After nearly two dozen decades, the Supreme Court will finally have a Black woman on the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 7, the Senate voted 53-47 to confirm President Biden\u2019s nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next Supreme Court Justice. Like with several appointees of the past, Jackson once clerked for a previous Justice, who in this case is the very one she is replacing, Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring after the summer session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vote to confirm Jackson consisted of all 48 Democrats, 2 Independents, and three Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the next day, Biden held a formal ceremony of sorts to celebrate Jackson\u2019s appointment on the South Lawn of the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy fellow Americans, today (April 8) I\u2019m honored to officially introduce to you the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ketanji Brown Jackson,\u201d said Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter more than 20 hours of questioning at her hearing and nearly 100 meetings – she made herself available to every single senator who wanted to speak to her and spoke for more than just a few minutes, answered their questions, in private as well as before the committee – we all saw the kind of justice she\u2019ll be: Fair and impartial. Thoughtful. Careful. Precise. Brilliant. A brilliant legal mind with deep knowledge of the law. And a judicial temperament – which was equally important, in my view – that\u2019s calm and in command. And a humility that allows so many Americans to see themselves in Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat brings a rare combination of expertise and qualifications to the Court. A federal judge who has served on the second most powerful court in America behind the Supreme Court. A former federal public defender with the ability to explain complicated issues in the law in ways everybody – all people – can understand. A new perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I made the commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, I could see this day. I literally could see this day, because I thought about it for a long, long time. As Jill and Naomi would tell you, I wasn\u2019t going to run again. But when I decided to run, this was one of the first decisions I made. I could see it. I could see it as a day of hope, a day of promise, a day of progress; a day when, once again, the moral arc of the universe, as Barack used to quote all the time, bends just a little more toward justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew it wouldn\u2019t be easy, but I knew the person I nominated would be put through a painful and difficult confirmation process. But I have to tell you, what Judge Jackson was put through was well beyond that. There was verbal abuse. The anger. The constant interruptions. The most vile, baseless assertions and accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses. Poise. Poise and composure. Patience and restraint. And, yes, perseverance and even joy. Even joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here now are remarks from newly appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOver these past few weeks, you\u2019ve heard a lot from me and about me, so I hope to use this time primarily to do something that I have not had sufficient time to do, which is to extend my heartfelt thanks to the many, many people who have helped me as part of this incredible journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have quite a few people to thank. And as I\u2019m sure you can imagine, in this moment, it is hard to find the words to express the depth of my gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst, as always, I have to give thanks to God for delivering me as promised – and for sustaining me throughout this nomination and confirmation process. As I said at the outset, I have come this far by faith, and I know that I am truly blessed. To the many people who have lifted me up in prayer since the nomination, thank you. I am very grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you, as well, Mr. President, for believing in me and for honoring me with this extraordinary chance to serve our country. Thank you also, Madam Vice President, for your wise counsel and steady guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd thank you to the First Lady and the Second Gentleman for the care and warmth that you have shown me and my family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would also like to extend my thanks to each member of the Senate. You have fulfilled the important constitutional role of providing advice and consent under the leadership of Majority Leader Schumer. And I\u2019m especially grateful for the work of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, under Chairman Durbin\u2019s skillful leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs you may have heard, during the confirmation process, I had the distinct honor of having 95 personal meetings with 97 sitting senators. And we had substantive and engaging conversations about my approach to judging and about the role of judges in the constitutional system we all love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a brief aside, I will note that these are subjects about which I care deeply. I have dedicated my career to public service because I love this country and our Constitution and the rights that make us free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI also understand from my many years of practice as a legal advocate, as a trial judge, and as a judge on a court of appeals that part of the genius of the constitutional framework of the United States is its design, and that the framers entrusted the judicial branch with the crucial but limited role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve also spent the better part of the past decade hearing thousands of cases and writing hundreds of opinions. And in every instance, I have done my level best to stay in my lane and to reach a result that is consistent with my understanding of the law and with the obligation to rule independently without fear or favor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am humbled and honored to continue in this fashion as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, working with brilliant colleagues, supporting and