Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Takes Bench in Supreme Court

Almost 55 years ago the late great Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the United States Supreme Court, making him the first black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. Now, in 2022, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first black woman to sit on the bench as a Supreme Court Justice.

This historic moment was made possible after the Senate voted 53-47, confirming Judge Brown Jackson’s position. In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court, out of the overall 116 justices that have served, only one was a Latina woman, four were white women, and two were black men—the rest were all white men.

This journey has been anything but easy for Judge Brown Jackson. In March she had to sit through the senate’s opinions about her during the confirmation hearing.

Not every sentence was heartwarming, but Senator Cory Booker’s certainly was. As he stood up and opened his mouth to speak on Judge Brown Jackson, he opened his heart as well; letting not only Justice Brown Jackson, but the entire nation, know how proud he was of her to be in this honorable position.

In the midst of this admirable moment, Senator Booker said, “You have earned this spot, you are worthy, you are a great American. That is the story of how you got to this desk.” Recognizing her as a true American and most importantly a black woman, Booker went on to mention how this achievement is not just for her but for the ancestors that came before.

This wasn’t the only lovable cultural recognition that Judge Brown Jackson received from her governmental colleagues. Vice President Kamala Harris, who made history herself this past November for being not only the first woman Vice President but a black woman to be titled that position as well, read aloud the ‘yey’s’ and ‘ney’s’ and announced her confirmation.

The purest, relieving, loving smile appeared on her face, welcoming Judge Brown to the Supreme Court. She was in another room with President Biden watching the announcement of results, and when the confirmation was validated, President Biden hugged her, and Judge Brown Jackson smiled holding back tears of joy.

A few left the room but the rest stayed, and in the most harmonizing way, it filled with cheers and claps as history in the Supreme Court was made again.

Congratulations Judge Brown Jackson! You are paving the way for black women to find their place in the Supreme Court and other government roles.