- Black lawyers and civil rights advocates celebrated the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Justice to serve on the US Supreme Court.
- Many highlighted her historic confirmation as not only a win for Black women, but as one that will "ultimately benefit all Americans."
- Advocates told Insider that Jackson's experience as a federal defender gives her a unique eye into "how the law impacts communities of color."
Black lawyers and civil rights organizations rejoiced once the votes were read confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman and 116th justice to the US Supreme Court on Thursday, April 8.
The Senate voted 53-47 with three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah — joining all 50 Democrats to confirm Jackson, who will succeed retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer later this summer.
Derrick Johnson, president of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) immediately posted a photo of Jackson and her daughter on Twitter with the caption, "This is all of us right now. Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed!"
"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," NAACP General Counsel, Janette McCarthy Wallace wrote in a statement after the confirmation.
—Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) April 7, 2022
The Advancement Project, a National Civil Rights Organization, expressed how Jackson's presence on the bench goes beyond her being a Black woman, speaking to how her experience as a public defender and her first-hand knowledge of how the law materially impacts communities of color will benefit the underrepresented.
"We celebrate the appointment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States," Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project wrote in a statement to Insider.
"The highest Court in the land now will have a firsthand perspective of how the law impacts communities of color — via voting rights, police misconduct, abortion access, housing discrimination, or the criminal legal system, among other issues. This will ultimately benefit all Americans."
Jackson began her career as a lawyer clerking for Justice Breyer later going on to serve as a federal public defender and a judge, and eventually beginning her own private practice. She was appointed in 2009 by former President Barack Obama to serve on the US Sentencing Commission where she worked to cut racial disparities in sentencing for federal drug possession cases.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation's largest and oldest Latino civil rights organization, said Justice Jackson's confirmation will bring an important perspective to the court that is currently missing.
"Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson earned this position through her years of proven judicial experience, demonstrating a capable, reasoned approach to the law," Domingo Garcia, LULAC national president wrote in a statement to Insider. "Throughout the confirmation hearings, she stood firm on her principles of upholding the law 'without fear or favor.' LULAC looks forward to the balance she will add to the Supreme Court, especially on matters involving Blacks and Latinos, given her background and life experiences."