Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is set to be confirmed by the Supreme Court this week, making her the first black woman to serve as a judge. Here’s what that means for black women at her alma mater.
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — For many of the women who are members of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination feels very personal.
Judge Jackson, an alumna of both Harvard Law School and the association, is set to become the first black female judge in the court’s 233-year history when the Senate votes on her confirmation Thursday.
Many of the women in the association have followed the nomination process closely, inspired by Judge Jackson’s selection and identifying with the barriers in her way. They talked about walking through the same halls of power traditionally dominated by white Americans, feeling the same pressure to be “almost perfect” and wearing the same natural haircuts that have been discriminated against.
Judge Jackson’s hostile questioning during her hearings was all too familiar, some women said, reminiscent of their own experiences in classrooms and workplaces.
Her appointment also highlighted the relative rarity of black women in the legal profession. Only 4.7 percent of lawyers are black and only 70 black women have ever served as federal judges, representing less than 2 percent of all these judges. In October, about 4.8 percent of those enrolled in law school at Harvard, or 84 people, identified as black women, compared with just 33 black women in 1996, when Judge Jackson graduated.
Those statistics are “isolating,” said Mariah K. Watson, the association’s president. “But there is comfort in the community. There is comfort in shared experience. And now we have a role model who has shown us what it takes.”
We spoke with some women from the association. Here’s what they had to say about Judge Jackson’s appointment.
Abigail Hall
Abigail Hall, 23, had always wanted to be the first black woman on the Supreme Court, but she admitted that “if I have to come in second, it’s fine to be second to KBJ”
“She had to meet every point and she couldn’t drop the ball,” said Ms Hall. “And that’s something that’s ingrained in us, in terms of ticking every box, of being a black woman and going to a place like Harvard Law School.”
She compared Judge Jackson’s career path to Marvel supervillain Thanos who collected Infinity Stones: “It’s inspiring to me because I’m at the beginning of my career. I’ve had to work to get here, but there’s so much work to do and that just motivates me to continue breaking those barriers, to get my points and get my Infinity Stones.”
Catherine Crevecoeur
When New Jersey Democrat Senator Cory Booker praised Judge Jackson after hours of intense questioning and told her, “You’re worth it,” Catherine Crevecoeur, 25, felt he had articulated the discomfort she had experienced during the hearings. .
“They were trying to plant mistrust,” she said. “It’s not new. It’s very common, I think, for a lot of people of color in these spaces.”
Those doubts, Ms Crevecoeur said, can manifest themselves in many ways, such as when a new acquaintance expresses her surprise at attending one of the most prestigious schools in the country, or when she struggles in her first year of law school with impostor syndrome. “That’s why it’s extra imperative that people be represented and see ourselves and know that we belong in these spaces,” she said.
Mariah K. Watson said she was “immediately moved to tears” when she learned of Judge Jackson’s appointment because “if there will be someone who can test where America really is and our acceptance of wanting to be a reflection of what this nation is and can be in many different ways, break the mold, then she is the person to do that.”
Judge Jackson has charted a path for black women in the law, Ms Watson said, and before that, “I’m grateful for the hard steps and all the flipping that she’s doing now so that the path is cleared or at least a little clearer.” for those who want to come after her.”
For Christina Coleburn, Judge Jackson’s appointment was a moment to reflect on legacy. As she listened to the judge recount her family history—from her grandmother’s dinners and her mother’s career in education—Mrs Coleburn, 27, thought of her own grandmother and mother.
“We are the wildest dreams of our ancestors, some you’ve never met,” she said. “I’m so lucky to still know mine, but when you consider how their work made our lives possible, the things that people sometimes take for granted.”
“I’m glad Judge Jackson brought up all those things,” she said, “because I think these are concepts that everyone has at least in the mind of our community or almost everyone.”
Regina Fairfax reviewed the hearings in view of not just one, but two black women she considers role models: her “Aunt Ketanji” and her mother, Lisa Fairfax, who stayed with Judge Jackson at Harvard decades earlier and introduced her on the second. day of the procedure.
