Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed: Black female strength tells an all-American story

The most moving moment during the hearing for Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation came when Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke of the historical significance of the judge's ascent. And Jackson, in response, had no words. Instead, she wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"You got here how every Black woman in America who's gotten anywhere has done (it)," Booker said to the first Black woman nominated for the nation's highest court. By working harder and being stronger. 

That was rivaled by another moment that had me, and likely many other Black women, in tears. 

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., spoke of a visit with students and asked Jackson how she inspires (and, by extension, stays inspired). 

A young Ketanji persevered

In response, Jackson talked about the isolation she felt during her first semester on Harvard's campus. She was a Black student from a public school system who, among the overwhelming number of prep-school kids on the mostly white campus, felt like a fish out of water. She doubted herself. She wondered if she would make it. One day, an anonymous Black woman saw the struggle on Jackson's face, she recalled as she choked back tears. In passing, the woman said one word: Persevere. 

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Black women have faced systemic discrimination that no one else has since the nation's founding – the double prejudice of race and gender. And we've pushed through obstacles with a strength that, before this hearing, has rarely been praised. 

Instead, innocent actions and efforts to rise are often categorized as "angry." And our efforts to cope and remain strong take detrimental tolls. 

Because of Jackson's success, Black female strength (carried by generations of women) is finally being touted as a unifier, an all-American story of inspiration and progress.

And so is Jackson's family history – a lineage that exemplifies Black American hardship. Jackson spoke about her parents attending segregated schools. They escaped the oppressive discrimination of the deep South, moving from Florida to Washington, D.C., as so many Black families did during the Great Migration. 

The nation's sins of segregation and brutality are frequently brushed aside as too difficult to dwell on or are relegated to a few pages of high school textbooks. 

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But during the confirmation hearings they were laid out before the nation in pointed technicolor. Booker said Jackson's trajectory reminded him of his mother. Her family's accomplishments, he explained, were important not just for African Americans but also for Chinese Americans who were exploited to build railroads and Irish Americans who faced discrimination. 

Speaking the truth of Black struggle and triumph loudly and frequently is how we build change. Putting the Black American struggle in context of the larger American experience is how we normalize and promote Black strength and success. 

Even Jackson's hairstyle has inspired me, a Black woman with dreadlocks who was once told that I should cut them. Women with such natural hairstyles, I was told by a former boss, don’t hold positions of power. Now, a Black woman with a natural hairstyle has become one of the most powerful people in the free world.

'You're gonna be a hero. You already are a hero.'

Jackson's legal and judicial background is that of a political unifier, something she emphasized when speaking about her work on the Sentencing Commission. 

While there, she worked with people across the political spectrum to recommend reductions for crack cocaine sentencing disparities. 

Her ability to unite was most evident during the hearing itself. But viewers, sadly, had to squint really hard – looking past senators' repetitive questions about sentencing, intentional obfuscation over what constitutes a war crime, and partisan posturing over critical race theory and probation reports – to see it.

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In fact, her stellar qualifications and uplifting positivity were the only things members of both parties could agree on. 

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., stated, during the second day of questioning: "You're gonna be a hero. You already are a hero."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., complimented Jackson's drive and intelligence. 

Historically, the brilliance of women like Jackson have been simultaneously used and ignored. The leadership of Black women during the civil rights movement took a back seat to the equally exemplary work of the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and other male leaders. 

In the same way Black men became the primary face of the civil rights movement, white women were the face of the feminist movement, often to the exclusion of their Black counterparts.  

But, we persevered.

And so did Jackson during two days of questioning that, at times, got downright obnoxious. She was blamed for everything from recidivism rates (which have much more to do with rehab and reentry services than a judge's ruling) to CRT potentially being taught in a private school. 

But since Day One of the hearing, she has been praised for her grace under fire, her patience and her poise. 

'Not ... easy to be the first'

"It is not necessarily easy to be the first," Jackson said. "But it is an opportunity to show other people what is possible." 

On the final day of the hearing, aspects of that unity were again on display when a long-time law enforcement officer (who had the backing of the nation's largest police union) endorsed Jackson's nomination.  

Jackson had set an example for the Senate to follow – one of grace, of reaching across the aisle and of dropping partisanship.

Members of the Senate did the right thing. And Jackson will once again show the power of Black female perseverance to the world. 

Eileen Rivers is the projects editor for Paste BN's Opinion section.