of six children raised by a single mother, who worked 40 years as an LVN nurse. The school system I attended was completely segregated. By the time I began kindergarten in 1959 it was no longer segregated by law but as a matter of practice. My first interracial educational experience was when I arrived at boot camp in San Antonio, Texas for the United States Air Force. With the exception of a six-month stay in Guam, supporting the Cambodian bombing mission, I spent the remainder of my time in the military at the now-closed Mather Air Force Base. While still in the Air Force I became a volunteer firefighter in what is now the City of Rancho Cordova. After honorable discharge I became a firefighter in the City of Fairfield and soon thereafter became a firefighter here in Sacramento.

I began attending night classes at American River Community College, (which by the way was free). Later, using my G.I. Bill benefits I began attending the state college system (Sac State), which was virtually free. In 1989, I was fortunate enough to graduate from the evening program at the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law (which, by the way, was not free). My student loans were close to a hundred thousand dollars, which I am proud to say, within ten years were paid in full. During those years I received several promotions within the fire department. Four months prior to my law school graduation I was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief. And now I stand before you as the new Fire Chief of the Sacramento Fire Department.

What does any of this have to do with the Constitution? Well, young people, as you have no doubt learned in your study of American history, our country was legally segregated up until about three weeks before my birth. But because we have a Constitution that embodies a principle, the ideal that all men and women are created equal, we were able to break the bonds of this system that prevented blacks and others from participating in this American dream a dream that I have been so blessed to have had an opportunity to realize. And so, do I feel a special obligation to protect and defend our Constitution? You bet. Will I feel a special twinge in my heart when on June 7th when the City Clerk asks me to raise my right hand and repeat those words, “protect and defend?” No question about it.

America is often referred to as the melting pot. It is the most successful human experiment in the history of mankind. All races, religious beliefs and cultures living together, working together and prospering together as one human race. This has only been possible because we have a Constitution that is strong enough to bend all the way back, when it is necessary to advance our society. But also, strong enough not to break and destroy that same society.

Flamboyant boxing promoter Don King is famous for the phrase “only in America”. I don’t know much about Mr. King’s exploits in the world of boxing but, (as the kids would say, “I feel ya”) when he says “only in America.” Last year my oldest daughter graduated from Catholic University Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. Her graduating class was well over fifty percent female. The graduating class of most senior judges and lawyers did not experience such a ratio. When I think that in my daughter’s lifetime she could possibly see parity in the professions of medicine and law, I say “only in America”. As a direct beneficiary of its protections we all have a responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution. The question is how should we do this? You do not have to do what someone like Pat Tillman did. By now you all have heard the story of the young man who gave up millions of dollars as a professional football player to join the Army. He gave his life.

You do not have do what 343 firefighters and over a hundred police officers and others did on September 11, 2001 when they marched up the stairs of those twin towers at the World Trade Center. They gave their lives.

Young people, you can find a way to protect and defend. As I understand it, most of you are high school seniors. That means you are closing in on your eighteenth birthday. If you are eighteen and you do not register and vote in this year’s presidential election, you have failed to protect and defend. Judges and lawyers, we have the highest obligation to teach the principles of our Constitution to the civilians. We have this obligation because we are vested with a better understanding of these principles. Teaching truly is the greatest profession. We must all find a way to participate.

In America we are often criticized for being too “rights oriented.” I disagree. We are not too “rights oriented.” We are not “responsibility oriented” enough. If we had an equal balance between standing up for our rights and living up to our responsibilities we would be much less subject to this criticism. The hate-mongers cannot destroy us because we have a Constitution. The Timothy McVeighs of the world cannot destroy us because we have a Constitution that would require that someone who committed such a heinous crime as the Oklahoma City bombing to be given due process rights. White supremacists cannot destroy us because we have a Constitution that will require us to protect the rights of someone who would bomb a church and kill four little black girls in Mobile, Alabama, or set fire to synagogues right here in Sacramento.

So stand up for your rights, protest peacefully, speak out, sue if you must (the judges are saying, I know he is not telling people to create more litigation). But whatever you do, find your way to protect and defend our Constitution.