On Friday, February 25th 2022, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first Black woman to ever be nominated to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she will further make history as being the first Supreme Court Justice who is a Black woman. She would be replacing Judge Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement last month, and whose term will be finished this summer.
Judge Jackson graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Law School. Her distinguished law career began with 3 clerkships, including serving as a judicial assistant to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. In 2013, President Barack Obama nominated her as a Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and since 2021 she has been serving as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In her nomination speech, Judge Jackson shared that Constance Baker Motley, the first African American woman to be appointed as a federal judge, was one of her main role models and that Judge Motley set the foundation for her and so many other female Black judges.
There have only been five female Supreme Court Justices and two Black Supreme Court Justices out of the 115 Justices who have served over history, and only three of these women Justices and one of the Black Justices are part of the nine current Justices serving on the Supreme Court.
Not only is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson an amazing judge and inspiration to many, she is also a strong, and supportive mother for her family. She has two daughters, Leila, 17, and Talia, 21, with her husband Patrick Jackson. Leila was interviewed for this article and what follows are some highlights from the conversation.
Leila is a senior in high school and will be attending Harvard. She isn’t sure what she would like to pursue, but has a passion for writing poetry.
During the interview, Leila described how rapidly her life changed after the news broke that her mother might be nominated for the next Supreme Court Justice position. “It was a lot of media attention all at once. Before it was known to be her, there were news cameras outside of my house every morning just pointing at the front of my house.” This had all happened so suddenly, “from Breyer announcing stepping down all the way up to her speech a couple weeks ago.” Though the whole situation is an exciting time, she admits “it’s stressful, kind of overwhelming.”
As a precaution, Leila had to be extra cautious of her social media presence. When asked how she is dealing with not reflecting poorly on her mother, she said “I had to be extra careful that I didn’t say anything about her, say anything that would reflect badly on her, I can’t really post anything political”.
As many people might expect, Leila finds that having her mother so closely inspected is bizarre to her. She says that “about ¾ of the things I hear about on twitter or the news, I didn’t even know. It’s just like random things that people somehow dig up out of nowhere. To have people analyzing her so carefully is really strange.” She tries her best to stay off social media, and is learning that ignoring what people post is the best way to not get caught up in all the news articles.
Leila shared a recent moment that made her realize what a role model her mother is for others. “My school the other day had their pre-K students and kindergarteners dress up as change makers. This one little Black girl with her braids in had a whole get up and was holding a gavel. She was dressed up as my mother. That was a week ago, and that’s when it really clicked for me. I’d heard how much she really did for and meant to the Black community and people who were underrepresented in general but especially in our legal system. It was a very touching thing to see and how her face is really bringing hope and joy into a lot of people. I think that’s pretty amazing”
The effect Judge Jackson has on Black women is extremely impactful. “Her face, her image and her name really mean hope to people and mean representation for people and mean happiness for people and I think that’s just an incredibly powerful thing” said Leila.
Leila described her thoughts on her mother possibly taking on such a significant role perfectly. She is extremely proud of her mother and everything she stands for and is achieving. Leila finds her mother “a source of pride” for herself, and is glad of the progress her mother is making and the path she is paving.
Judge Jackson is already facing increased criticism in comparison to Supreme Court leaders in the past, and Leila knows “we’ll see her scrutinized more in general, and us I guess to a higher degree than other Supreme Court families because she’s the first Black woman.”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has broken the glass ceiling for so many who will someday follow in her footsteps. She is an inspiration to all of us and especially aspiring Black and female lawyers who may have felt being part of the Supreme Court was unattainable.
