In 1967, Thurgood Marshall made history as the first Black man to serve on the Supreme Court. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor made history as the first woman on the Supreme Court. Today, April 7, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Today, the United States Senate confirmed Jackson as the new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in a 53-47 vote. The was nearly along party lines with the only Republican dissenters being Sens. Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. 

President Joe Biden took to Twitter to share the historic moment:

Biden nominated Jackson to fill the seat in February, filling the vacancy left by Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement. The confirmation process that ensued was one that put the country’s biases on full display. During her confirmation hearing, Jackson was asked absurd questions. These questions included Republican Senators asking the judge to define the word “woman,” inquiring about her faith, and asking her whether the United States needed more police or not, which is a political policy issue, not a legal question that the Supreme Court has the authority to address.

Objectively speaking, Jackson’s qualifications are irrefutable. She had previously served as a clerk for Breyer, the Supreme Court Justice she was nominated to replace. Under President Barack Obama, she served as Vice-Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission and then Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Then, under the Biden Administration, she was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, replacing Merrick Garland when he was appointed Attorney General.

Jackson’s nomination was a historic event that shows how far our nation has come, but her confirmation process also serves to show how far it still has to go.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall made history as the first Black man to serve on the Supreme Court. In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor made history as the first woman on the Supreme Court. Today, April 7, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Today, the United States Senate confirmed Jackson as the new Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in a 53-47 vote. The was nearly along party lines with the only Republican dissenters being Sens. Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins. 

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to fill the seat in February, filling the vacancy left by Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement. The confirmation process that ensued was one that put the country’s biases on full display. During her confirmation hearing, Jackson was asked absurd questions. These questions included Republican Senators asking the judge to define the word “woman,” inquiring about her faith, and asking her whether the United States needed more police or not, which is a political policy issue, not a legal question that the Supreme Court has the authority to address.

Objectively speaking, Jackson’s qualifications are irrefutable. She had previously served as a clerk for Breyer, the Supreme Court Justice she was nominated to replace. Under President Barack Obama, she served as Vice-Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission and then Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Then, under the Biden Administration, she was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, replacing Merrick Garland when he was appointed Attorney General.

Founders of The Collective PAC, the nation’s largest political action committee dedicated to increasing Black political engagement, representation, and power across all levels of government, Quentin James and Stefanie Brown James, released the following statement:

“The Collective PAC is proud and honored to congratulate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Today’s bipartisan Senate confirmation has remedied a long overdue injustice in America, by putting a Black woman on the highest court in the land. This is a step forward on the path towards equity in representation on every level of government. Through her many written opinions, Justice Jackson has demonstrated a deep understanding of and fidelity to the Constitution. She has broad experience across the judicial landscape–as a federal appellate judge, a federal district court judge, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and as a federal public defender. Justice Jackson has shattered a 233-year-old glass ceiling today, paving the way for other outstanding Black women jurists to follow in her footsteps.”

Delegate Michelle Maldonado (D-50th District) spoke on the significance of the confirmation. “Every time I think about it, it is so monumental. I feel the history in the making and I feel the impact of the young men and women who are witnessing this moment in history and it gives us hope. It’s a promise, and it gives us an opportunity to give us a more representative democracy. As a former practicing attorney, this is something I never imagined I would see.”

“Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is a shero, a role model to many, and a courageous woman. Her stamina and steadfastness to bring the jurisprudence to make it equal and equitable is incredibly inspiring.”

Jackson’s nomination was a historic event that shows how far our nation has come, but her confirmation process also serves to show how far it still has to go.