Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson
Blog Post by Michelle New
Project Glimmer’s mission to inspire every girl to envision and realize an empowered future starts with representation. It is important for young women to see people who look like them in society so that they can know their worth and see their potential. Project Glimmer’s programs help to build personal confidence and provides exposure to different career paths and the many unique journeys that can be taken to get to them. With Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s decision to retire later this year, after 28 years of service on the Court, an opportunity for black representation on the Supreme Court has opened up. President Joe Biden made history this month when he nominated the first black woman to the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Ketanji Brown Jackson is 51 years old and was born in Washington D.C.. She grew up in Florida and attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School. She went on to get her undergraduate degree in government at Harvard in 1992 and her J.D. at the Harvard Law School in 1996, graduating cum laude. Ketanji Brown Jackson’s legal career is illustrious. She clerked for three federal jurists, including Justice Stephen Breyer. She was an assistant federal public defender in D.C., working on appellate cases. Jackson was also a Vice Chair and Commissioner on the United States Sentencing Commision from 2010 to 2014. In 2013, she became a district court judge for D.C. after being nominated by the Obama Administration. In June 2021, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was appointed by President Biden as a circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
“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…will inspire future generations.”
This is an incredibly important moment in history because women have been severely underrepresented on the Supreme Court. Out of the 115 Justices that the United States has had, only 5 have been women. Judge Jackson would be the 6th female Supreme Court Justice, finally making 5% of Supreme Court Justices women. Furthermore, this will be the first time in history that four women will be sitting on the Supreme Court at one time along with three people of color, making the Court the most representative of the general population that it has ever been.
However, Judge Jackson’s nomination has even deeper significance because, if confirmed, she will be the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Although this moment is long overdue, it is worthy of celebration. Judge Jackson’s nomination will inspire young black women to envision their empowered future and know that they belong in any space they want to be in.. If confirmed, she will no doubt serve as a role model for girls and inspire them to feel confident striving for their goals.
Sources:
"Stephen G. Breyer." Oyez, www.oyez.org/justices/stephen_g_breyer. Accessed 24 Feb. 2022. https://www.oyez.org/justices/stephen_g_breyer
Campisi, Jessica and Griggs, Brandon. “Of the 114 Supreme Court justices in US history, all but 6 have been White men”. CNN, https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/09/25/politics/supreme-court-justice-minorities-history-trnd/index.html. 26 Sep. 2020.
“Ketanji Brown Jackson”. United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/home.nsf/content/VL+-+Judges+-+KBJ. Accessed 23 Feb. 2022.
Niedzwiadek, Nick. “Ketanji Brown Jackson: Who is she? Bio, facts, background and political views”. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/who-is-ketanji-brown-jackson-bio-facts-background-political-views-00010970. Updated 25 Feb. 2022.
“President Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court”. The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/kbj/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.
Griffiths, Brent D.. “Ketanji Brown Jackson links her historic Supreme Court nomination to the first Black federal judge: ‘I stand on Judge Motley’s shoulders”. Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-2022-2. 25 Feb. 2022.