“It was wonderful to see their love for each other and their friendship and their sisterhood,” said Ms. Fairfax, 24. “I think that’s inspiring to anyone just listening to a black female relationship, but to me personally, to see how far they’ve come together and also that they really relied on each other, leaned on each other throughout the whole life.” experience.”
Virginia Thomas helped pass guidelines in New York to ban hair discrimination three years earlier, so it was particularly satisfying to see Judge Jackson “with sister-locks, standing in her glory and her professionalism.”
“It’s an opportunity for people to really visualize and see black women doing what they’re doing, which is being unapologetically successful, unapologetically confident in who they are,” said Ms. Thomas, 31.
As vice president of the Black Law Students Association, Ms. Thomas hosted screenings of Judge Jackson’s hearings. The pinnacle, she said, was catching the attention of guards, cafeteria workers and custodians who work at the law school.
“Watching the morning with the staff before the students trickle in after classes and realizing that this moment is bigger than just for law school geeks who love the Supreme Court,” she said. “It also matters to ordinary people.”
She added: “Everyday people look at this woman and think to themselves, ‘Wow, she did it.'”
Aiyanna Sanders
Aiyanna Sanders, 24, described her mixed feelings on hearing Judge Jackson’s nomination. She celebrated the historic moment, but lamented how long it took to achieve.
“This is a black woman who went to Harvard University, who went to Harvard Law School,” she said. “We literally walk in her shoes when we walk down this hallway. And so so close to home. Wow, these things are achievable. But also damn it, why hasn’t it happened yet? Or why is this happening for the first time in 2022?”
She added: “I think a nomination from a Supreme Court Justice – a black woman, an outstanding black woman who has exceeded all expectations – I think it just goes to show that you still have to fight hard, but you you can get these things, you can get.”
Gwendolyn Gissendanner
From her time growing up in a working-class community outside of Detroit and working for Harvard’s student-run Legal Aid Bureau, Gwendolyn Gissendanner, 25, has been acutely aware of how race and identity can influence proceedings in a courtroom.
“We always have to think about what to do to ensure that my often black, low-income clients turn to a white judge who doesn’t understand their experience,” she said. “But someone you don’t have to take the extra leap of to prove that race interacts with every aspect of your life makes a huge difference in what kinds of decisions you can make.”
She added: “I think of the Supreme Court as such an inaccessible beacon, and the idea that someone who reflects my own identity will be in that space is kind of — I don’t even know if I’ve fully digested that yet. ”
As she watched President Biden announce Judge Jackson as his Supreme Court nominee, Brianna Banks, 26, began to cry “in what I first thought was a cheap way — this is such a cliché,” she recalled. But on reflection, she realized that the moment made clear why she had never considered a career as a judge or introduced herself as a judge.
“According to the numbers, we have a lot of Supreme Court justices at Harvard Law School,” she said. “And I’m one of the few students I knew I could never be, no matter what, because there had never been anyone like me. So it brought up this emotion because people tell you that you’re from Harvard Law School, you can do whatever you want, there’s no job that isn’t open to you. But for black women, that’s not always the case, because there are a lot of places or jobs that we haven’t filled yet.”
“Now,” she added, “the sky’s the limit.”
Zarina Mustafa
As a first-generation college student and the first person in her family to never spend a day behind bars, Zarinah Mustafa, 27, said she was particularly excited about Judge Jackson’s background as a public defender.
“I just feel that perspective is so underrepresented and it doesn’t make sense why, in a country where we say everyone deserves a strong defense,” she said.
“I care about defending the little people, little people and I definitely see myself in her,” Ms Mustafa added. “Maybe I’m wearing my Harvard sweatshirt to the airport now—I usually don’t—because she went here and was part of the Harvard Black Law Students Association.”
Most of all, Ms. Mustafa said, she was proud and excited by Judge Jackson’s record, “This black woman just kills it.”