defending the Constitution, and steadfastly upholding the rule of law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut today, at this podium, my mission is far more modest. I\u2019m simply here to give my heartfelt thanks to the categories of folks who are largely responsible for me being here at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst, of course, there is my family. Mom and Dad, thank you not only for traveling back here on what seems like a moment\u2019s notice, but for everything you\u2019ve done and continue to do for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy brother, Ketajh, is here as well. You\u2019ve always been an inspiration to me as a model of public service and bravery, and I thank you for that. I love you all very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo my in-laws, Pamela and Gardner Jackson, who are here today, and my sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, William and Dana, Gardie and Natalie: Thank you for your love and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo my daughters, Talia and Leila: I bet you never thought you\u2019d get to skip school by spending a day at the White House. This is all pretty exciting for me as well. But nothing has brought me greater joy than being your mother. I love you very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPatrick, thank you for everything you\u2019ve done for me over these past 25 years of our marriage. You\u2019ve done everything to support and encourage me. And it is you who\u2019ve made this moment possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour steadfast love gave me the courage to move in this direction. I don\u2019t know that I believed you when you said that I could do this, but now I do. And for that, I am forever grateful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the family category, let me also briefly mention the huge extended family, both Patrick\u2019s and my own, who are watching this from all over the country and the world. Thank you for supporting me. I hope to be able to connect with you personally in the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMoving on briefly to the second category of people that warrant special recognition: those who provided invaluable support to me professionally in the decades prior to my nomination, and the many, many friends I have been privileged to make throughout my life and career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow, I know that everyone who finds professional success thinks they have the best mentors, but I truly do. I have three inspiring jurists for whom I had the privilege of clerking: Judge Patti Saris, Judge Bruce Selya, and, of course, Justice Stephen Breyer. Each of them is an exceptional public servant, and I could not have had better role models for thoughtfulness, integrity, honor, and principle, both by word and deed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy clerkship with Justice Breyer, in particular, was an extraordinary gift and one for which I\u2019ve only become more grateful with each passing year. Justice Breyer\u2019s commitment to an independent, impartial judiciary is unflagging. And, for him, the rule of law is not merely a duty, it is his passion. I am daunted by the prospect of having to follow in his footsteps. And I would count myself lucky, indeed, to be able to do so with even the smallest amount of his wisdom, grace, and joy\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,\u201d said Jackson during a celebration of her appointment with President Biden and Vice President Harris on the South Lawn at the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve made it. We\u2019ve made it, all of us. All of us. And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that, here in America, anything is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey also tell me that I\u2019m a role model, which I take both as an opportunity and as a huge responsibility. I am feeling up to the task, primarily because I know that I am not alone. I am standing on the shoulders of my own role models, generations of Americans who never had anything close to this kind of opportunity but who got up every day and went to work believing in the promise of America, showing others through their determination and, yes, their perseverance that good things can be done in this great country – from my grandparents on both sides who had only a grade-school education but instilled in my parents the importance of learning, to my parents who went to racially segregated schools growing up and were the first in their families to have the chance to go to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am also ever buoyed by the leadership of generations past who helped to light the way: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Justice Thurgood Marshall, and my personal heroine, Judge Constance Baker Motley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey, and so many others, did the heavy lifting that made this day possible. And for all of the talk of this historic nomination and now confirmation, I think of them as the true pathbreakers. I am just the very lucky first inheritor of the dream of liberty and justice for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be sure, I have worked hard to get to this point in my career, and I have now achieved something far beyond anything my grandparents could\u2019ve possibly ever imagined. But no one does this on their own. The path was cleared for me so that I might rise to this occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd in the poetic words of Dr. Maya Angelou, I do so now, while \u2018bringing the gifts\u2026my ancestors gave. \u201cI am the dream and the hope of the slave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, as I take on this new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have come a long way toward perfecting our union. In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd it is an honor – the honor of a lifetime – for me to have this chance to join the Court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level, and to do my part to carry our shared project of democracy and equal justice under law forward, into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you, again, Mr. President and members of the Senate for this incredible honor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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