NAACP Celebrates the Confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson

WASHINGTON, DC - NAACP President Derrick Johnson issued the statement below on today's historic senate confirmation vote of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States:

"Today's vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court is of enormous consequence to our nation and to history. After 233 years, the Court will finally have a Black woman justice deciding our most significant cases with tremendous impact on our lives and the lives of our families. 

This has taken far too long. Fifty-five years ago, former NAACP Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall broke down the wall when he was confirmed as the first Black American to sit on the Supreme Court. Today, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson shatters the glass ceiling to finally make room for a Black woman on our nation's highest court. 

Judge Jackson is a breathtakingly qualified candidate to make this history. We joined the nation in beaming with pride as we learned about her background and family. She has impeccable credentials and a brilliant intellect. Her work as a public defender and on the Sentencing Commission will bring a perspective to the Court that has been missing since Thurgood Marshall served. Her impressive record as a trial and appellate jurist makes her one of the most prepared and experienced justices ever appointed to the Court. She has an even-handed approach to the law and is committed to fairness and equal justice. Our Supreme Court will be better and stronger with Judge Jackson's presence, her votes, and her voice. 

We greet this moment with joy, hope, and gratitude. We thank President Biden for keeping his promise to nominate the first Black woman justice. We thank the Senate for its bipartisan vote to confirm this historic nominee. We extend special gratitude to Senator Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney, who rejected appeals to partisanize this vote and instead, voted their conscience. 

History is watching this moment. The votes to confirm Judge Jackson will recorded as ones in favor of justice and equality. The votes against her will forever be known as hostile and cowardly, as were the attacks by certain Senators throughout this process. The unjust hurdles Black women like Ketanji Brown Jackson face each and every day were regrettably centerstage during her confirmation. But as Black women do, Ketanji Brown Jackson outshined the hate. Today and every day, we celebrate Black women. 

The NAACP remains committed to tearing down the racist obstacles that continue to obstruct paths for far too many Americans, especially Black women, throughout our nation. While we celebrate today, tomorrow we are back at work tackling student debt, voting and reproductive rights, climate change, and police reform, so that everyone in America can realize their dream."

NAACP General Counsel Janette McCarthy Wallace, who attended today's confirmation of Judge Jackson, released the following statement:

"Today, Black women truly are supreme. Over the past few weeks, it has been an incredible privilege to bear witness to the rise of the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice. The significance of this moment for the Black community, especially for Black women like me who have spent decades in the legal profession, is impossible to overstate. Representation is powerful – now, Black women and girls who dream of reaching the highest levels of our government, or any profession for that matter, can see that it is possible. While soon-to-be Justice Jackson's confirmation did not come without racist, misogynistic attacks on her career and character, it is without question that Ketanji Brown Jackson is imminently qualified to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Alongside the rest of our nation, I celebrate her confirmation and this stride toward achieving true equity, and look forward to seeing her take the bench."