Thursday April 7 will be remembered as one of the most historic days in American history as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman confirmed to serve upon the highest court of the United States. In a 53-to-47 vote, Judge Jackson was confirmed a place upon the Supreme Court as nominated by President Joe Biden in February.
Judge Jackson becomes only the eighth person to sit upon the Supreme Court that has not been a White man. The confirmation continues to make history as this will be the firs time that we see four women upon the court and the majority of justices is not White men.
Of the 53 that voted in favor of Biden’s nomination, three Republican senators joined Democrats in support of Judge Jackson. Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. Despite Republicans loathing and attempting to prolong the voting process, Judge Jackson was confirmed to replace Justice Stephen Breyer once he officially steps down.
Republican Senator Rand Paul attempted to halt the vote while being the only senator not in attendance for the voting. He stalled the decision from being finalized, and he voted from the cloakroom out of dress code.
When asked about Paul’s lack of dress code for the vote, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated, “I will tell you I’m not spending a lot of time, nor is the president (Joe Biden), thinking about the dress code of Rand Paul today, […] We’re thinking about the historic confirmation of an eminently qualified Black woman to serve on SCOTUS. I’m not really worried about his khakis.”
On April 8, inbound Justice Jackson participated in a ceremony on the lawn of the White House, where she spoke to the weight of the confirmation. The former federal appellate judge spoke to the history that was made the day prior.
Judge Jackson stated, “It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, but we’ve made it – we’ve made it – all of us, all of us.”
President and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian American woman to hold the title, spoke at the ceremony together while stating, “We’re going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.”
Judge Jackson referenced the late Maya Angelou, another historic Black woman, when speaking about what this confirmation means to the Black community, while stating, “‘Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave,'”
“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Let that sink in.
Written by: McKinley Franklin
