Say her Name…Ketanji Brown Jackson, Confirmed with 53 – 47 Senate Vote

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed Thursday and became the first Black woman and the 116th Supreme Court Justice in the United States of America following a 53 to 47 Senate vote. 

Democrats were joined by three Republicans, who crossed party lines, to vote for Jackson including Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.  

Jackson’s confirmation vote followed a deluge of attacks and assaults waged by members of the GOP during her confirmation hearing. Their multi-day confrontations were disrespectful and shameful as they desperately tried to rewrite Jackson’s history as a judge.

Various Republican Senators portrayed Jackson as a “dangerous” judge engaged in an extremist mission to undermine public safety on behalf of child-sex offenders, terrorists, and shadowy moneyed figures on the far left.

Various news media outlets spent each day calling out the hypocrisies of Senators like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and others. Jackson remained steady and withstood the unfathomable treatment this boorish group offered. At one point, Cruz suggested that supporting Jackson was comparable to calling for the police to be abolished.

Entering the confirmation hearings, Jackson was seen as a highly qualified jurist with the respect of liberal and conservative colleagues.  Her achievements, her Harvard degrees, and her time as a federal public defender and a judge should have mattered to them, but they did not.

Holding her head high, Jackson withstood everything they threw at her and more. She often paused to measure her response and was frequently cut off or talked over by the rabid bunch as they foamed at their mouths. If this was not bad enough, their verbal abuse and exploitation of Jackson took place in front of Jackson’s husband and her young daughters. 

Professional women who saw themselves in Jackson at those moments said she taught us all what it means to hold your head up high in the face of diversity. This was also a special moment for young girls of all races to be proud of, especially those of color.

Some suspect that as Jackson sat there watching the spectacle play out, she undoubtedly recited in her headwords from former first lady Michelle Obama…when they go low, we go high.

In the end, after they have made a fool of themselves in front of the American people, these jokers now get to call you Supreme Court Justice Jackson.

Job well done Ketanji.