Ketanji Brown Jackson has become a Supreme Court Justice. It is most important to mark the moment and acknowledge its significance. She is supremely qualified.
That it took until April 7, 2022 for, at far too long last, a Black woman to become a justice of the highest court in the land, is a commentary on our nation and its history and has zero to do with Judge Jackson’s worthiness, or that of the many Black women who could have filled the role heretofore.
What is the meaning of the fact that, only after being a nation for 233 years, has it been possible — by a 53-47 vote — for a Black woman to be confirmed? Our history tells the story, but only if, according to the African proverb — “Until the lion tells the tale, tales of the hunt will glorify the hunter” — we face the actual history that resulted in the justice of her appointment being so tragically delayed.
The oppression of Black people since 1619 has, in numerous critical ways, affected Black girls and women most traumatically. Whether it was the forced separation from their children during enslavement, the rape and sexual assault that was a common occurrence with no consequences for the perpetrators and the resultant pregnancy yet another cross to bear for the survivor, or the constant degradation and physical mistreatment at the hands of enslavers, Black women have suffered indescribable horrors.
When Black men finally got the right to vote in 1870, women did not. The right was constantly under threat for both men and women when the latter finally got the right to vote in 1920 after having been excluded, by design, from the white women’s suffrage movement. Having the job — before and after enslavement — of raising affluent white people’s children, cleaning their homes and not being able to receive the education to which they were supposedly entitled only compounded the harm.
When President Joe Biden chose to keep an election promise to appoint a wonderfully capable, exceedingly experienced Black woman to the Supreme Court, it should have been a time to experience the kind of joy that the words “Free at last, free at last” conjure up. But it wasn’t because we live in a country that continues to be plagued by the racism that has been in place systemically since its inception.
Instead of seeing the appointment as the opportunity to correct historical injustice, those in what must now be called the Trumplican party chose to adhere to the racist tropes all white people swim in and breathe. The ways in which Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marsha Blackburn and Tom Cotton chose to ask questions during Jackson’s confirmation hearings that were laden with disrespect, interruptions and stereotypes were reminiscent of the ways in which Black women have been mistreated since 1619. This time they were met with a stoicism, an eloquence, a calmness and a conviction that it is her time.
Thurgood Marshall, the first Black man to be confirmed to the Supreme Court on Aug. 30, 1967, faced similar racism and was asked absurd, minutiae questions. Of the 22 senators from formerly Confederate states, 16 voted against him. This year, 18 voted against Judge Jackson.
I watched four Black women currently in law school at Georgetown University share their response to the hearing. They spoke of how grateful they are for Judge Jackson’s poise, determination and grit in the face of what they saw as attempts to degrade and humiliate her. One had to turn off the TV. Another had to keep watching because she wanted to be sure she knows what she, too, is likely to face. All four appreciated the ways in which Judge Jackson inspires and motivates them.
Then there was Sen. Cory Booker. His words of praise and of seeing in Judge Jackson the fulfillment of the enormous sacrifices of his ancestors were revelatory and so necessary. Here was a man honoring a woman, a Black man honoring a Black woman and then paying tribute to her handling of the white men who had disrespected her. Judge Jackson wiped away tears.
Finally, the day belonged to Judge Jackson. Thanks to her, America took a step toward racial justice and equality. That 47 Republicans were incapable of seeing the importance of her confirmation, instead sought to prevent her from being confirmed, and left the Senate chamber when she was confirmed and applauded, leaves us still very far from being a just society.
Tom Weiner retired after 40 years at the Smith College Campus School. He is a member of the anti-racist group Bridge4Unity and of a group seeking reparations in Northampton.