Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson cites faith in address to Black Baptist group
BALTIMORE — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson cited her faith as a source of success in well-received remarks Thursday to the nation’s largest Black Protestant denomination in a celebration of the first Black woman to serve on the high court.
“My faith has sustained me in my professional life, in my personal life,” Jackson said during a panel discussion at the National Baptist Convention, USA annual session in Baltimore on Thursday. “It’s very much what I leaned upon in getting to do this position”
Jackson’s appearance was part of promotional tour for her new memoir, though her remarks were notable for the crowd at the Baltimore Convention Center of clergy and lay leaders of historically Black congregations. Jackson tied her faith not only to her success, but the moral framework by which she approaches decisions on important cases before the court.
For example, Jackson answered a question about dissenting from the majority opinion in the case of whether former President Donald Trump is immune from certain criminal prosecution.
“I disagreed with the majority that there should be circumstances in which the president is treated differently than other people in the criminal justice community,” Jackson said. “I felt as though we have a system that applies equally to everyone, the law applies equally to everyone.”
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The National Baptist Convention, USA, often known as the NBCUSA, is one of four major Black Baptist denominations in the U.S. and has between 5.2 million and 7.5 million members nationwide. It has a long legacy on issues such civil rights, criminal justice, housing, and has invested in voter rights initiatives.
A denomination generally known for supporting Democratic policies and positions, the Thursday's audience responded positively to Jackson’s reflections on the Trump immunity case. They also celebrated NBCUSA President Rev. Jerry Young’s remarks on Jackson’s appointment, who said President Joe Biden “had the courage…(to) appoint the first African American lady to the highest court in the land.”
Prior to Jackson, U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small spoke to the convention about Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden to supporting Black farmers and redressing historical discrimination.
Jackson, the court’s most junior justice, is in the middle of an extensive round of public appearances as she promotes her new memoir, “Lovely One.” The book recounts her journey to become the first Black woman justice on the high court, something made possible by having been born after passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.
In addition to pushing her to excel academically, Jackson’s parents also wanted her to be proud of her African heritage. The activity that may have been the most grounding for Jackson “as a little Black girl navigating White environments at school and in my neighborhood,” she writes, was sitting between her mother and grandmother on a crowded pew at Bethel Apostolic Temple on Sundays.
"At Bethel, entranced by the distinctive cadences of the Black church, I exhaled, and my sense of being `other’ melted away,” she writes.
Jackson referenced this personal history in her comments to the NBCUSA on Thursday morning. She recounted her grandmother speaking at church during the point of the service when congregants would offer testimony.
“My grandmother said the same thing every time. And I memorized it as a kid,” Jackson said Thursday. “She would stand up whenever it’s her turn and say, ‘When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he has done for me, my soul cries out hallelujah. I thank God for saving me.’”
Jackson’s quote, alluding to a statement popularized by the late Bishop Rev. Gilbert Earl (G.E.) Patterson, a pastor in a historically Black Pentecostal denomination called the Church of God in Christ, excited the room of Black Baptist preachers, who responded with cheers and applause.
Maureen Groppe of Paste BN contributed to this story.
More about National Baptists: National Baptist Convention, USA: What to know about largest Black Protestant group in US
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean, part of the Paste BN Network. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams.