May 2022 | Volume 13, Issue 10

Watch the full video on Reuters

Note: In addition to the video, please see the following article included at the above-referenced internet address:

According to the article, Ketanji Brown Jackson recently celebrated her historic confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court with a declaration that "anything is possible" in America and a reference to fulfilling the dreams of slaves. Jackson, a federal appellate judge, was confirmed to the lifetime post by the Senate on Thursday on a 53-47 vote in a milestone for the United States and a political victory for Democratic President Joe Biden, who nominated her in February. Jackson, 51, will replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, later in the year on the liberal bloc of a court with a 6-3 conservative majority. "It 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," Jackson said at an event on the White House South Lawn, American flags fluttering in the background. "But we've made it - we've made it - all of us, all of us," she said.

Biden pledged as a presidential candidate to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court if given the chance. "We're going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history," Biden said, with Jackson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and Asian American woman to hold that job, flanking him at the podium.

Black women are a key Democratic constituency and helped propel Biden to the party's presidential nomination in 2020 with a victory in its pivotal South Carolina primary. Jackson quoted another famous Black woman, the late poet Maya Angelou, in describing her own historic ascent to the nation's top judicial body. "'Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave,'" Jackson said, alluding to America's legacy of slavery. "In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States."

Harris noted that Jackson's confirmation also means that four women will serve together on the Supreme Court for the first time. The outdoor setting was chosen in part as a nod to COVID-19 safety amid a rise in cases in the Washington region and a raft of top Democrats becoming infected. Given a standing ovation by the audience, Jackson thanked Biden and vowed to rule independently as a justice "without fear or favor" while Jackson is due to replace Breyer after he departs at the end of the court's current term, usually in late June. All but three of the 115 justices who have served on the high court have been white, with two Black members, including current Justice Clarence Thomas, and one Hispanic, current Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Biden said he knew that his Supreme Court nominee would face a painful and difficult confirmation process. "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. In the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses - poise," Biden added.

During her March confirmation hearings, some Republican senators pursued hostile lines of questioning including accusing her of being too lenient as a trial judge in sentencing child pornography offenders.

Jackson said she has received notes of support, including from children. "And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that here in America anything is possible," Jackson said.

Biden has been suffering in opinion polls, with high inflation and Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushing geopolitical concerns to the fore. Jackson's confirmation could be a needed jolt to excite Black voters and other left-leaning constituents ahead of the November 8 midterm elections in which Democrats risk losing control of one or both chambers of Congress.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed that Biden's public approval rating inched higher this week to 45%, up 3 percentage points amid stronger support from within his Democratic Party. In the poll, Biden's job approval among minorities was 53%. 

Among those invited to the event were members of Jackson's family, various Democratic lawmakers, labor figures and advocacy groups. Biden thanked the three Republican senators who broke with their party to vote for Jackson: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney. They did not attend the ceremony. The decision to hold the event outdoors comes after former President Donald Trump's 2020 nomination ceremony for his Supreme Court appointee Amy Coney Barrett turned into a COVID-19 super-spreader event, affecting many top Republicans who attended. During his four years in office Trump was able to appoint three justices, who together moved the court rightward.

Discussion Questions

1. As the article indicates, in the history of the United States Supreme Court, all but three of the 115 justices who have served on the high court have been white, with two Black members, including current Justice Clarence Thomas, and one Hispanic, current Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Does the historical lack of diversity on the US Supreme Court surprise you, particularly since the Civil Rights Act has been federal law since 1964? Why or why not?

This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. In your author’s opinion, the slow pace of true (that is, societal and cultural) compliance with the Civil Rights Act is disheartening—after all, the law itself has been in existence for over 57 years! That being said, the fact that there is some diversity on the United States Supreme Court is a sign of progress, and the fact that a Black female justice has been confirmed to serve on the Court is an important component of that progress.

2. Today, should justices be nominated by the US president and confirmed by the Senate because they will diversify the court, or should they be nominated and confirmed based exclusively on their qualifications and character? Explain your response.

This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. In your author’s opinion, serving the diversity purpose alone is not enough—The candidate must also be well-qualified. In your author’s estimation, this is most consistent with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, to judge people based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Not only does Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson fulfill the diversity objective, but the record demonstrates that she is well-qualified to serve on the Court as well.

3. Referencing the article and video included in “Teaching Tip 2” of this newsletter, should the process of nominating and confirming a United States Supreme Court justice be non-political, or should politics be an influential part of the process? Explain your response.

This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. In your author’s opinion, ideally, the process of nominating and confirming a United States Supreme Court justice should be non-political (i.e., “fitness to serve” should exclusively relate to knowledge of the law and skill in interpreting and applying the law); in reality, however, the process has become increasingly political.