Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes the first Black woman nominated for the U.S. top court

by Peter Schulte

Ketanji Brown Jackson, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, was selected by president Joe Biden to be his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson made history as the first Black woman ever nominated for the nation’s highest court.

Jackson was long considered the leading contender, particularly after Biden put her in a higher position last year from the trial court bench to the appeals court, which is seen as second in power only to the Supreme Court. 

Perhaps the nomination of Jackson by the president will not only help better reflect the perspectives and interests of Black women in critical Supreme Court decisions, but also allow Black girls to envision themselves in roles that have not felt possible for them in the past.