It’s a historic day!
Ketanji Brown Jackson was just confirmed as the first Black woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court, CNN reports.
The Senate has officially confirmed Judge Jackson as the next Supreme Court Justice, a historic moment as Jackson becomes the first Black woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court, a role she’s been the leading contender for since a vacancy seat was announced.
The Miami native and Harvard University graduate endured an arduous and extensive process with four days of confirmation hearings where she was made to address everything from her work as a federal public defender to her feelings about Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project and Ibram X. Kendi’s “Antiracist Baby” book.
The 22-member Senate Judiciary Committee went on to vote 11-11 on Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination, marking the committee’s first tie vote for a Supreme Court nominee since 1991. With that being so, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer had to invoke special procedures to move Jackson’s nomination forward.
“The stage is set,” Schumer explained. “People can delay in terms of time, but they can’t delay the vote and we know the vote is going to pass.”
On Thursday, April 7, the vote did indeed pass with a vote of 53-47, the Senate officially confirming Jackson’s historic appointment as the 116th U.S. Justice of the United States Supreme Court. This monumental moment in our nation’s history is long overdue. During the process, Jackson took time to acknowledge her husband and daughters, saving special praises for her parents who sacrificed to ensure their children’s success.
“My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America, I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be,” Jackson said in her opening remarks of her first confirmation hearing.
And now, she’s showing young Black girls everywhere that they too can be anything they want to be. In a statement before the Senate’s final confirmation vote, Schumer said:
“Today is also a joyous celebration in another way. 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.”
We couldn’t agree more. Congratulations, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!
Jackson is set to be sworn in when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer.