This week history was made! The US Supreme Court will include a black female justice for the first time in its 233-year history!
Ketanji Brown Jackson made history on Thursday when the Senate voted 53 to 47 to become the first black woman Supreme Court Justice in the court’s history. The vote led to the prompt walkout of the Republican Party senate from the Senate building, with the exception of Senator Mitt Romney. The appointment fulfils President Biden’s campaign promise to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court.
Vice President Kamala Harris, herself a historic first as the first Black and Asian American woman vice president, was on hand to preside over the confirmation vote. Ms Jackson’s ascent to the highest court in the land was a moment of celebration for many Democrats.
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Miami, Florida, Jackson attended Harvard University for college and law school, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She began her legal career with three clerkships, including one with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Prior to her elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she served as a district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021.
