jennifer-roberts Yesterday, my heart swelled with pride when I read about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson becoming the first Black woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. I was proud the way a biological sister or sister-friend might be during a hard-earned career advancement celebration of her sister or sister-friend. I squealed and chanted, “KBJ.” I wanted to dance.
Judge Jackson’s confirmation is not just a win for her but a win for Black women everywhere. Many of us watched the intense scrutiny that she had to endure for two days during last month’s Senate confirmation hearings. Many of us prayed for her as she respectfully responded to each senator, even when respect was withheld from her. We mentally maneuvered with her as she carefully navigated each question with the precision and agility of a tight rope walker. We cried with her during Senator Cory Booker’s tearful tribute and felt his brotherly love through the screen. His words went straight to our hearts.
Judge Jackson’s confirmation is a communal confirmation for Black people everywhere and especially in the United States. Black women continue to be underestimated, overlooked, oversexualized, marginalized and misunderstood. Collectively, we work twice as hard to get half as far still having to prove that we should have access to opportunities for which we are well qualified.
Judge Jackson’s historic win is our win because we have the capacity to feel collective pride like when Barack Obama was elected president not once but twice or when Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice President last January.
On the other side of the same coin, we also feel collective grief like when Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Breanna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery were murdered. Those Black people were our family members, no DNA test required.
This moment in history is public confirmation of what Black women already know and have always known, that there are millions of us who are beyond qualified to sit and any table we choose. It is also confirmation of just how difficult it still is to secure that which is our birthright.
It is my hope that Judge Jackson’s confirmation will encourage Black women to keep being excellent. I hope it will inspire Black girls to see such a beautiful representation of themselves as a justice in the nation’s highest court. I also hope that it will help non-Black Americans to do the work necessary to help remove the systemic barriers that Judge Jackson had to face on her long road to confirmation.
