Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman selected for the nation’s top court. Jackson’s path to Supreme Court nomination was paved by trailblazing Black women judges.
“I proudly stand on Judge Motley’s shoulders sharing not only her birthday but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under the law.”
Brent D. Griffiths / Business Insider
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson invoked her faith, family, professional mentors, and the inspiration of the nation’s first Black woman federal judge on Friday when she accepted her own historic nomination to serve on the nation’s Supreme Court.
Jackson noted that she shares the same birthday as Constance Baker Motley, who served on the powerful US District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1966 to 2005 and also made history as the first Black woman to argue before the Supreme Court.
“Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley’s shoulders sharing not only her birthday but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under the law,” Jackson said during the formal White House announcement of her nomination.
If confirmed, Jackson will join Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas as a justice of color on the high court. Her elevation would mark the first time in history that justices of color would make up a third of the court. Jackson expressed hope that her story will one day inspire future generations as well.
“If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and sacred principles upon which this nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans,” she said.
President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Motley to the federal bench in 1966. Like many Black lawyers at the time, Motley cut her teeth in the thick of the Civil Rights movement working for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She argued 10 cases before the Supreme Court, winning nine of them.
‘A nominee of extraordinary qualifications’
Biden praised Jackson and cast her in the mold of Justice Stephen Breyer, who Jackson previously clerked for and who has been a liberal stalwart on the high court for decades. Biden called Breyer a “friend,” a nod to their close relationship given their shared time in the US Senate when Breyer worked for Sen. Ted Kennedy in the 1970s.
“I believe it’s time that we have a Court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve at the highest level,” Biden said in his introduction of Jackson.
You can read the full article here.