Ketanji Brown Jackson, with chocolate skin and natural hair, confirmed as first Black female Supreme Court Justice
And just like that; she made history. Chocolate skin, natural hair and a huge smile, Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate Thursday to soon become the first Black female Supreme Court Justice.
The tally was 53-47, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats to vote in favor.Jackson’s swearing in will be later this summer after Justice Stephen Breyer officially retires.
Until then, according to CNN, she will remain in her current position on the US Court of Appeals and will continue to recuse from all cases on the DC Circuit as she has since the President nominated her.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the moment a “joyous, momentous, groundbreaking day. He went on to say, “In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court, never, never has a Black woman held the title of Justice. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first and I believe the first of more to come.”
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Her confirmation hearings were grueling – seemingly brutal in nature – as many GOP senators asked her questions that seemed demeaning to many.
Sen. Cory Booker was a fierce supporter of Jackson’s however, with tears of acknowledgment and respect streaming down both of their faces.
“My parents grew up in a time in this country in which Black children and White children were not allowed to go to school together,” Jackson told Booker after the senator asked what values her parents had impressed upon her. “They taught me hard work. They taught me perseverance. They taught me that anything is possible in this great country.”
The name “Ketanji” means “lovely one,” and she has just made little Black girls around the world feel just that – lovely – knowing that they can continue striving to be all they want to be.
Black women have been fighting for a very long time to be recognized for our accomplishments in America and, thanks to President Joe Biden, we are now getting more of the political seats at the table we so rightfully deserve.
Biden has added more women and people of color to cabinet positions than any of his predecessors and has proven to be a man of his word. His selections have been groundbreaking, first – making Kamala Harris his running mate which led to her being the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States and now hand-picking Jackson to serve on the highest court in the land, with so many more historic appointments in between.
In a beautiful and symbolic circle of sisterhood, Vice President Harris presided over the chamber during Jackson’s vote in her capacity as president of the Senate.
What can we say, there’s no longer just a crack in that glass ceiling, times are changing – albeit slowly – but we are finally busting through.
Congratulations to Jackson, Black America and women around the world!
About Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
Bio provided by WhiteHouse.gov
Judge Jackson was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, then attended historically black colleges and universities. Both started their careers as public school teachers and became leaders and administrators in the Miami-Dade Public School System. When Judge Jackson was in preschool, her father attended law school. In a 2017 lecture, Judge Jackson traced her love of the law back to sitting next to her father in their apartment as he tackled his law school homework—reading cases and preparing for Socratic questioning—while she undertook her preschool homework—coloring books.
Judge Jackson stood out as a high achiever throughout her childhood. She was a speech and debate star who was elected “mayor” of Palmetto Junior High and student body president of Miami Palmetto Senior High School. But like many Black women, Judge Jackson still faced naysayers. When Judge Jackson told her high school guidance counselor she wanted to attend Harvard, the guidance counselor warned that Judge Jackson should not set her “sights so high.”
That did not stop Judge Jackson. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Judge Jackson lives with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters, in Washington, DC.
