Update: Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed to the Supreme Court on April 7. After tense hearings that spanned four days, the Senate confirmed the historic appointment, ushering in the nation’s first Black woman justice. The final vote was 53-47, with three Republican senators — Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney — breaking from the party line.
Jackson watched the vote take place in the Roosevelt Room of the White House with President Joe Biden and members of his staff. “Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America,” Biden tweeted. “She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.”
Original story: Joe Biden has shared his historic pick for the Supreme Court. On Feb. 25, the president announced Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee: “she is one of our nation’s brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice.” If confirmed, the accomplished 51-year-old judge will make history as the first Black woman to serve as justice.
The news comes just one month after Justice Stephen Breyer shared his plans to retire after nearly 28 years. Following the announcement, Biden pledged: “I’ve made no decision except one: the person I will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity, and that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.” He added, “I made that commitment during the campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment.”
The appointment would mark a full-circle moment for Jackson, who was born in Washington DC, although she mostly grew up in Miami. Jackson attended Harvard University as an undergraduate and law school student. During that time, she helped organize demonstrations in response to a classmate who had draped a Confederate battle flag outside his window at the center of campus. Jackson also served as the Harvard Law Review’s supervising editor, and she graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1996, four years after graduating from the university magna cum laude.
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