With a final vote of 53 to 47, the Honorable Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first African American woman “confirmed” to be a United States Supreme Court Justice. Thursday, April 7th, is a day that will go down in American history. Further, when Judge Brown Jackson is actually sworn in–after taking her oath of office, that will be yet another day to go down in American History books.
As a Black woman, I am so very proud of Judge Brown Jackson’s achievement, even before arriving at where she is now. She has worked hard to get to where she is–she didn’t just “arrive.” The Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Brown Jackson were grueling in some ways. There were a number of Republican Senators who went way above the call of duty to repeatedly insinuate that she went easy with her rulings and sentencing of child sex abusers, in particular. Some of the questions leaned strongly toward racist mindsets, but through it all, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was steadfast and calm in her answers.
At one moment during the confirmation hearings, Judge Ketanji did show a momentary sign of the hurt. I’m sure she felt some of the liens of the questioning because it was clearly racism that formed the questions. On that day in the process, her husband, who is a white man, came forward and planted a quick kiss on her forehead for comfort.
Of 100 senators in the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson met with 98 of them as she was getting through the vetting process.
An exact date for when she will take the oath of office for the U.S. Supreme Court will not be determined until an official date of retirement is announced by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the Justice whose seat Judge Brown Jackson will fill. All we know right now is this: Jackson will be sworn in after Justice Breyer officially retires sometime this summer. It’s been said he will retire in June or July.
Right after it was clear that Judge Ketanji had the votes she needed in the Senate to be confirmed, powerful applause ripped through the senate floor. America’s first African American Vice President, Kamala Harris, presided over the session. To see her standing on that floor–and to know that another African American made stunning history on April 7th, sent chills of joy and pride up and down this journalist spin.
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