Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

(Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks at the White House on the day of her nomination to the Supreme Court, as President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris look on, February 25, 2022.  photo credit)

Congratulations to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!  Today, the Senate of the United States confirmed her appointment to the Supreme Court.  This is truly an historic day!  For the first time in 233 years of American History, we are saluting an African American woman who is ascending to the highest court in the land.  What an exhilarating moment! Justice Jackson, a supremely well qualified lawyer and judge, carries with her two centuries of the struggle for racial justice and gender equity in the most powerful places in this nation.  Her very presence, as with the presence of Vice President Kamala Harris in the photo above, signifies a new level of power and achievement for Black women, while also symbolizing the necessity and worth of all the struggles leading up to this day.

Justice Jackson’s historic rise to the Supreme Court began when she was a child in Miami where she won a national oratory contest in her senior year in high school.  She went on to Harvard for her undergraduate education — and we in the women’s college world can take some pride in noting that while Harvard is now fully coed, when she graduated in 1992 her institution was known as Harvard-Radcliffe College, with the Radcliffe name signifying the heritage of that great women’s college that had merged into Harvard years earlier.  She subsequently earned her law degree at Harvard as well.

Justice Jackson will have the distinction of being the only member of the Supreme Court with experience as a public defender.  Public defenders represent accused persons who cannot afford their own lawyers, and the concept reflects the American ideal that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty.  Her service as a public defender reflects Justice Jackson’s deep respect for American legal principles and justice for all.

I am eager to know the thoughts of our Trinity students, faculty, staff and alumnae on Justice Jackson’s historic confirmation for the Supreme Court.  Please share them by using the comments link below, or email me at president@trinitydc.edu and I will add them to this blog.

Comments from the Trinity Community on Justice Jackson’s Confirmation

SPS Junior LaTisha McGugan:

I watched today’s historic vote with a full heart. When Vice President Harris said the word “confirmed”, my eyes filled with tears. As an African American woman, descendant of slaves, my thoughts immediately went to the many souls who have sacrificed, fought and died, to breathe free, to have human rights, for advancement, for inclusion. I thought of the ancestors of Judge Jackson and the many seeds sown for her life in faith. And I thought of how proud her family must feel because I feel immensely proud of her.  Finally, I thought of all the young women and girls who will now only know of an African American woman serving on our country’s highest court as being a possibility. The only thing that could have made this more momentous would have been a “yes” vote from all of the women in the Senate. To all this I say Amen, we (America) have a long way to journey still towards equality but today we have made some progress to be sure.

Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Monique Green:

Another glass ceiling has just been shattered! This is not only a victory for African American women but for women all over the world. It was a privilege  to watch Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson navigate the process of becoming the latest justice on the Supreme Court with exceptional intelligence, tenacity, and grace. I am confident she will continue to be an example of excellence and contribute to decision making that will benefit all American people.  Congratulations Supreme Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson!

Academic Advisor Ayesha Shabazz:

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is exactly where she was destined to be and the fact that she got there with common sense, grace and focus while being a wife and mom is extremely inspiring. What a perfect, historical day!

Sr. Ann Howard, SND, Director of Campus Ministry:

[Reflecting on]…the moment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation by the Senate to serve the nation as a member of Supreme Court.  I stand in awe of the process and those in leadership who, applauding at the outcome, celebrate this moment of justice in US history. I can almost see Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nodding and smiling at this sign of the arc of justice bending more closely to our land.
But watching the Republicans Senators whose questions seemed insulting, belittling, disrespectful, makes me realize how, as Senator Cory Booker stated, “Some Americans are sadly aching.”  We can be so hard on each other.  People can be so cruel.  My heart swells that justice came to fruition in the final vote that included both Democrats and 3 Republicans making Justice Jackson win the seat on the Supreme Court yesterday.  These are hard times, yet seeing her ascent to the Supreme Court Justice role she so well deserves and watching Ketanji Brown Jackson’s steady poise and resolve throughout the searing hearings, I join those doing a ‘happy dance’ for this moment of righteous grace.

Dean Tracy Kachur, School of Professional and Graduate Studies: 

This is wonderful news! …despite the disparaging treatment and by certain members of the Judiciary Committee with outright lies and misinformation  Justice Jackson showed poise, grace, and resilience. Our students witnessed Michelle Obama’s words in real time – “When they go low, we go high.”  She will be a refreshing addition to the Court.  As an attorney admitted to practice before the Supreme Court, former Constitutional Law professor and Black woman, I am doing a happy dance in my office!

Adjunct Professor Tarinna Olley wrote this poem:

This is America #The Black Woman 

It’s a historic day for the world 

Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson confirmed 

after years of making political traction 

and facing insurmountable odds that many humans would have cracked under 

She endured despite receiving public humiliation and unwarranted thunder 

From the opposing side who tried to make her blunder 

A Black woman from humble beginnings who had a dream 

Dr. King had visions of such things 

And was assassinated in the fight and experienced so much plight 

But he kept saying We Shall Overcome 

Supreme Court Justice  Kentanji Brown Jackson confirmation says to Black and brown girls around the world 

That they too have a voice and matter 

This confirmation helped reshape and reform those who let their mind chatter 

Saying they couldn’t break through glass ceilings because of the color of their skin 

But this sends hope and encourages Black women and girls to really dig in 

Dig into your dreams and aspirations 

Let the sky be the only limitation 

Yes you will face scrutiny 

Yes you will shed a tear 

But keep your head up and hang in there 

Anything is possible 

Keep living and walking out every last goal, vision, and dream 

Because our Black ancestors fought, bled, were lynched, and died 

So we could keep pride and dignity on our side 

This is America 

Black women are the fiber and foundation of it 

Lyrical Lines by Professor Tarinna Olley 

Front page of the New York Times, April 7, 2022: